The William Faulkner

The years 1942 to 1954 saw William Faulkner`s rise to literary celebrity - sought after by Hollywood, lionized by the critics, awarded a Nobel Prize in 1950 and the Pulitzer and National Book Award for 1954. But despite his success, he was plagued by depression and alcohol and haunted by a sense that he had more to achieve - and a finite amount of time and energy to achieve it. This volume - the third in The Library of America`s new, authoritative edition of Faulkner`s complete works - collects the novels written during this crucial and fascinating period in his career. The newly restored texts, based on Faulkner`s manuscripts, typescripts, and proof sheets, are free of the changes introduced by the original editors and are faithful to the author`s intentions. In the four works included here, Faulkner delved deeper into themes of race and religion, and furthered his experiments with fictional structure and narrative voice; defying the odds, he continued to break new ground in American fiction. Go Down, Moses (1942) is a haunting novel made up of seven related stories that explore the intertwined lives of black, white, and Indian inhabitants of Yoknapatawpha County. It includes The Bear , one of the most famous works in all American fiction, with its evocation of the wilderness, the big woods, bigger and older than any recorded document . Characters from Go Down, Moses reappear in Intruder in the Dust (1948). Part detective novel, part morality tale, it is a compassionate story of a black man on trial and the growing moral awareness of a southern white boy. Requiem for a Nun (1951) is a sequel to Sanctuary. With an unusual structure combining novel and play, it tells the fate of thepassionate, haunted Temple Drake and the murder case through which she achieves a tortured redemption. Prose interludes condense millennia of local history into a swirling counterpoint. In A Fable (1954), Faulkner`s recasting of the Christ story set during World War I, he wanted, he said Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.