The Reivers

Okay, so technically Flags in the Dust was published last but that was more a restoration of Satoris, his third novel, than a newer book.I struggled a little with this book at the beginning. It started dynamically with Boon bursting in and showing the kind of impulsiveness that defines his character. I didn't trust that Ned's action with the horse and automobile would make any sense and the path through the train yard to the box car was tedious; as was the crossing of the mud hole. It wasn't until half way through that things started clicking for me and then I couldn't stop reading.What makes this more accessible is also the novel's weakness. What's missing for me is the truly cinematic paragraphs where Faulkner places an image directly in the readers mind. I find that thrilling and never got that from this book.However, the story itself is powerful. Lucius Priest, age 11, leaves on this adventure and returns four days later (as he counts it) changed. Faulkner brilliantly conveys the awareness of this change in the boy's mind when Lucius returns home and is surprised that home hadn't changed and wonders why he expected it. The theme is that of what makes a gentleman and what doesn't, and how Lucius filters through examples of both what is and isn't to cultivate his own code.Names in Faulkner are always interesting. Lycurgus was a Spartan lawgiver and his name is given to the young black boy living with his mom and grandfather, the gentleman Uncle Parsham Hood. Everbe Corinthia sounds like Ever Be Corithia - in ancient Greece around New Testament times to be referred to as a Corinithian Girl was to be called a prostitute or whore; which is what Everbe is. But she has a heart and a desire for love and to quit. All things Faulkner treats expertly.This is Comedy and in the ancient genre of Comedy things end on an up note where the characters in the play are not only restored but some are better off. Which makes this a less than usual Faulkner work and goes a long way to make this novel the most accessible I've read so far. (This is my sixth review, I've read 9 altogether).When I was struggling with this book I thought I'd end up giving it a two or generous three star review. But having finished and ruminated for a day it's a definite four.

William Faulkner had previously won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1949, and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (in 1955 for "A Fable"). This novel won him a second Pulitzer Prize. It was published in 1962, the year of his death.The novel is written in the style of an older man reminiscencing about his youth. Some of the individual sentences ramble and digress, as do some parts of the story, put gradually the plot moves forward. Not everyone will like the writing style. I found the beginning of the novel hard to get into; but as the plot progressed it was hard to put down.It is written as a first person narrative with some dialogue.The setting is in May 1905. Lucius Priest is an 11-year old boy living in a Mississippi town about 80 miles from Memphis, normally a two day drive over dirt roads if it's not raining and the roads are dry. Boon Hogganbeck, of somewhat unknown ancestry, was more or less inherited by the Priest family and works in the family's livery stable as the night man when he is not acting as the driver of an automobile purchased by Lucius's grandfather, a banker in the town. Ned McCaslin is the black coachman for the family.When the adults in the family are called away to the Gulf coast for a funeral, Boon, Lucius, and Ned "borrow" the grandfather's automobile to make a trip to Memphis where they stay overnight in a bordello that Boon has visited in the past. Things become complicated when Ned trades the automobile for a stolen racehorse. Ned has a way with animals, and sees potential in the horse (which has previously lost all of its races). The plot has an interesting ending, and Ned is smarter than people may have thought.Along the way, Lucius learns to drive the automobile, defends a woman's honor, and learns a lot about life that he would never have learned in school.

Many reviewers, and the author, might consider this story one of the lesser efforts of Faulkner. Maybe so, but many readers will find this to be his most enjoyable book. It is less difficult to follow than most of his writings, although still not always easy. His sentences, although interesting, are nevertheless long and complex and often require re-reading to block out a few of the dependent clauses so that the basic meaning of the sentence can be discerned. But many of those sentences are worth re-reading, more than once and not only to get the meaning.The sentences are often very funny and sometimes profound. And that is the appeal of Faulkner, although the profundity of Faulkner can be overrated. Although he is very clever with words and expresses the emotions and attitudes of the pre-industrial/post civil war southern American like no other writer, his intellectual breadth and depth is limited. At times I feel he doesn't understand much beyond the Mississippi of the early 20th century.But in some of his works, generally the less critically acclaimed examples, he is very entertaining. The Reivers is one of those works. My suggestion is that the reader skip the more obscure and darker efforts and brighten the day with the Reivers. It's enough of a challenge for the non-professional reader.If you decide you want to work at your reading you can move on to the more obscure and darker books. I admit I did it the other way around and I don't recommend it.GG

Enjoyed this novel. Preferred As I Lay Dying, and also The Sound and the Fury. But The Reivers was worth reading, not least because is told from the perspective of an eleven year old boy. His faith in his companion, Boon and his disillusion - loss of innocence, is well portrayed. I found myself concerned for his physical welfare! But not for his mental or emotional capacity to withstand - his life up until his adventures had well prepared him for any eventuality. Interesting

I love Faulkners work. This is a farce, he draws such great characters, you can picture them so clearly, a treat.

An extremely goid book.

Quite simply loved it. My first foray into Faulkner, and I believe one of his more accessible novels, but certainly not my last.

Faulkner's last book is whatever critics might say, a masterpiece . It is pure light-hearted comedy, almost a farce, in the spirit and humour of Mark Twain. Unforgettable characters, among which Sanctuary's Miss Reba.