As I Lay Dying: A Norton Critical Edition: Second Edition

“Michael Gorra approaches his second edition of As I Lay Dying with the scholarly care, attention, and intellectual suppleness typical of all his work. Not only does his introduction sparkle—navigating us with ease and fluency through the history and significance of a novel that precisely because of what Gorra rightly calls its formal “perfect[ion]” is often admired less than Faulkner’s other, more “monumental” and “difficult” texts. But Gorra’s choice of supplementary materials also reflects his commitment to presenting his readers with a full and unflinching view of Faulkner as an American writer with an increasingly contentious position within the very canon he helped to shape.” —Pardis Dabashi, Bryn Mawr College

“Place and time play a significant role in the literature of the American South, yet this Critical Edition of As I Lay Dying offers a way of engaging with the work of William Faulkner beyond the traditional boundaries of Southern literature. The accessible readings and criticism that are part of this book allow readers to recognize the ways As I Lay Dying—and all of Faulkner’s literary work—captured an idea of the American South while at the same time uncovering something universal and profound about the human condition.” —W. Ralph Eubanks, University of Mississippi