William Faulkner and Southern History
In this masterful blend of family history, biography, cultural history, and literary criticism, noted Southern historian Williamson (Univ. of North Carolina) explores the elements that make up Faulkner's fictional universe. Williamson demonstrates that the themes of race, class, sex, and violence that dominate Faulkner's fiction arise out of the conflict between an idealism generated by the Southerners' desire for an Edenic world in which individuals enact well-defined cultural, political, and social roles and a realism, fostered by modern industrial society, that challenged such roles. Williamson applies this thesis with particular force to the roles of sex and community in Faulkner's writing. The book also provides a clearer picture than other Faulkner biographies of his time in Hollywood, his insatiable desire for younger women, and his recurring drinking bouts. Williamson's study is a fine complement to Joseph Blotner's Faulkner: A Biography ( LJ 4/15/84) and a nice addition to cultural histories of the South. Highly recommended for public libraries.- Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Westerville P.L., OhioCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.