Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav

Absalom, Absalom!

By William Faulkner

By William Faulkner

By William Faulkner
Foreword by John Jeremiah Sullivan

By William Faulkner
Foreword by John Jeremiah Sullivan

By William Faulkner

By William Faulkner

By William Faulkner
Read by Grover Gardner

By William Faulkner
Read by Grover Gardner

Best Seller

Part of Vintage International

Part of Vintage International

Paperback $16.95

Jan 30, 1991 | ISBN 9780679732181

Hardcover $24.00

Nov 09, 1993 | ISBN 9780679600725

Ebook $10.99

May 18, 2011 | ISBN 9780679641438

Audiobook Download $22.50

Jan 08, 2008 | 756 Minutes

All Formats
+
    Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
    Paperback $16.95
    Jan 30, 1991 | ISBN 9780679732181

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (3) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.95

      Jan 30, 1991 | ISBN 9780679732181

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Hardcover
    +

    • Hardcover $24.00

      Nov 09, 1993 | ISBN 9780679600725

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      May 18, 2011 | ISBN 9780679641438

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About Absalom, Absalom!

    NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • Family drama and the legacy of slavery haunt this epic tale of an enigmatic stranger in Jefferson, Mississippi—from one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century. 

    “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
     
    Absalom, Absalom! is Faulkner’s epic tale of Thomas Sutpen, a man who comes to the South in the early 1830s to wrest his mansion out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness. He was a man, Faulkner said, “who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him.”

    About Absalom, Absalom!

    From the Modern Library’s new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by William Faulkner—also available are Snopes, As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and Selected Short Stories

    First published in 1936, Absalom, Absalom! is William Faulkner’s ninth novel and one of his most admired. It tells the story of Thomas Sutpen and his ruthless, single-minded attempt to forge a dynasty in Jefferson, Mississippi, in 1830. Although his grand design is ultimately destroyed by his own sons, a century later the figure of Sutpen continues to haunt young Quentin Compson, who is obsessed with his family legacy and that of the Old South. “Faulkner’s novels have the quality of being lived, absorbed, remembered rather than merely observed,” noted Malcolm Cowley. “Absalom, Absalom! is structurally the soundest of all the novels in the Yoknapatawpha series—and it gains power in retrospect.” This edition follows the text of Absalom, Absalom! as corrected in 1986 under the direction of Faulkner expert Noel Polk and features a new Foreword by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

    About Absalom, Absalom!

    NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • Family drama and the legacy of slavery haunt this epic tale of an enigmatic stranger in Jefferson, Mississippi—from one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century. 

    “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
     
    Absalom, Absalom! is Faulkner’s epic tale of Thomas Sutpen, a man who comes to the South in the early 1830s to wrest his mansion out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness. He was a man, Faulkner said, “who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him.”

    About Absalom, Absalom!

    ABSALOM, ABSALOM! tells the story of Thomas Sutpen, the enigmatic stranger who came to Jefferson township in the early 1830s. With a French architect and a band of wild Haitians, he wrung a fabulous plantation out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness.

    Sutpen was a man, Faulker said, “who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him.” His tragedy left its impress not only on his contemporaries but also on men who came after, men like Quentin Compson, haunted even into the 20th century by Sutpen’s legacy of ruthlessness and singleminded disregard for the human community.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also in Vintage International

    Out (Special Edition)
    More Than I Love My Life

    Also in Vintage International

    Out (Special Edition)
    More Than I Love My Life

    Also by William Faulkner

    These 13
    The Essential Faulkner
    The Wishing Tree
    A Rose for Emily and Other Stories
    Flags in the Dust
    See all books by William Faulkner

    Also by William Faulkner

    These 13
    The Essential Faulkner
    The Wishing Tree
    A Rose for Emily and Other Stories
    Flags in the Dust
    See all books by William Faulkner

    Also by William Faulkner

    These 13
    The Essential Faulkner
    The Wishing Tree
    A Rose for Emily and Other Stories
    Flags in the Dust
    See all books by William Faulkner

    Also by William Faulkner

    These 13
    The Essential Faulkner
    The Wishing Tree
    A Rose for Emily and Other Stories
    Flags in the Dust
    See all books by William Faulkner

    About William Faulkner

    William Faulkner, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. He published his first book, The Marble Faun, in 1924, but it is as a literary chronicler of life in… More about William Faulkner

    About William Faulkner

    William Faulkner, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. He published his first book, The Marble Faun, in 1924, but it is as a literary chronicler of life in… More about William Faulkner

    About William Faulkner

    William Faulkner, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. He published his first book, The Marble Faun, in 1924, but it is as a literary chronicler of life in… More about William Faulkner

    About William Faulkner

    William Faulkner, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. He published his first book, The Marble Faun, in 1924, but it is as a literary chronicler of life in… More about William Faulkner

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Vintage
    Jan 30, 1991 | 320 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780679732181

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Hardcover | $24.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Nov 09, 1993 | 432 Pages | 5-3/8 x 8 | ISBN 9780679600725

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Ebook | $10.99
    Published by Vintage
    May 18, 2011 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9780679641438

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $22.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jan 08, 2008 | 756 Minutes | ISBN 9780739325414

    Praise

    “For range of effect, philosophical weight, originality of style, variety of characterization, humor, and tragic intensity, [Faulkner’s works] are without equal in our time and country.” —Robert Penn Warren
     
    “He is the greatest artist the South has produced…. Indeed, through his many novels and short stories, Faulkner fights out the moral problem which was repressed after the nineteenth century [yet] 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 greatness of our classics.” —Ralph Ellison

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates from William Faulkner
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook