Faulkner

I have been reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. I have read it previously but decided to give it another shot. While I enjoy the sudden shifts in perspective and the stream-of-consciousness approach to his writing, there seems to be something lacking. I picture myself reading a cheap knock-off of The Canterbury Tales. The characters in As I Lay Dying are on a pilgrimage, if you will, but they don't seem to be interacting with one another in a believable manner. I understand this is supposed to emphasize how people detach themselves from the world in the presence of catastrophes and death, but enough is enough. I am halfway through and still don't feel any connection to the family members or townspeople. I have no idea how this book has ever been labeled a "tour de force". The characters, especially the women, don't really convey true human emotion.

I am pretty sure that Faulkner introduced the stream-of-consciousness style of narration (if memory serves correctly), but it's not fluid as most stream-of-consciousness writings are now. This books is severely disjointed. Maybe people in the 1930s didn't think the same way we think now. I find that hard to digest, simply because evolution has not changed our brains that quickly.

I'd love to have you share your thoughts. Please comment and give me something to go on to finish this book.