William Faulkner: A Critical Study

In this fourth edition of his celebrated study of Faulkner, Irving Howe analyzes all of the great author’s works, emphasizing the themes that run throughout the novels and stories. “The scheme of my book is simple,” Mr. Howe writes. “First, I have tried to say what Faulkner’s work is `about,’ to report on the social and moral themes in his books; and then I have tried to analyze and evaluate the more important novels.” Anyone who has enjoyed the special flavor of Faulkner’s writing will appreciate Mr. Howe’s careful analysis, and the student of twentieth-century American literature will gain new perspective and insight. Mr.Howe successfully portrays the intimate connection between Faulkner’s fiction and the emotional and psychic history of the South without slighting the universality that makes him one of America’s greatest writers. “Mr. Howe is a shrewd critic, and he writes of Faulkner’s achievements as a practicing novelist with a wary respect. He has a good many observations to make that should help readers in going through the novels.”―Alfred Kazin, New York Times .