Sanctuary: The Corrected Text Summary and Reviews

Sanctuary: The Corrected Text
by William Faulkner

Sanctuary: The Corrected Text
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $6.00
You Save: $7.95 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.98 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: William Faulkner
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1993-12-06
ISBN: 0679748148
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Vintage

Book Reviews of Sanctuary: The Corrected Text

Book Review: Excellent read
Summary: 4 Stars

Sanctuary was written by William Faulkner in 1931, purely for money, according to Faulkner himself. It came in the wake of the commercial failure of The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, and was markedly more popular, though much criticised for violence and immorality.
Sanctuary, unlike its predecessors, has a linear narrative which is easy to follow, for the most part. The plot is set in motion when rich kids Gowan Stevens and Temple Drake crash their car and seek help in a bootlegger's house, where they are given accomodation for the night.
This house is inhabited not only by the bootlegger Goodwin and his wife but also by various friends(?) of his including the shadowy and threatening Popeye. The scenario at this point is somewhat reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre or other such movies. There is an atmosphere of simmering violence but the actual violence is never openly described.
Following the commission of a crime at the bootlegger's house, the focus widens to include local lawyer Horace Benbow, a mild and decent everyman who becomes involved in the case because he believes that the wrong man has been arrested( and the reader knows that he is correct in this) and possibly also because he has feelings for the defendant's wife. The action later moves to a brothel(the "sanctuary" of the title?) where members of the Snopes family, recurring characters in Faulkner, appear, and serve primarily as comic relief.
Overall this is a somewhat lurid and sensationalist tale, by 1930's standards, at least. The violence is not accompanied by any moral judgemant by the author. As with most of Faulkner's books, he gives no clue as to where his sympathies lie; this is one of his great strengths, imo. This is a very readable book, suspenseful, sometimes funny, set in a dark, cruel and unsentimental world( most similar to Light in August). Though no masterpiece, this book is sure to appeal to all devotees of Faulkner and his particular worldview, and is also an accessible starting-point for those unfamiliar with this great writer.

Literature & Fiction Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in The Fourth Age (Chaotic) of Harold Bloom's Canon (Part 15)
The Day of the Locust (Signet Classic) ImageThe Day of the Locust (Signet Classic)
by Nathanael West
Signet Classics; Published: 1983-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.45
A Cool Million (American Collection) ImageA Cool Million (American Collection)
by Nathanael West
Assembled Stories; Published: 1998-12; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $26.56
Price in other shops: $34.95
Miss Lonelyhearts ImageMiss Lonelyhearts
by Nathanael West
Avon, 1933.; Published: 0000; Paperback; Book
Their Eyes Were Watching God ImageTheir Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2006-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics) ImageThe Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics)
by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-03-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: $16.00
Garden of Eden ImageGarden of Eden
by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1995-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.47
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Sun Also Rises ImageThe Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 2006-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.39
Price in other shops: $15.00
A Farewell To Arms ImageA Farewell To Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1995-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition ImageThe Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition
by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1998-08-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops: $22.00
Collected Stories of William Faulkner ImageCollected Stories of William Faulkner
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1995-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.89
Price in other shops: $19.95
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Intruder in the Dust ImageIntruder in the Dust
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-10-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.60
Price in other shops: $12.95
Collected Stories of William Faulkner ImageCollected Stories of William Faulkner
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1995-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.89
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Wild Palms: [If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem] ImageThe Wild Palms: [If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem]
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1995-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops: $13.95
The Hamlet ImageThe Hamlet
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-10-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Unvanquished ImageThe Unvanquished
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-10-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops: $13.95
The Sound and the Fury ImageThe Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.84
Price in other shops: $11.95
As I Lay Dying ImageAs I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.24
Price in other shops: $12.95
Light in August (The Corrected Text) ImageLight in August (The Corrected Text)
by William Faulkner
Vintage International/Random House; Published: 1990-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.30
Price in other shops: $13.95
Go Down, Moses ImageGo Down, Moses
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.70
Price in other shops: $13.95
Absalom, Absalom! ImageAbsalom, Absalom!
by William Faulkner
Vintage; Published: 1991-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.43
Price in other shops: $13.95