Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Student Companion to William Faulkner. By John Dennis Anderson. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007. 1 vol. 143 p. $65.00. ISBN 10: 0-313-33439-0; 13: 978-0-313-33439-9.

William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize winner, is considered one of America's greatest writers, a recognition which did not reach him until the Nobel honor was bestowed in 1949. His tales of the mythical Yoknapatawpha County are evidence of his Southern storytelling skill. A brief history of his life is given in the first chapter; the second discusses his literary heritage. Students will learn that he added the "u" to his name after he returned from enlisting in the Canadian Air Force at the end of World War I. The next five chapters cover six books: "The Unvanquished and Sartoris," "The Sound and the Fury," "As I Lay Dying, Light in August" and "Absalom, Absalom!" The plot of the story, the characters, the setting, the themes and illusions of each are discussed. The final chapter is devoted to his short fiction. The appendix includes a 22-page bibliography with sources of contemporary reviews, criticism and related secondary sources. This will help students understand how to analyze what they are reading as well as to understand William Faulkner.