The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War
A “timely and essential” (New York Times Book Review) reconsideration of William Faulkner’s life and legacy that vitally asks, “How should we read Faulkner today?”

With this “rich, complex, and eloquent” (Drew Gilpin Faust, Atlantic) work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gorra charts the evolution of an author through his most cherished—and contested—novels. Given the undeniable echoes of “Lost Cause” romanticism in William Faulkner’s fiction, as well as his depiction of Black characters and Black speech, Gorra argues convincingly that Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Upending previous critical traditions and interweaving biography, literary criticism, and rich travelogue, the widely acclaimed The Saddest Words recontextualizes Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today.
1133534095
The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War
A “timely and essential” (New York Times Book Review) reconsideration of William Faulkner’s life and legacy that vitally asks, “How should we read Faulkner today?”

With this “rich, complex, and eloquent” (Drew Gilpin Faust, Atlantic) work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gorra charts the evolution of an author through his most cherished—and contested—novels. Given the undeniable echoes of “Lost Cause” romanticism in William Faulkner’s fiction, as well as his depiction of Black characters and Black speech, Gorra argues convincingly that Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Upending previous critical traditions and interweaving biography, literary criticism, and rich travelogue, the widely acclaimed The Saddest Words recontextualizes Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today.
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The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War

The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War

by Michael Gorra
The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War

The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War

by Michael Gorra

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Overview

A “timely and essential” (New York Times Book Review) reconsideration of William Faulkner’s life and legacy that vitally asks, “How should we read Faulkner today?”

With this “rich, complex, and eloquent” (Drew Gilpin Faust, Atlantic) work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gorra charts the evolution of an author through his most cherished—and contested—novels. Given the undeniable echoes of “Lost Cause” romanticism in William Faulkner’s fiction, as well as his depiction of Black characters and Black speech, Gorra argues convincingly that Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Upending previous critical traditions and interweaving biography, literary criticism, and rich travelogue, the widely acclaimed The Saddest Words recontextualizes Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781324091011
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publication date: 10/05/2021
Pages: 448
Sales rank: 594,285
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Michael Gorra is the Mary Augusta Jordan Professor of English at Smith College, where he has taught since 1985. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Guggenheim Foundation and, for his work as a reviewer, of the Balakian Award from the National Book Critics Circle. His books include The Saddest Words: William Faulkner’s Civil War; Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of on American Masterpiece, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography; The Bells in Their Silence: Travels through Germany; After Empire: Scott, Naipaul, Rushdie; The English Novel at Mid-Century; and, as editor, The Portable Conrad and the Norton Critical Editions of The Sound and the Fury and The Portrait of a Lady.

Table of Contents

Preface: A Park Bench in Paris 1

1 Gettysburg, at Not Yet Two 12

Part 1 Twice-Told Tales

2 Old Man Falls 39

3 The Family and the Town 58

4 Postage Stamps 75

5 Inventing Yoknapatawpha 99

Part 2 Yoknapatawpha's War

6 The Precipice 123

7 The Real War 150

8 Freedom 174

9 The Stillness 202

Part 3 Dark House

10 The Shooting at the Gates 233

11 A Legacy 264

12 A New South 293

13 The Saddest Words 309

14 The Human Heart Against Itself 335

Maps 357

William Faulkner: A Chronology 363

William Faulkner: A List of Major Works 369

Yoknapatawpha County: A Brief History of an Imaginary Place 371

Acknowledgments 377

Notes and Sources 381

Index 409

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