With the possible exception of Twain, the greatest American novelist. A brilliant narrative control coupled with exquisite use of the language. Always a pleasure to read.

Rose for Emily and Barn Burning are terrific short stories.

Faulkner was one of the most innovative and influential American novelists of the 20th Century. The most interesting aspect of his work revolved around his use of 'streams of consciousness', ramblings that seem to represent different points-of-view, but that same randomness is actually all an illusion. Like many classical writers, he uses this technique to communicate a point about 'society as it is and how it once was'. In many of Faulkner's works, these streams of consciousness are used to illustrate how the legacy of slavery and the plantation culture in the South endures even until today. Faulkner's style illustrates how these themes continue to define America even in the modern era.

The greatest American novelist of the 20th century and perhaps the best of them all: lightyears ahead of Twain, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald and others whom the literary troglodytes on this site consider great writers. Faulkner, following the lead of James Joyce, injected into the American novel an unprecedented degree of inventiveness and innovation and took the narrative well beyond the mere storytelling function his literary forebears embraced. Faulkner's manipulation of time and memory, his subtle nuancing of narrative voice and character perspective, his solid structuralism intermixed with awesome lyricism are the technical breakthroughs he engendered. This guy was a truly great stylist with total command over his writerly resources. Thematically, his blunt examination of Southern attitudes, ethos and values well past the end of the Civil War, his dark and gothic vision of the lost and unredeemable, his examinations of class antagonism and familial antipathy, his take on race and anti-Northern sentiment make the cliche-ridden, obvious and mundane observations of a writer like Harper Lee seem childish, stupid and naive. Interesting, and telling, that one book wonder Lee is ranked 17th on this list and the greatest of them all is ranked in the low 40s. That's like ranking dinner at MacDonalds over dinner at the Four Seasons. Faulkner's greatest books: The Sound and the Fury (if there ever was a Great American Novel, this is it), As I Lay Dying (a straight-forward and entertaining tale told from multiple perspectives), Light in August (a book of rare and dark beauty, extremely well written), Absolom, Absolom (perhaps his masterpiece), and Intruder in the Dust (probably the best of his later books). He also wrote another half dozen books of varying merit and was a master of the short story. His influence on other Southern writers is inescapable. A true American cultural treasure who was overlooked during most of his lifetime and still misunderstood 40 years after his death.

Hard and dark, I love and hate the way Faulkner can make me feel. His skills are unique, you don't want to read him if you are feeling down.

Too bad he didn't use a shotgun too.

Absalom, Absalom-- one of the best novels ever written.

For "an author of literary merit," his writing is pretty good. One of the few I actually read in high school.

William Faulkner writes good stories. As I Lay Dying was pretty confusing. The fact thtat the dead woman spoke is bewildering.

Faulkner's works as large as Light In August and as short as "A Rose For Emily" exemplify a style of writing that is uniquely his own. He displays the Southern environment like no other.