What I find most remarkable in Faulkner's style is his way of
giving you information in bits, and the bits are not
underlined but embedded in his telling. I remember one long
sentence in a story, only at the end of which it said
something like "And that's why he took an axe and chopped her
head off". He knew how to prepare the ground and maintain
tension.
I wish I could say the same about Henry James. Great plots,
rock-solid stories, but the weight of the telling sinks them.
Miraculously, Faulkner's stuff floats.(Not so miraculously,
because he's using the storytelling authority of the Southern
who tells, sets, sips and tells some more.)
If you want the golden mean between Hemingway and Faulkner,
Steinbeck might be it.
Have you heard that East of Eden is the #1 paperback
bestseller on the NY Times ranking? I found this fact very
surprising and even thought there was a mistake somewhere.
It's not a trivial book. It's a great book.
Best,
MrT
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