Light in August

Light in August is a 1932 novel by the American author William Faulkner. Light in August is an exploration of racial conflict in the society of the Southern United States. Originally Faulkner planned to call the novel Dark House, which also became the working title for Absalom, Absalom! Supposedly, one summer evening while sitting on a porch, his wife remarked on the strange quality that light in the south has during the month of August. Faulkner... more

Light in August is a 1932 novel by the American author William Faulkner. Light in August is an exploration of racial conflict in the society of the Southern United States. Originally Faulkner planned to call the novel Dark House, which also became the working title for Absalom, Absalom! Supposedly, one summer evening while sitting on a porch, his wife remarked on the strange quality that light in the south has during the month of August. Faulkner rushed out of his chair to his manuscript, scratched out the original title, and pencilled in Light in August. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The narrative structure consists of three connected plot-strands. The first strand tells the story of Lena Grove, a young pregnant woman who is trying to find the father of her unborn child, Lucas Burch. With that purpose she leaves her home town and walks several hundred miles afoot to Jefferson, a town in Faulkner's fictional... less