The Reivers in Reading with Style

Jul 02, 2017 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-reads, author-faulkner, classics, mid-20th-century, awards-pulitzer

This has the subtitle "A Reminiscence" and, as Faulkner's last novel, when I saw that I thought perhaps it was somewhat autobiographical. Then, the opening line:

Grandfather Said: This is the kind of a man Boon Hogganbeck was. Hung on the wall, it could have been his epitaph, like a Bertillon chart or a police poster; any cop in north Mississippi would have arrested him out of any crowd after merely reading the date.

So, instead it is the reminiscence of a man who is now a grandfather, (probably This has the subtitle "A Reminiscence" and, as Faulkner's last novel, when I saw that I thought perhaps it was somewhat autobiographical. Then, the opening line:

Grandfather Said: This is the kind of a man Boon Hogganbeck was. Hung on the wall, it could have been his epitaph, like a Bertillon chart or a police poster; any cop in north Mississippi would have arrested him out of any crowd after merely reading the date.

So, instead it is the reminiscence of a man who is now a grandfather, (probably telling his grandson) of events in 1905 when he was eleven years old. The description of this being a comic novel is accurate. Faulkner also spent some time as a screenwriter and I could see such a movie, even though I've never seen the film. I just went to look and see that one of my very favorite actors, Steven McQueen, played Boon. He was cast perfectly, I think.

In my mind's eye, I could see Faulkner writing this. He became the grandfather telling this story. He lived it as it filled the page. And so, too, did I live the story as I read. The trip to Memphis is eventful. And who takes an 11-year old boy to a whorehouse? But it is even better than that. I have a pretty good vocabulary, but somehow I missed the meaning of the title, which I found on the back flap of my copy: reive (reave) take away by stealth or force; plunder. It isn't just Boon and Lucius on this trip, but also Ned, a negro employee of Lucius' own grandfather, has stowed away. Ned was my favorite character. Boon saw the opportunity to "use" the car for 4 days while Lucius' parents and grandparents were away, but it was Ned who would plot to take full advantage of that opportunity.

Before I finished this, I spent a bit of time here on GR making sure that I had all of Faulkner's fiction on any of my wishlists, noting whether I needed to buy them in digital format, or whether they are available from my library. I have enjoyed my time spent with other Faulkner titles, but this finally convinced me I would like to read everything. Yes, some of his novels are challenging, and few of them are comic. But he's just too good to pass up. ...more

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Sep 16, 2013 Kate S rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013

This is not what I expected when I picked up my second Faulkner. The story seemed rather straight-forward. The narrator being a man remembering a time when he was an 11-year-old boy made the adult vocabulary (more big words, not four letter words) a little incongruous with the simplistic ideas displayed. This was another good work for someone who is terrified of Faulkner.

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