Just Finished Reading William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

Recently I read one of William Faulkner's novels, his fifth one, titled As I Lay Dying.  In it Faulkner relates the tale of a rural Mississippi family, the Bundrens, as they deal with the circumstances surrounding the mother, Addie, and her sickness and death...and her wish to be buried many miles away in a town called "Jefferson".  Her husband, Anse, goes along with that wish...but he has his own selfish agendas, one of which is to buy himself some "new teeth" for his rotted mouth, and the other...a shocker which is only revealed at the story's end.  In the process, while the entire family goes on the trek to carry Addie's corpse to the eventual burial site...slowly by a mule-drawn cart...he proceeds to bleed his own children of their own property, money, and health,  with little regard to their sufferings.    In this family are three grown sons (Cash, Darl, Jewel), a young son (Vardaman) and one daughter (teenager Dewey Dell). Each family member has their own story to tell, as well as some of the people surrounding them in the story.  And that's how Faulkner presents this tale...filtered through the perspectives of the various characters involved, without a unifying narrative.  Sometimes this makes the story a little difficult to follow, but eventually it all comes together.  By far the most interesting (and compelling) of these perspectives is that of Vardaman, who as a little boy sees everything going around him with open, innocent eyes and with often hilarious, often sad interpretations.  I found myself looking forward, as I made my way through As I Lay Dying, for the next "Vardaman" section...

As I Lay Dying was adapted to film in 2013 by James Franco, who not only directed it but starred as Darl Bundren.  As it was available on Netflix, I watched it after finishing the book.  Although Franco did a masterful job of adhering to the book's format, plot, and characterizations, those "Vardaman" sections that I had enjoyed so much had been significantly cut, sad to say.  Still, I heartily recommend the movie, as well as the book...although you must understand that this literary/cinematic experience may mess with your emotions a bit.  It did for me...