Light in August

By: William Faulkner

Narrated by: Scott Brick

From the Nobel Prize winner—one of the most highly acclaimed writers of the twentieth century—a novel set in the American South during Prohibition about hopeful perseverance in the face of mortality.

Light in August features some of Faulkner’s most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, enigmatic drifter consumed by his mixed ancestry.

“Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.” —William Faulkner

©1932, 1959 William Faulkner (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“For all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made for the greatness of our classics.” —Ralph Ellison

Faulkner on humanity

Faulkner is a writer who portrays the truths of human nature, with ease and grace. The story is a slow and plodding tale of humanity, rife with reality of the racism and sexism, machoism and religiosity of that era. An era not so very much different from the era in which we live, with the exception that people today don't strictly say out loud what they think of others. Faulkner doesn't neglect the charm of southern life, or does he neglect the bigotry, prejudices, and hardships. The clarity of his voice rings and he speaks against the worst aspects of society then and now.

Faulkner is excellent!

This is my first book by William Faulkner. I really enjoyed it. The adventure and intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat.

Great book , loved it .

It had a great narrator , a strong story , and was an overall great read . Would recommend this book to all ,

It was a good book

I like the voice that read it, as well as the story. It was good.

Simply great.

Scott Brick makes for a great narrator for this Faulkner classic. Well recorded reading. Like most of Faulkner's novels this is a gritty, and hard edged look into the human experience of the plight of the common southerner "after the fall". The plight of Joe Christmas and Lena Grove is unforgettable and well adapted for audible.

Excellent audio reading

I have read all of Faulkner’s books, many several times. I decided to use my Audible membership to listen to this amazing work and am glad that I did! The reading was superb and very dramatic. The novel may stun some readers by it’s raciness but in our day of pornography I doubt it will offend many. The writing can be very challenging at times to comprehend but like the reading of Shakespeare will richly reward the persistent and curios listener or reader. I highly recommend this Audible book!

Great narration of a good story

Narrator was great, it is surprising how easy it is to listen to Faulkner's stream of consciousness. The story is good in that Faulknerian sort of way, though it is not my favorite piece.

David GREER,

I have read and reread this book multiple times over the years. It was a pleasure to have a good storyteller. Read it back to me William Faulkner at his best.

Narration

It’s tough to go from Grover Gardner’s reading of Absalom, Absalom! to this. That was brilliant. This reading of Light in August is as though the person reading is not even a professional, but just some dude who hadn’t even picked up the book before they started recording.

Not quite as tedious as Ayn Rand, perhaps

I think this is an important exposure to Southern thinking in the early 1900s, but it is not easy to get through. I think it might have been better with a different reader, as this one over -dramatized every sentence.