As I Lay Dying
First edition cover
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| Author | William Faulkner |
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| Genre | Modernist novel, Southern Gothic, black comedy |
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Publication date
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1930 |
| Preceded by | The Sound and the Fury |
| Followed by | Sanctuary |
As I Lay Dying is a 1930 novel, in the genre of Southern Gothic, by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner said that he wrote the novel from midnight to 4:00 AM over the course of six weeks and that he did not change a word of it. Faulkner wrote it while working at a power plant, published it in 1930, and described it as a "". Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature. The title derives from Book XI of Homer's Odyssey, wherein Agamemnon speaks to Odysseus: "As I lay dying, the woman with the dog's eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades."
The novel utilizes stream of consciousness writing technique, multiple narrators, and varying chapter lengths.
The book is narrated by 15 different characters over 59 chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her poor, rural family's quest and motivations—noble or selfish—to honor her wish to be buried in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi.
As the book opens, Addie is alive, though in ill health. Addie and others expect her to die soon, and she sits at a window watching as her firstborn, Cash, builds her coffin. Anse, Addie’s husband, waits on the porch, while their daughter, Dewey Dell, fans her mother in the July heat. The night after Addie dies a heavy rainstorm sets in; rivers rise and wash out bridges the family will need to cross to get to Jefferson.
The family's trek by wagon begins, with Addie’s non-embalmed body in the coffin. Along the way, Anse and the five children encounter various difficulties. Anse stubbornly refuses to accept any charity, including meals or lodging, from people, so at times the family goes hungry and sleeps in barns. Jewel, Addie’s middle child, tries to leave his dysfunctional family, yet cannot turn his back on them through the trials. Cash breaks a leg and winds up riding atop the coffin. He refuses to admit to any discomfort, but the family eventually puts a makeshift cast of concrete on his leg. Twice, the family almost loses Addie’s coffin – first, while crossing a river on a washed-out bridge (two mules are lost) and, second, when a fire of suspicious origin starts in the barn where the coffin is being stored for a night.
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Wikipedia