A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Such a beautiful friendship between Owen and Johnny, and Owen is such a unique, compelling and tragic character completely realized. Add in a memorable supporting cast like Johnny’s mother and grandmother, and you have an unforgettable story.
I agree, but be prepared! I guess if you have read McCarthy, Blood Meridian especially, one might be prepared but as brilliant as Thomas Hardy is, novels like Tess and Jude the Obscure are a magnitude of tragedy and heartbreak beyond what most other writers are capable of!
I think you are correct in starting with other texts. Now that I have committed to reading Absalom Absalom, I might go back and re-read Sound and the Fury as well.
I will read it! That is quite the recommendation and I appreciate it!
Yes, that is a good observation. I should go back and revisit The Sound and the Fury now.
I do! Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels.
William Faulkner. Read The Sound and the Fury and did not care for it much. Later on someone who really enjoyed Faulkner encouraged me to try Light in August. I ended up reading and loving that novel, as well as As I Lay Dying.
How could it not?? Little Father Time! I remember reading that section for the first time and just having a hard time believing what I was reading!