I've previously read and reviewed 'The Sound and the Fury' and decided to listen to the recently released new audiobook, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Bronson Pinchot, and Robin Miles. 'The Sound and the Fury' has been called one of the greatest books of all time, and it's certainly a tour de force. The novel is hard to read, though, because it's narrated in a stream of consciousness style by several characters, and jumps around in time with no warning.
To tackle the audiobook I read several analyses of the novel, which gave me a better understanding of the plot and themes. I also watched the 2014 movie 'The Sound and the Fury', which is very good in my opinion.
I'm going to add some additional thoughts in this new review, based on my greater comprehension of the story and characters.
Warning: Though the book is well known, this review may contain spoilers.
In a nutshell, the book - set in the early part of the 20th century - is about the Compson family of Jefferson, Mississippi.
The Compsons were a prominent and important family of the Old South, but by the early 1900s had lost most of their wealth and status. The majority of the Compson acreage has been sold off for expenses, and the mansion is decaying, and not the magnificent domicile of old, when a Compson was governor.
The current family is made up of a needy, neurotic mother - Caroline Bascomb Compson; a distant, hard-drinking father - Jason Compson III; three brothers - Quentin, Jason IV, and Benjy; and a sister - Caddy.
The heart of the story is Caddy, a caring but promiscuous young woman who shames the Compson family by getting pregnant. Caddy enters into a hasty marriage but her husband quickly divorces her when he discovers the child is not his.
Caddy Compson
The Compson family takes in Caddy's daughter "Miss Quentin" and cuts off Caddy completely. This drives the story since brother Benjy adores and misses Caddy; brother Quentin is devastated by her behavior; and brother Jason is angry at Caddy for embarrassing the family and depriving him of the bank job offered by her ex-husband. Jason also resents Miss Quentin and steals the money Caddy sends for her.
I'll frame my review as brief overviews of the main protagonists.
◙ Caroline Bascomb Compson:
Caroline Bascomb Compson
Caroline Bascomb married Jason for the prestige of the Compson family name, and is ultimately disappointed with her catch. Still, Caroline thinks Jason looks down on the Bascombs, and the feeling is exacerbated by Caroline's brother Maury - a lazy, good-for-nothing who resides with the Compsons on and off. Maury is constantly sponging money for a 'big opportunity' that's come his way.
Conversation between Caroline and her husband Jason III:
“It’s no joke.” Mother said. “My people are every bit as well born as yours. Just because Maury’s health is bad.”
“Of course.” Father said. “Bad health is the primary reason for all life. Created by disease, within putrefaction, into decay."
Caroline cares about her children, but is too self-centered to be a natural mother. Caroline's favorite child is Jason, but he must be pulling the wool over Caroline's eyes, because Jason is a nasty tattletale as a child and a narcissistic thief as an adult.
Caroline's dearest wish is for her oldest son Quentin to attend Harvard University, and she's thrilled when this comes to pass. As it happens, Caddy's husband is also a Harvard man, which is another feather in Caroline's cap. Then, when Caddy is thrown out by her furious husband, Caroline is devastated, and forbids the household to mention Caddy's name.
Life and all its disappointments are too much for Caroline, and she becomes a hypochondriac that usually stays in bed calling for hot water bottles.
◙ Jason Compson III:
Jason Compson III
Jason, the family patriarch, spends his days drinking whiskey and reading great literature. Jason is a cynical man, has little regard for the rules of society, and tends to make philosophical pronouncements like: 'No battle is ever won. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools'.
Unlike his wife, Jason dismisses the value of virginity, and is more or less indifferent to Caddy's promiscuity. This is out of keeping with values in the early 20th century.
To fulfill Caroline's wishes for their son Quentin, Jason sells off forty acres of the Compson property - called Benjy's pasture - to finance Quentin's education at Harvard. The sold acreage is turned into a golf course, which is a pivotal element of the story.
*****
Most of the story is narrated by the three brothers, each of whom gets his own section.
◙ Benjy:
Benjy Compson
We first meet Benjy as a mentally challenged 33-year-old, who's better described as 'a man who's been three-years-old for thirty years.' Due to the novel's time jumps, we observe Benjy at various stages of his life, starting with childhood. Benjy was named Maury at birth (after Caroline's brother), but when his mental disability became obvious, Caroline changed little Maury's name to Benjamin.
Most of the Compsons don't concern themselves much with Benjy because the black servants dress Benjy, feed him, watch over him, put him to bed, etc. By contrast, Caddy truly loves Benjy, and Benjy returns Caddy's affection and is very attached to her. Family members sometimes mention sending Benjy to Jackson (an asylum), which worries Caddy terribly.
