The Hamlet

By: William Faulkner

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

The Hamlet, the first novel of Faulkner's Snopes trilogy, is both an ironic take on classical tragedy and a mordant commentary on the grand pretensions of the antebellum South and the depths of its decay in the aftermath of war and Reconstruction. It tells of the advent and the rise of the Snopes family in Frenchman's Bend, a small town built on the ruins of a once-stately plantation. Flem Snopes – wily, energetic, a man of shady origins – quickly comes to dominate the town and its people with his cunning and guile.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of William Faulkner's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews James Lee Burke about the life and work of William Faulkner – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.©1954, 1976 William Faulkner (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Charming

In the past, many people thought The four door tragedies were the only books worthy of study and attention. Times have changed, and now we are beginning to appreciate the rambling and charming lighthearted feel of the trilogy of which the Hamlet is the first. I re-read it many times and each time enjoyed it more.

The Long, Hot Summer

This is the first in the Snopes trilogy focusing on the decline of Southern aristocracy in Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County with the concurrent rise of capitalism via the squirrely, cold-blooded and crooked Snopes family. The Hamlet explores the Snopes clan's early years as they rise to power while the mainstay families--the Compsons and the Sartorises--decline in wealth and influence.

Abner "Ab" Snopes, the family patriarch, moves his wife and two kids to Frenchman's Bend from parts unknown, and Ab begins life as a tenant farmer on Varner property. Someone learns that Ab might have once been a horse thief and the citizenry learns the hard way that he is also a barn burner. Ab's son Flem, who I guess one could call the anti-hero of the trilogy, begins his ascent in Volume I as a store clerk, up to landowner and entrepreneur trader.

A Faulkner oddity: Ike Snopes, a cousin, is a dim-witted ne'er-do-well who develops carnal attractions--unrequited, thank goodness--for a cow.

This has my interest enough to continue with the trilogy, but with no true sense of anticipation. As all but Light in August, one must be diligent and persevere to gain reward in its reading.


An interesting tidbit: I am fairly certain this is the only Faulkner novel made into a relatively big budget film or to see moderate success, as "The Long, Hot Summer" (1958), starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Angela Lansbury and Orson Welles, the last of whom has the absolute worst Southern accent that's ever made it to the silver screen.

Well-Read

I like the way the reader does the accents. He's not a southerner but he does well enough that you can tell the character who is speaking by the way he reads - except, of course, when Faulkner himself forgets who is speaking - I still don't completely understand the book and probably never will, which is a good thing, because it's like a gold mine you can go back to over and over again and it never runs dry.

Great narrator, great book, better read than heard

The narrator of this book is excellent. The stories themselves are excellent. The complexity of Faulkner's sentences and story structure, however, often forced me to rewind, because I wasn't certain if I had missed something.

Each story was fascinating, with tales of trickery and veniality mixed in with occasional kindness and hope.

I certainly cannot fault the narrator, who does a wonderful job with accents and differentiating the different speakers. Having read (in print) other books by Faulkner, I knew that he loves a rambling sentence, and always tells a moving tale.

If I had read this book (in print) before, perhaps I would not have been as confused by the sometimes abrupt turns the stories took.

It's book well worth reading, beautifully narrated, but I would recommend that if you haven't encountered Faulkner before, or if you like obvious continuity, you get the print edition.

And We Thought Control Freaks Were a New Phenom

What did you love best about The Hamlet?

I did not "love" The Hamlet. I was fascinated by it, kind of like being fascinated by a snake. These are mostly not nice people Faulkner writes about. He's not mocking them. He's reporting.

The images are vivid and the language is a treasure. I loved listening to the words. But it is not a comfortable book.

Very well read!

Great novel.
Very well read.
Also includes an interesting conversation at the end.
Loved it.

Narrator

This reading is not terrible, but I don’t know how somebody who reads for a living can mispronounce so many words. Faulkner deserves better than most of the people who read his audiobooks, except for Grover Gardner, who is awesome.

Love Faulkner!

Would you listen to The Hamlet again? Why?

Yes, I have listened to parts of it again.

Have you listened to any of Joe Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, his voice is so smooth and comfortable.

Wrong Narator

The book is excellent. The narrator is completely wrong. I don’t think a southern accent is necessary, but this guy is some sort of northerner or Midwesterner. It simply doesn’t work, takes something away from the whole experience. Yeah

Their Only Chance to be Beautiful?

Faulkner's language is absolutely gorgeous, moving in wafts of sense-filled images through the reader/listener's mind and Joe Barrett's reading of it is perfection. I have read most of Faulkner's novels more than once (Absalom, Absalom, being my favorite). But times have changed and I was surprised by my patience being tried by the less-than-desirable characters. Getting older, I also find myself less patient with aspects of stories than seem contrived to shock; after decades of news, movies, and reading I find little actually shocking about "human" behavior so the attempts seem more artifice than art. So, I remind myself that Faulkner wrote in different times.

In Richard Ford's novel, Canada, which I read about the same time as listening to The Hamlet, I was struck by an artist character who explained that she painted ugly, plain, decaying buildings because it was their only chance to be beautiful. I'm thinking this is a way to look at ugly, ignorant and cruel behavior told in beautiful language. So I am still considering spending 2 more credits to complete the Snopes trilogy read so beautifully by Joe Barrett.