Ratings21
Average rating4
“If happy I can be I will, if suffer I must I can.”
Absalom, Absalom! tells the story of Thomas Sutpen and his ruthless, single-minded attempt to forge a dynasty in Jefferson, Mississippi, in 1830. Although his grand design is ultimately destroyed by his own sons, a century later the figure of Sutpen continues to haunt young Quentin Compson, who is obsessed with his family legacy and that of the Old South.
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When I started reading this, I thought ‘dear lord, what have I gotten myself into'. The writing is dense and opaque; disheartened, I turned away.
Then I returned, and my ear caught the rhythm of it. I found myself pulled inexorably into the complex dynamics of this family of the American South. Dashed about from one narrative to another, I could not find my footing. But I finished the book exhilarated, exhausted, and with a strange hunger to start reading again from the beginning.