When young Caddy threatens to run away, Benjy gets upset:
"Caddy was all wet and muddy behind, and I started to cry and she came and squatted in the water.'Hush now.” she said. “I’m not going to run away.' So I hushed. Caddy smelled like trees in the rain."
Though Benjy is unable to speak his mind, he has an almost supernatural instinct for family misfortune, like an imminent death, which makes Benjy moan and howl.
When the Compsons disown Caddy, Benjy doesn't understand, and often strays to the gate to look for her. As a result, Benjy badly frightens some passing schoolgirls, which results in his castration.
Benjy Compson
◙ Quentin:
Quentin Compson
Much of Quentin's section takes place during his time at Harvard, which isn't working out too well. Quentin can't get over Caddy's sleeping around with riffraff, and his mind frequently wanders to Caddy's behavior, and his compulsion to save her. In his desperation, Quentin suggests he, Caddy, and Benjy run away together; Quentin holds a knife to Caddy's neck in a kind of suicide pact; Quentin threatens one of Caddy's boyfriends; and more.
In a confrontation between Caddy's boyfriend and Quentin:
"Listen no good taking it so hard its not your fault kid it would have been some other fellow
Did you ever have a sister did you
No but they're all bitches
I hit him with my open hand beat the impulse to shut it to his face his hand moved as fast as mine the cigarette went over the rail I swung the other hand he caught it too before the cigarette reached the water he held both my wrists in the same hand."
Quentin disdains Caddy's fiancé, Sydney Herbert Head, who has a reputation for cheating at cards and cheating on Harvard exams. Some time after Caddy admits she doesn't love Sydney, but has to marry SOMEONE because she's pregnant, Quentin reaches his breaking point. He makes careful preparations and commits suicide.
Caddy's wedding picture with the Compson family
Quentin Compson
◙ Jason IV:
Jason Compson IV
Jason is an unpleasant child who grows up to be a spiteful adult. Jason resents not being sent to Harvard; is furious with Caddy for robbing him of the chance to be a banker; and can't deal with teenage Miss Quentin, who skips school and runs around with a carnival employee.
Jason IV's comments to his mother about Miss Quentin:
"Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say. I says you’re lucky if her playing out of school is all that worries you. I says she ought to be down there in that kitchen right now, instead of up there in her room, gobbing paint on her face and waiting for six n**** that can't even stand up out of a chair unless they’ve got a pan full of bread and meat to balance them, to fix breakfast for her".
Miss Quentin
Jason is a blatant racist who liberally uses the n-word, and spouts nasty diatribes about black people and Jews. Jason would love to be a big man in Jefferson County, but he has a job in a hardware store; lives in a run-down house with a rotting facade; and keeps a mistress in Memphis, which flies in the face of Jason's moral code for other people.
Jason is obsessed with money, and - after his father dies - embezzles his mother's funds and steals the checks Caddy sends for Miss Quentin, 'so she can have nice things like the other girls."
Jason Compson IV
Jason keeps the stolen cash in a lockbox in his closet, which is his downfall. It turns out Miss Quentin is more clever than her uncle, and she breaks into Jason's room, steals the cash, and runs away. Jason goes ballistic, and this leads to the end of the novel.
Additional important characters in the book include long-time black housekeeper Dilsey and her husband and children, all of whom are servants on the Compson estate. Dilsey and her kin are almost totally responsible for looking after Benjy, and take him to church on Easter Sunday - an important day in the story.
Dilsey
Dilsey takes Benjy to church on Easter Sunday
Dilsey can best be described as a grandmotherly figure who loves all the Compsons, whatever their foibles, and clearly sees their destiny.
Towards the end of the book, Dilsey remarks:
" I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin."
The book has a palette of important secondary characters, such as the men Caddy dallies with; Quentin's friends and acquaintances at Harvard; Jason IV's boss and co-workers at the hardware store; and others.
The overall theme of the book is the decline of a dynasty that's come to the end of it's reign. Of course this happens in real life as well, as shown by families like the American Vanderbilts and American Astors - as well as aristocratic families elsewhere - that soared and then sank. It seems inevitable.
The book is chock full of imagery and symbolism, as demonstrated by the many doctoral dissertations, masters' theses, critical essays, opinion papers, movies, etc., related to the novel. Even if you're not an English major or scholar , the story is compelling. I'd suggest tackling a written copy before listening to the audiobook, for better comprehension.
The audiobook narrators do an excellent job and add nuances to the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing Audiobooks for a copy of the audiobook.
Rating: 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment