New York: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1929. First Edition. Very good in a very good first state (Humanity Uprooted is priced at $3.00 rather than $3.50) dust jacket with a faded spine, minor soiling , tiny chips and tears.

Synopsis

William Faulkner once described The Sound and the Fury, his fourth novel, as “a real son-of-a-bitch” and “the greatest I’ll ever write.” Set in Jefferson, Mississippi, the novel — a classic example of Southern gothic literature — traces the decaying values of the Southern society through the downfall of the aristocratic Compson family. The Sound and the Fury is structured into four distinct sections and perspectives: Benjamin "Benjy" Compson, a mentally disabled 33-year-old man, narrates Part 1: April 7, 1928; Benjy’s older brother, Quentin, narrates Part 2: June 2, 1910; Jason, the youngest Compson brother, narrates April 6, 1928; and Part 4: April 8, 1928 (the day after Part 1) is narrated by a newly introduced third person omniscient point of view. Like James Joyce and other Modernist writers, Faulkner experimented with various narrative techniques, including narrator shifts, frequent times shifts, unconventional punctuation and sentence structure, and — perhaps most predominantly — stream-of-consciousness. Revealing the inner thoughts of the characters to the reader, the narration of The Sound and the Fury is attentive to the events surrounding each character in the present, but also frequently returns to their memories of the past. In doing so, the four parts of the novel relate many of the same episodes, each from different points of view. While initial sales of The Sound and the Fury well less than impressive, the novel became commercially successful with the 1931 publication of Faulkner’s sixth novel, Sanctuary. Still, not one of Faulkner’s novels that followed ever generated as much critical response as The Sound and the Fury. The author was praised for this ability to effectively capture the intimate processes of the human mind in the novel and it played a role in William Faulkner's receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Sound and the Fury sixth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

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Details

Bookseller: Peter L. Stern & Company, Inc. (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 15808P
Title: The Sound And The Fury
Author: FAULKNER, WILLIAM
Book Condition: Used - First Edition. Very good in a very good first state (Humanity Uprooted is priced at $3.00 rather than $3.50) dust jacket with a
Publisher: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1929

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Peter L. Stern & Company, Inc.

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About Peter L. Stern & Company, Inc.

With more than 35 years experience in the rare book trade, Peter L. Stern and Co., Inc. has established itself as a highly regarded firm of antiquarian booksellers.

Specializing in 19th and 20th century literature, signed and inscribed books, and manuscripts we maintain a high quality inventory. Our shop is located in the heart of Newton Centre where we are open by chance or appointment

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
First State: used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...