23. Reread As I Lay Dying
I have always been a reader. From my start as a lover of Boxcar Children and Babysitters Club up until now, when I’ll read just about anything. Once I got to high school, my reading options opened up to a new world of literary offerings. We read A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 8th grade and Great Expectations in freshman year. I devoured them all and when I started 11th grade, my AP English teacher, Mr. Bancroft, promised more exciting offerings, and he was right! Until…
As I Lay Dying.
This was the book Mr. Bancroft was most enthusiastic about and I loathed the most. I loved the themes of power and corruption in All the King’s Men and the opulence and symbolism of The Great Gatsby. But Faulkner’s tale of the Bundren family threw me off in terms of style in structure in a way that made me complain to friends and think about it years later.
When I was writing my 40 by 40 list, I decided that giving this book another chance would see how far I’ve come in my reading taste. So I jumped back into the world of Darl, Cash, Dewey Dell and the rest of the crew. And y’all, it’s pretty great. The distinct voices of each family member and the desperation of the situation combined to create a stream of consciousness shrouded in death. Has it jumped onto my all-time favorites list? No. Do I now get why Mr. Bancroft was so jazzed on it? Yes.
At the end of it all, I’m glad I gave As I Lay Dying another chance. We all grow and change and it makes me think about what other things I should give another go. For now, it’s another item checked off the 40 by 40 list!
No Comments