The Unvanquished

by William Faulkner

Book Overview

Set in Mississippi during the Civil War and Reconstruction, THE UNVANQUISHED focuses on the Sartoris family, who, with their code of personal responsibility and courage, stand for the best of the Old South's traditions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679736522
• ISBN13: 9780679736523
• Release Date: October 1991
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Faulkner for beginners

If you've never read a Faulkner novel, this is the perfect place to get your feet wet. I did exactly the opposite, starting with THE SOUND AND THE FURY, AS I LAY DYING and ABSALOM, ABSALOM! Had I read this first, I might have been more accustomed to Faulkner's difficulties (i.e. using pronouns to keep the reader guessing, frequent repetition of key phrases, his habitual use of images and symbols, frequent allusions to the Bible, occasional use of obscure vocabulary, the provision of minimal context to action -- especially early on, lengthy sentences and italic text to indicate a character's interior monologue) and not had to struggle so much when reading his masterpieces. The characters and stories here (and please, read THE UNVANQUISHED as a collection of short stories told chronologically, rather than as a novel) are more simple and fun than his novels. And perhaps that's because he was taking a break from his most serious and difficult work and needed money and a vacation from ABSALOM, ABSALOM! The stories here progress in Faulknerian difficulty, the amount of Southern Gothic tragedy they depict, and the complexity and intricacy of the plots as the book goes along. By the time you're finished reading it, you're ready for SANCTUARY, THE WILD PALMS or LIGHT IN AUGUST. But to dismiss THE UNVANQUISHED as a lesser work somehow, because the stories are more accessable, is to make a big mistake. The stories are teeming with beautiful prose and haunting storytelling, and they have a great deal to reveal about what the South endured during and immediately after the Civil War and about the mindset of Southerners at the time and for a long time afterward.

A Faulkner Classic

You can learn more about Southern history and culture from reading Faulkner than from a dozen "politically correct" textbooks written from a Northern perspective. THE UNVANQUISHED is about the Sartoris family during the time of the Civil War and Reconstruction. It's narrated by the boy Bayard, who is too young at first to really understand what is going on; the limited perspective of the narrator, the unconcern to explain the background to events, provides much of Faulkner's famous difficulty (it's said that you have to have already read a Faulkner novel in order to "read" it). But this "difficulty" is central to Faulkner's art, and to the meaning of his works. Bayard is a Sartoris through and through, which means he is fiercely independent, courageous, and stubborn as a mule. His Father is a colonel in the Confederate Army, and a legend in his own time. Even though the South was defeated, we learn that they were ultimately "unvanquished" in spirit. This novel really helps readers to understand the tragedy and chaos of the Civil War for the South, the destruction of their homes and cities, their traditions, and their whole way of life. Even though slavery is finally unjustifiable, much that was good and noble was lost and destroyed in the War. The description of hundreds and thousands newly-freed slaves wandering the roads searching for "Jordan" is unforgettable. Ultimately, the Sartoris family survives, but at great cost. They keep their values and integrity intact. Unlike some of Faulkner's other novels, this is finally a tale of heroism and triumph, but never sentimental.

Faulkner's Fascinating and Courageous Characters

If you haven't read any of Faulkner's works, this is a good place to begin. The Sartoris family lives through Faulkner's books. The plot centers on the familiy's personal experiences in the South during the Civil War. History comes alive on the pages of The Unvanquished, and the reader gains a better understanding of the Confederate viewpoint by witnessing the southern struggle to survive the destruction of their homes, families, and way of life. I heartily recommend this book.

underrated masterpiece

professional literary scholars underrate this novel which is actually a collection of stories but because each story occura at a later time than the one previous it comes across s a novel. This is one of Faulkner's esier to read books and is a great introduction. I also love THE SOUND AND THE FURY, AS I LAY DYING,LIGHT IN AUGUST and ABSALOM ABSALOMbut I think THE UNVANQUISHED joins those novels as five star Faulkner classics.

The Gateway to Faulkner

This book, in my opinion, is the best introduction to Faulkner possible where the reader has a chance to become accustomed to the sentence structure (to some extent: the longest sentence in The Unvanquished doesn't seem to run for even a page, making this quite simplistic by Faulknerian standards) without having to worry about an overly confused plot. Although there are parts where the reader will have to back up and read a passage over, it is far more straightforward than others of Faulkner's works.This story chronicles the growth of Bayard Sartoris from the child who thinks war is a game (even though it isn't all that far from him) and can't imagine the consequences when he plays his games a little too close to the Yankees (Ambuscade) into a man who, when faced with the tragedy of his father's demise, must make this decision: who lives by the sword shall die by it--is it time to change the Southern tradition of bloodshed?It is also the story of the South as it undergoes its most severe upheaval in its history: the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the effect on its people.In my opinion, the best way to get acquainted with Faulkner is to begin with The Unvanquished. Once you're done with that, I suggest Intruder in the Dust. Be warned, though, that the latter isn't nearly as simple as The Unvanquished and there is a sentence that (if I recall correctly) runs for five or six pages (or more, but I'm not entirely sure). The good thing, at least, is that you can get used to the confusing syntax while the plot is still reasonably clear: what is clearer than a murder mystery and story of racial injustice (which, as the reader will gather from The Unvanquished, is one of the themes with which Faulkner is concerned in almost all his works)? Once you are used to seeing things from a somewhat blurred perspective (and to dealing with that syntax and stream-of-consciousness technique), I suggest moving on to Go Down, Moses (but you REALLY need to look at a McCaslin genealogy first, and to do this you should go to William Faulkner On the Web), and the stories in this book range from fairly simple to truly confusing (The Bear: it is in this story where you will be very glad you read Intruder In the Dust first!). And finally, you're ready for The Sound and the Fury (all of this, of course, is my own opinion about Faulkner; the reader may tackle these books in any order which he or she chooses: BUT DEFINITELY START WITH THE UNVANQUISHED!)