This collection of recordings begins with William Faulkner himself, reading his brilliant Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Faulkner speaks surprisingly briskly and softly, his light drawl setting the tone for the stories that follow. The all-star cast offers masterful performances of these moody tales. Classic stories such as "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning" are especially engaging, and included in the five-CD set are excerpts from As I Lay Dying, A Fable, and Old Man. Hearing Faulkner's words read aloud so beautifully is extraordinary; even those intimidated by his lengthy sentences will enjoy this nearly flawless collection. L.B.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

The Sound and the Fury is made up of undifferentiated streams of consciousness that ultimately turn out to be the inner voices of a family's siblings. Its construction is so masterful that the last sentence refers the reader back to the first one, as any perfect work of art might do.

Sound has the earmarks of a modern psychological study, although the book was published in 1929. It is a dramatic and harrowing tale of the Compson family's pathology—primarily in the form of incest and incestuous thoughts.