Reading Faulkner: Sanctuary

Reading Faulkner Series

by Edwin T. Arnold, Dawn Trouard

A handbook for interpreting William Faulkner’s most violent and shocking novel

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Ernest Ohlmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful aid in reading William Faulkner's novel Sanctuary. It provided a useful complement that gave extra commentary and explanations of the various sections of the novel. The author, Edwin Arnold, is an acknowledged expert in Faulkner studies and writes very clearly. Since Sanctuary is fairly straightforward to read compared to some other Faulkner novels, I did not find this book quite as useful as some others in the Reading Faulkner Series. However, the chronology of Sanctuary does jump around a bit, so this guide was useful in keeping tract of the event timeline. The author recommends reading Sanctuary first and then using the guide during a second rereading of the novel. I didn't do that, but read it in conjunction with my first read of the novel. A downside of this was that the guide contained some spoilers which discuss events that I hadn't yet encountered in the novel. Nevertheless, it helped a lot in following the action of the novel. I might mention that another book by Cleanth Brooks - William Faulkner: The Yoknapatawpha Country, Chapter 7 - has an excellent treatment of Sanctuary with analysis and criticism. I highly recommend it as as well as Dr. Arnold's guide.