One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner

Very interesting and easy to read. Loved it.

My Review of Jay Parini’s biography of Faulkner for Good Reads:I read 50 books in 2015, ending on New Year's Eve with this very satisfying biography of William Faulkner. I've always admired Faulkner's work having read The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and others at a much earlier age. Jay Parini's excellent biography has reawakened and deepened my interest in Faulkner. I'm currently rereading The Sound and the Fury and plan to read a number of his short stories in 2016. Before reading Parini, I was not so familiar with Faulkner's reputation as a writer of short stories and believe I've discovered a new genre to fill happy hours in 2016. I've also learned of what an excellent biographer Mr. Parini is and was pleased to read he has written a biography of another of my favorite writers, Leo Tolstoy. That book will be on my wish list for 2016.My fascination with Mr. Faulkner was awakened early in my life not only by his genius at detail and description, but because I too am from the old south with family history and stories that date back four generations. I learned with this biography, he is of the generation of my grandparents and much of his dialogue is recognizable to me from my memory of the talk between my grandparents and their friends. On my first reading of Faulkner back in the 1960s I can remember wondering how people who did not grow up in the small town or rural south understood the conversations between his characters. Sometimes it is tough plowing but worth the effort to read Faulkner. Jay Parini's depiction of this very sensitive and brilliant man is appreciative of his excellent character traits such as endless loyalty to friends and family and he withholds harsh judgment of his faults such as his alcoholism.I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys biographies and especially to aspiring writers.

William Faulkner was One Of A Kind. That's made clear in Parini's writing, even if one isn't aware of the incredible body of work Faulkner produced over his lifetime. His work ethic and family ethic was second to none and his self destruction ethic the same. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did. That fact the reader gleans from Parini's research. And he has meticulously researched. He also imposes his critiques at length of Faulkner's work as well as recapping stories. After the first couple of chapters one can read the layout, read the biography of personal material and then skip the recitation of the work---if you've read the work being addressed you may want to go into it a bit, if you haven't the recapitulation will nod you off with its academic approach. You will want to go back and re-read or read for the first time much of Faulkner's material and you'll go back to it with a better understanding when you do... Impressive.

It is a measure of the success of Jay Parini's William Faulkner biography, ONE MATCHLESS TIME, that the overwhelming desire on finishing it is to return to the works of the author and read, or reread, them from the beginning. It is particularly refreshing to find in the sections that analyze the books individually no descent into the obscurantism that pervades so much "professional" literary criticism. Parini's account is, however, marred, as a previous reviewer pointed out, by an unaccountable number of typographical and other mistakes that are no less maddening for their slightness. For example, "Jefferson County" appears several times when Lafayette is intended; there is the birthdate error; and about 20 other typographical glitches. These serve to break the spell that would otherwise propel most readers, I think, to finish this fine book in a gulp.

I was introduced to William Faulkner in college by way of his story "A Rose For Emily". Shortly after reading that story I read "the Barn Burning". At that point I was hooked on William Faulkner. Being a southerner I came to appreciate him, as well as Flannery O'Connor and a number of other southern writers. I've read most of William Faulkner's novels and many of his short stories. But until "One Matchless Time" I'd never read an in depth biography about Faulkner.I'm so glad I read this book. I learned so much about Faulkner's life. This biography, which tells the bad as well as the good about the man, served to increase my appreciation for Faulkner's writings.An added feature of this biography is the synopsis and review of each of Faulkner's works with excerpts from reviews given at the time each work was initially released.If you have ever read anything by William Faulkner, be sure and read this great book about William Faulkner.

I found this a good biography when it WAS a biography. The author also gave readers a summation of each of Faulkner's books in the order they were written as a tie- in to his life. I found these to be a distraction as these were rather long discussions. After awhile, I started skipping them, as I wanted to resume the bio. The book, in my opinion, did not benefit from these interruptions. If included at all, I think it better to be done separate from his life story.

William Faulkner comes alive on the pages of Jay Parini's biography of one of the great writer's of the twentieth century. Readers will feel like they are at Rowan Oak, Faulkner's majestic home in Oxford, Mississippi, experiencing the life of Faulkner, both his successes and failures. Sure, Faulkner could be arrogant and aloof, but he produced books that to this day are revered around the world, while at times drinking himself into stupors that lasted for weeks. Yes, Jay Parini will take readers behind the scenes of Faulkner's prodigious literary talents, and readers will also go along with this great southern writer as he drinks, has affairs, and struggles in everyday life like the rest of us. Parini often writes about writers, and this book on Faulkner stands alongside his biographies of Frost and Steinbeck. Simply put, if you are a Faulkner fan, read this book.