I Finished a Faulkner Book!

This was my second attempt to read something by William Faulkner, and I have to say I feel like I just choked down a dirt sandwich. It was "As I Lay Dying". Addie's stench is still making me queasy. To make it that real is pretty amazing. Faulkner really has a unique story here, and I liked the short chapters, each told by various members of the cast. If you are going to get inside the heads of strange people, and let them tell the story, their way of expressing themselves is bound to be difficult to understand. And if some of them are idiots they are bound to get into some excruciating situations. He did that masterfully. I want to read for pleasure not a work-out, but I bet I'll read it again someday.

I tried to read "Absalom, Absalom!" and I just couldn't make it to the end. I know that people of certain eras had to beat around the bush to tell something scandalous, without actually using the words that would tell you what they are talking about. Being frank, was considered rude. Well, actually, it still is, but half way through the book, I realized that I was mentally shouting at the book, "Spit it out, already!" I couldn't take it. I had to read an on-line synopsis to bring down my blood pressure.

I have "The Sot-Weed Factor" by John Barth and "Swan's Way" by Marcel Proust on my bedside table, next in line for my tandem reading style. Get sick of one, try the other one for a while. I can run through a stack of Kurt Vonnegut books without any frustration. I'm just curious about what all the fuss is about with the "classics". Any blood pressure warnings would be appreciated.