As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Originally published in 1930, William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" gives the account of one family's mission to bury their mother in a distant city. Addie Bundren claims her final resting place should be near her relatives in Jefferson, Mississippi as opposed to at home. Her request is indicative of the relationship she has with her immediate family.

As I Lay Dying is the story of The Bundren family: Anse, Addie, Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman. Addie, the matriarch, is dying, and Cash, the eldest son, is building her casket while she watches. Once Addie dies, the Bundrens make an arduous journey to Jefferson to bury her-a journey which is the key of the story.

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We’re introduced to Anse, Addie’s stubborn but lazy husband who has promised he will bury her body in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. Cash is the eldest son, a skilled carpenter who obsessively builds Addie’s coffin rather than grieving openly. Darl is the odd one, very insightful and intelligent but ostracized by the rest of his family. Then there’s Jewel, Addie’s illegitimate son from a secret affair. Jewel is completely callous, despite being his mother’s favorite child. Dewey Dell is the only daughter, and she is hiding an out-of-wedlock pregnancy from the rest of her family. Last is Vardaman, the youngest child, who is confused by his mother’s death and offers a very unique and innocent perspective on the situation.

Neighbors and friends also comment throughout the novel as the Bundrens embark on a long journey to bury Addie. Always cursed by bad luck, the family encounters every obstacle imaginable across the state.

On the way to Jefferson, Addie's body decomposes in the extraordinarily hot weather and produces a foul smell. The weather conditions are atrocious; the constant rain has flooded out the main bridges. When the family tries to cross the most stable of the bridges, it collapses, sending the horses, Cash and the coffin into the rising water. Cash survives, but he suffers a broken leg that festers all the way to Jefferson.

Anse mortgages his farming tools and trades Jewel's horse for a new team of mules, so that the family can move forward. Jewel vanishes from the farm in which they are staying. As the Bundrens pass through Mottson, they pour cement around Cash's leg in a futile attempt to set and heal it, and Dewey Dell tries to get an abortion from a local pharmacist, with no luck. When the evening comes, they stay at the Gillespie barn.  One night, Vardaman sees Darl set fire to the barn, causing its imminent destruction. Jewel dashes into the barn to save his mother's coffin and several farm animals and burns his back while doing so.

The family sets out the next day for Jefferson and arrives prepared to bury Addie. A local pharmacy worker seduces Dewey Dell as she attempts to get an abortion, while Peabody (Doctor) tends to Cash's now-destroyed leg. The family discovers that Darl is the man responsible for setting fire to the Gillespie barn and realizes that Gillespie plans to sue them. Instead of sending him to jail, Anse arranges for Darl to be committed to a mental asylum. Darl laughs hysterically on the train to Jackson, his new home.

Anse visits a local house to borrow spades to bury his dead wife, and consequently spends time with another woman. After they bury Addie, Anse returns the spades and does not come back to the wagon until the following morning. When he returns, he is clean-shaven, has a mouthful of new teeth, a gramophone, and a new wife.

Additionally, Faulkner’s “stream of consciousness” technique allows readers to get inside each character’s head. This makes the story more realistic, but it also makes it harder to follow due to the many incoherent thoughts of the main characters and the rough Southern slang. That being said, “As I Lay Dying” is a book that will infuriate you, sadden you and confuse you, but it is also a book that you will never forget.