Thank you to #NetGalley and #BlackstonePublishing for the opportunity to experience William Faulkner's #TheSoundandtheFury on audiobook. I've read a number of Faulkner novels, but had not read this one. Without the text on hand, the first section (via the POV of Benjy) was a challenge to decipher.. This character has a severe intellectual disability and the section is written as stream of consciousness/snippets moving through time. After I researched some of the characters, their names and relationships to one another, and the style of the initial section, the remainder of the book fell together via the multi-POV presentation. It also in retrospect, gave many of Benjy's recollections and observations clarity.

The Sound and the Fury, published in 1929, depicts the downfall of the formerly affluent Compson family via four different POVs (characters). Listening to this in 2025, its antiquated and offensive racist language, especially in these divisive times, was acutely painful. Jason Compson (in particular) is a completely abhorrent character and his POV, specifically, was one long gut punch.

But that's the nature of the book and not everything in life and literature is lovely. Nor is it just, kind, etc. The audiobook, itself, could NOT be narrated ANY better than the finished product. These four amazing voice actors brought every moment to life and though the novel is tragic --leveling from start to finish -- it is gorgeous in its execution. Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Robin Miles, and Bronson Pinchot. Brilliant!

Painfully unforgettable. On shelves January 7, 2025

"I know how often people make promises just to satisfy their consciences"

Do you know what it feels like to read Faulkner— in this case listening? Faulkner’s writing is feverish, he dares you: Pull it out if you dare. Pull the knife out, so I can find a better place to stick it to you.

His characters writhe in their own self-inflicted torment, they don’t just suffer; caught in a relentless current, where pain, memory, and time collapse into each other.

Scream if you dare. And I always lose this game. I'm not known for my courage.

But still, I let him stick the knife in again.

"I'm bad and I'm going to hell, and I dont care. I'd rather be in hell than anywhere where you are."

I just wanted to share my feelings about this, as I imagine many people know what it’s about and there have been many beautiful reviews.

I read The Sound and the Fury years ago, not in English but in my native language. For a while now, I’ve been planning to reread the books I love in their original English versions, but since I'm not a very good rereader...

I saw The Sound and the Fury on NetGalley (thank you, Blackstone Publishing) and thought the new audio edition would be a great opportunity. It features four narrators, one for each section, which I found fantastic. God, Jason's performance was exactly what it should have been; it really scared me of his reality!

After reading it a second time, I think it truly deserves nothing less than five stars.

Whilst undoubtedly a masterpiece and at the forefront of the ‘stream of consciousness’ movement, this is not an easy book to navigate, with its mixture of time frames and voices in each chapter. The use of different narrators in each chapter of the audiobook certainly helped with this but, as each section is quite long, I found some passages rather flat and monotonous - less of a criticism of the narrators, more a reflection on the southern drawl expounded here.
So, a conundrum - to listen or to read? That might depend on each individual. It’s possibly too much to expect both, but this novel merits it for a full understanding of its complexities. If you are an avid reader who re-reads books, maybe try both. It will be worth your while.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing fro the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Edoardo Ballerini, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Bronson Pinchot, and Robin Miles doe a fantastic job making this classic come to life!

Where to begin??? This is a classic and one of my absolute, most favorite books that I had to listen to! Words cannot describe my elation at seeing this one offered as an audiobook on NetGalley! Thanks!!

I went into The Sound and the Fury completely blind, and I truly had no idea what was happening at first. I had to pause and read a synopsis just to get my bearings. I didn’t realize the first two sections were stream of consciousness, but once I did, it made more sense. The writing style feels like an extension of each character’s identity, making the novel more about how it’s written than what actually happens. It’s like an impressionist painting: disjointed up close but forming something powerful when you step back.

Because of this, the audiobook was sometimes hard to follow. Stream of consciousness is already disorienting in print, but in audio format, it’s even harder to tell when time shifts or thoughts blend into action. This is probably why it took me a while to grasp Faulkner’s narration style. That said, the voice acting was fantastic, with Jason’s narrator making his section especially unsettling. Honestly, I don’t think I could have read this book in print. The narrators made all the difference.

I have mixed feelings about how new productions handle language in older works. I’m not sure why Blackstone chose to include the N-word, and it made me wonder about the decision-making behind that.

In the end, The Sound and the Fury is unrelentingly sad, with no relief—just pure emotional weight. But Faulkner’s writing style is what gives the novel its power. The structure, rhythm, and chaos of the words matter more than the actual story. It’s a novel that isn’t just about telling a tale; it’s about showcasing the art of novel writing itself.

This is a three course meal with four masters of narration as our cooks. I could listen to them read the menu at Cheesecake Factory and be enthralled. I must say, Edoardo Ballerini is top tier. A wonderful wonderful rendition of Faulkner’s work.

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑭𝑼𝑹𝒀 𝒃𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑭𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒓 brought to a fresh audio experience by @blackstonepublishing that is available now. Thank you for the access via @netgalley!

This is a story of the decline of a southern family who believed themselves to be victims of a culture shift after their heights of glory in the era of slavery. Sound a bit familiar?

Told in 4 parts, this family tale begins with Benjy, a intellectually disabled man of 33 whose narrative skips a bit in time and stream of consciousness. I found his part to be fascinating in the level of compassion Faulkner wrote him. I didn't expect there to be clear understanding within some of Benjy's internal monologs.
The 2nd part was Quentin whose bizarre preoccupation with the virginal reputation of his philandering sister, Caddy, had me reflecting on the purity culture of my youth and the similar damage it caused.
The 3rd section is from Jason's perspective and I can't say how deeply I loathed him. This is the younger son whose role changed as various family members left and he did not relish these responsibilities, despite the favor bestowed upon him by his hypochondriac mother. Jason seems to most ferociously embody the patriarchal, racist, anti-Semitic views held so tightly by many southern white men in the early 1900's.
The 4th section is a 3rd person narrative that tells the final piece, often focusing on the observations of Dilsey, the Black woman who aids this family. She is the only one who seems to not be drug into the abyss and I am not a little bit glad.

The decline of the family is sad, only in the sense that they refuse to look outside their own quests for individual power and prestige, mirroring the famous soliloquy in Macbeth from which the title is drawn (beginning with Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...). There is a reason this is a classic, as the themes are unfortunately timeless.

The audio was really fantastic. There were 4 different narrators to take each part and that made it so easy to follow. I have read it is a difficult one due to narrative styles and punctuation choices.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the digital copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read a lot, and my schooling didn't include many classics besides Romeo and Juliet and a Sherlock Holmes story in 9th grade. As an adult, I took college classes on Hemingway and Fitzgerald. I passed on Faulkner at the time. This was my opportunity to remedy that.

I feel like because I just couldn't get into this story that I'm not a literary intellectual, because I just don't understand WHY this is a classic. It's erratic, it's overwritten, it sounds like Faulkner is trying to hard to be great. Maybe it was groundbreaking at the time, I don't know. I mean, he won the Pulitzer, so maybe it's just me.