As I Lay Dying

At the heart of this 1930 novel is the Bundren family's bizarre journey to Jefferson to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Faulkner lets each family member, including Addie, and others along the way tell their private responses to Addie's life.

*May Contain Spoilers*

William Faulkner has always been a favorite author of mine. Especially since I studied at a college with a center dedicated to his works and had a few professors who taught his work in class. As I Lay Dying is one of Faulkner's best works and it's uniqueness is fresh and inspiring. In this book he utilized stream of consciousness writing, giving his narrators freedom to be themselves. As the mother of the Bundren family dies, her husband and children plan to fulfill their promise of taking her to Jackson to be buried. 

Each character has a bit about them that readers can relate to. Though they also have their faults and make a number of mistakes. Looking at Addie first, the mother, readers see that she was never a real loving person. She didn't enjoy motherhood and after she had given her husband enough children, she decided that she was ready to die. Anse, the father, is manipulative and uses his status as a poor man to guilt his neighbors into helping him. I suppose he tries his best, but he's a bit too selfish to be a real likeable character. 

The children are the characters that readers will relate to the most. Cash and Darl are the oldest. Darl fought in the war and struggles to accept his mother's death. Throughout the novel, he slides into insanity, suffering from schizophrenia. Readers will sympathize with his devastating experience of loss and its effects. Cash craves his mother's approval. Readers witness this as he makes his mother's coffin, holding each board up, silently asking if it's good enough for her. He also has some bad luck, breaking his leg halfway through the journey. Readers will certainly feel for Cash as the family lacks the empathy to care for him. Jewel is Addie's son from an affair and has a lot of anger for his mother. It isn't clear whether he knows of his father, but it is hinted at. Readers will understand his anger and also connect a little with Addie because she thinks of Jewel as the only child made of love. 

Dewey-Dell is the only daughter of the Bundren family and she's in a heap of trouble. This adds more conflict to the story and comments on female oppression during that time period. Dewey-Dell is pregnant and doesn't want to have the child. Her boyfriend, Lafe, gives her money to have an abortion but she struggles to find a doctor that will help her. She ends up getting tricked into having a sexual encounter with a pharmacy worker. Readers will have their own opinions of Dewey-Dell, understanding her predicament or disliking her for her choices and wants. 

Vardaman is the youngest Bundren, not wanting to accept that his mother is dead. He mentally turns her into a fish and pretends she's still alive. His rejection of the situation is saddening and no one offers him an explanation for what happened. He receives little comfort from his family. 

As the Bundren family makes their way from their farm to Jackson, they encounter many setbacks and bad luck. As I Lay Dying has a few odd twists and turns that will puzzle readers, implying that there's more to the story than first appears. A surface reading of this novel will not provide the proper interpretation. A deeper look is required. Readers who enjoy analyzing classic literature will enjoy tackling this one as it offers many different interpretations. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Mercer Street

Weeks after her husband dies in the midst of an affair in 2016, Chicago writer Susan Peterson, 48, seeks solace on a California vacation with her mother Elizabeth and daughter Amanda. The novelist, however, finds more than she bargained for when she meets a professor who possesses the secret of time travel.

Within days, the women travel to 1938 and Princeton, New Jersey. Elizabeth begins a friendship with her refugee parents and infant self, while Susan and Amanda fall for a widowed admiral and a German researcher with troubling ties. Filled with poignancy, heartbreak, and intrigue, MERCER STREET gives new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and commitment as it follows three strong-willed souls on the adventure of a lifetime.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Dr. Bell is giving modern day people another chance to explore the past in John A. Heldt's newest novel, Mercer Street. An installment in the American Journey series, this novel takes three women back to 1938 with strict rules to follow and the means to survive the calm before the storm that is coming, World War II.

 

Amanda, Susan, and Elizabeth are three generations of a family that has endured a lot. Amanda, the youngest, has just graduated college and is aspiring to work at a D.C. think tank. She's an incredibly intelligent young woman with specific values and a strong sense of morality. Amanda dreams of excelling in her field and will undoubtedly gain the respect of readers. She also dreams of falling in love with a man who values her smart mind as well as her beauty.

 

Susan is Amanda's mother and is just as intelligent as her daughter. Readers will immediately connect with Susan based on the tragedy that occurs at the beginning of the novel. Just as Susan learns that her husband has been cheating on her, he dies. Susan is left with many questions, anger, and a sense of betrayal. Life has been unfair to Susan and she thinks that travelling into the past will provide much needed time to process everything that has happened. Readers will empathize with her grieving process while simultaneously be entertained by the second chance that 1938 offers her.

 

Elizabeth is Susan's mother, Amanda's grandmother, and a woman in her seventies that would give anything to see her parents again, which ultimately leads to the three ladies choosing 1938 as their time travel destination. Elizabeth is a respectable woman who has a life full of happiness and regrets. Readers will understand her need to meet her parents as younger people and enjoy watching her interact with her infant self.

 

The plot of Mercer Street begins with the three family members traveling to California for a much needed vacation, where they meet Dr. Bell at a lecture. After an in-depth conversation with Dr. Bell, he offers the women the chance to travel through time. Uncertain if they should believe him, the women take a chance that he isn't crazy and are rewarded with the experience of a lifetime. Filled with rich history and a couple of love stories, Mercer Street is a wonderful read. If all history books were like this, I might have enjoyed studying it more. The detail is fantastic though the writing style can be a bit stilted at times. And if there's one thing that has stuck with me through reading the American Journey series thus far, it's this: time travelers will always make a change whether it's on purpose or accidental.

 

Rating: 4/5 Cups