As I Lay Dying is a complicated book with a complicated reputation. On the one hand, it is much shorter and much less obtuse than the rest of Faulkner’s novels, and yet . . . it is still William Faulkner. If you have not considered yourself a fan, please give it a try. Faulkner is an essential, hugely influential author for a reason and we’re going to take a crack at explaining why. (Still need some convincing? Try this brief apology from Robert McCrum). Plus, what’s the point of letting a bad high school or college course get in the way of reading something with a community as wonderful as the Close Reads one has become?
Joining us? Well then scroll down to find the reading schedule for the next few weeks, a tour through some of this book’s more famous (and infamous) covers, and more.
Still need to snag a copy of this book? We always recommend you buy from your local bookstore if you can, but if you want to buy it through Goldberry you can do that here.
Reading Schedule
As I Lay Dying does not have numbered chapter headings and we will collectively be using a wide variety of editions, so its a bit tricky to determine how to explain the section breakdowns. But what I have done is divided the book into four parts that seem to make the most sense and below I have included the final line of the section to read for that week. Here it is:
Episode 1 ( February 4): Vardaman’s POV ending in “he was there and he seen it, and will both of us it will be and then it will not be.” This is page 58 in the Modern Library edition.
Episode 2 (February 11): Darl’s POV ending in “I knew that as plain on that day as I knew about Dewey Dell on that day.” This is page 118 in the Modern Library edition.
Episode 3 (February 18): Moseley’s POV ending in “That’s a fact, he said.” This is page 182 in the Modern Library edition.
Episode 4 (February 25): To the end of the book.
Episode 5 (March 4): Q&A Episode
As I Lay Dying Covers Over the Years
Our little tour of Death on the Nile covers went over so well that I figured I would do it again. Maybe I’ll make it a regular feature of these newsletters. As with any genuine classic, As I Lay Dying has had a wide variety of cover art, from the simplicity of early 1930s first editions (which you can see below) to the much more avant garde editions that became popular later in the century. But it also might have the single worst book cover ever designed for a classic. Click here for a peak.
Here’s that first edition, which I believe shipped with a blue trimmed slip case, but I haven’t seen one in the wild.
In the 1940s As I Lay Dying was published alongside The Sound and the Fury in this edition:
This edition from Penguin in 1963 is one of the more famous covers of this book, and features a nod to Penguin’s original design style that was created when they first launched Penguin Books in 1935 with their “original ten.” I’d love to get my hands on one of these.
This hard cover edition from Random House in 1964 mirrors the first edition simplicity but is also in keeping with the design styles that were popular in mid-century book design.
In 1987, Vintage released a “Corrected Text” edition that is incredibly ubiquitous at this point. If you have ever been to a large warehouse-style used bookstore you have seen this cover (perhaps ten times over).
Or this one, which is another famous one from the 1960s, a mass market paperback in this case:
And you might also recognize this version, which was release in 1990, also by Vintage.
The Folio Society’s cover is quite interesting, as you would expect . . .
And more recently Modern Library released this nice, cloth bound hard cover edition, which is the version I will be reading:
This is just a small sampling of some of the variety in covers for this book. Which is your favorite?
In Case You Missed It
Over on “The Play’s the Thing”, Tim, Heidi, and co. have been discussing Henry IV, Part I
Over on Patreon, we’re discussing Anna Karenina. Hope you’ll join us!
Oh yeah, and on this week’s episode Tim shared some very exciting personal news. Don’t miss that where you get podcasts.
Coming up Next on Close Reads
1984: March 11-April 8
A Raisin in the Sun: April 15
Tess of the D'urbervilles (featuring Karen Swallow Prior!): April 22 - June 24
A Month in the Country: July 1-15
Week off / No show: July 22
Laurus: July 29 - September 9
A Gentleman in Moscow (featuring Ian Andrews!): September 16 - November 4
My Name is Asher Lev: November 11 - December 23
End of the Year (2022) Pods: December 30
Until next time, happy reading!
-D