William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is widely considered one of the great American novels. Quite an accomplishment, especially considering that Faulkner wrote the novel in six weeks while working at a power plant in 1929-30. Read more about his day jobs here.
Thanks to HarperCollins, you can now listen to Faulkner, himself, reading from his masterpiece: .au file (4.4 Mb), .gsm file (0.9 Mb), .ra file (0.5 Mb). The audio can be a little difficult to make out at times. But you can read right along with the text in Google Books. Enjoy. Thanks MS.
For more audio classics, check out our collection of Free Audio Books.
MS? as in M$ ?
:-)
As I Lay Dying was always my favorite of all his books. Something about the stoicism of those people reminds me of similar survivors in Texas. The diversity of what he wrote is amazing.
Thanks for posting this. I’ll admit that I haven’t read As I Lay Dying, but I’ve always loved Faulkner’s short stories. Definitely going to give this a listen.
So is this a good choise to read for school or should I pick another one instead?
Machelle, I’ve taught Faulkner’s fiction all my adult life, and I suggest you start with another of his books. I don’t know your age and reading experience, but if you really love books and have read a lot, you might start with his greatest, “Absalom, Absalom!” (It will take a while to get into it,but oh my, it’s worth it). “The Reivers” is Faulkner’s last book and comic and fun. “Light in August” is a book I never can put down. I’ve never understood why “As I Lay Dying” is the Faulkner novel taught in high schools.
THIS BOOK YOU HAVE TO READ OVER AND OVER TO UNDERSTAND IT BUT IT HAS TRAGIC AND COMIC IN IT…