Found the plot very hard to follow, but probably no more so the ‘The Sound and the Fury' (no.220), although that was billed as difficult.
Was embarrassed to have to Google a plot summary after I finished it yesterday, but Faulkner does write wonderful prose and leaving aside the difficulty in following the plots covers challenging subjects.
The headline bit in this plot (which I missed, or only half understood) is that this book is about a rape by an impotent man using a corncob as the instrument of penetration. The victim is subsequently hauled off to the brothel and Popeye the perpetrator watches her having sex, possibly quite willingly, with a local stud, who he later murders.
But the narrative is so elliptical, and the main character is a lawyer trying to get a related character off another murder which Popeye has also committed. It is a pretty grim description of the deep south and its prejudices and definitely requires a re-read.
Comments