The Reivers – A Reminiscence by William Faulkner, Winner of The 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Fiction - William Faulkner has won the won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature - 10 out of 10

 

The Reivers – A Reminiscence by William Faulkner, Winner of The 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Fiction - William Faulkner has won the won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature

10 out of 10

 

 

William Faulkner is one of the greatest writers – though apparently Clark Gable had no idea about this, and I think I will insert an anecdote on the subject, at the end of this note, which says a lot about both Gable and William Faulkner and actors, celebrities in general – and this reader has had the chance to be enthused, elated by masterpieces of this Magister Ludi, such as As I Lay Dying, Absalom, Absalom, The Sound and The Fury http://realini.blogspot.com/2012/12/absalom-absalomthe-sound-and-furylight.html

 

However, even if The Reivers has been dismissed as a ‘lesser work, while the author called it "Golden Book of Yoknapatawpha County", this glorious novel appears to be the most accessible among his magnum opera, notwithstanding the challenges, the art of writing which is manifest here – with refined details, the brackets where the wondrous writer explains who the subject is, avoids any confusions and adds exquisite humor to a story that has so many dramatic turns and reads altogether as a marvelous thriller

Lucius Priest is the eleven year old boy who is the protagonist of the narrative and we hear what has happened mostly from him, albeit when he tells the story he is an adult and may have gained some perspective on the saga, which involves some other characters, the most notable of which would be Ned McCaslin from Jefferson Mississippi (they are all from that small town, it is just that Ned is the one who tells his whole name, which includes some other relatives and the town he comes from, and he is dismissed by various racist, disgusting white folks, the most reviled would be Butch, the man with the badge from the town misnamed Possum a few times) a man of superb intelligence, of both the ‘established, traditional’ type and of the more important, Emotional kind, the EQ displayed here is astounding.

 

The Priest Grandfather is called Boss by all concerned, he is a banker, and when another man in the town, also a banker, issues a ban against driving cars (this is 1905, in Mississippi) in his town, Boss rebels and buys a car just to act against this injunction, notwithstanding that he has no intention to use the car and he hates them just as much…nonetheless, when he departs for a few days, the friend and employee of the family Boon Hogganbeck takes the vehicle away to travel to Memphis, and Lucius is on board for the ride.

While they drive through some difficult terrain, mud, holes, a river, they discover that Ned is hidden in the back of the automobile, where he has broken some wind (when Boon protests, he mentions the many bumps, which rendered his effort to be quite inconspicuous and futile) and Ned will not just come along, but play the most important role, next to that of Lucius, only first they have to extract the vehicle from the mud holes, with the help of an entrepreneur, who is using his mules to pull the cars that are trapped in his area, and he doubles the prices he charges and there is nothing clients can do about it.

 

In Memphis, Boon is febrile and desperate to see and get intimate with Miss Corrie, at the brothel where the imposing, fierce and brave (on the one hand, the women are in a despondent position, but they come out as formidable, extraordinary, strong, resilient personages) Miss Reba, and while Boon and Lucius are in the house (where the latter is impressive with his manners and the respect he shows for people, the promises he had made) Ned is exchanging the automobile for a…horse, and this is where we embark in quite a joy ride, which is also a thriller in that we wait with breathless anticipation to see if they get the car back, will they win the races, what retribution is in store, will they go to jail?

They have to get all their resources together, and enroll Sam, a flagman with the railways, to transport the horse to the small town of Pasham, where they will race (Insha’Allah) and win back the vehicle and maybe some collateral money on the bets, the trouble being that the horse had been in a contest before and refused to run, losing in a disastrous manner…Ned on the other hand is a special trainer, he has had a donkey race and win and this is where we have a charming, incredible depiction of mules, who come on top of the hierarchy, cats, which are next, then dogs and finally horses, the last of this pack in intelligence and the way they deal with humans, some of them with wisdom, others with silliness…

 

Everbe Corinthia (what a splendid name) has brought a nephew, thinking she is doing him a favor, moving him from the country (where today he would most likely vote for Trump, as a member of a cult of idiots) to the city, for refinement, only this fifteen year old named Otis is as corrupt as possible, thinking only of money (back hoe, he made a hole in the wall and would charge customers to watch Connie aka Everbe have sex with men) and blackmailing the woman that had taken pity on him…Everbe was forced by her own aunt into prostitution, when she was orphaned, but meeting Lucius would have a tremendous impact.

The latter fights with Otis because of the attitude he (Otis) had towards Everbe, and we can see here that the eleven years old hero has fallen in love for the first time, and it is reciprocated, albeit with maternal instinct, platonically mostly, and in the fight Otis takes out a knife and Lucius is cut on four fingers and would have to ride Lightning aka Coppermine with a sock to cover the wounds and protect him somewhat.

 

In Pasham, a huge crowd comes to see the race (we are told that wherever you have a couple of horses, people will come to see the competition and bet on it…come to think of it, William Faulkner was right, even as he was clearly using sarcasm and humor throughout, for today we see a multitude of betting firms, sponsoring and advertising on every possible channel, if I wait another few seconds, the YouTube channel in the background will be interrupted but one such ad, inviting me to bet on anything I want, on any race in the world) and one loathsome character, Butch, the man with the badge, representing the law (albeit not in Pasham, but nearby) tries hard to ‘dominate’, as a sort of small, avant la lettre Trump, and when he is refused, he will use blackmail and try to stop the race and send Everbe’s friends and admirers in jail…we have a complex ending, to a glorious novel that is enthusing…

 

“You’ve heard that thing about Faulkner and Clark Gable haven’t you? Howard Hawks was taking Faulkner out on a quail shoot and came by to pick him up a little before dawn to get to where they were going by first light…Clark Gable was in the car and Faulkner in the backseat…As they rode along, Gable and Hawks got to talking…Gable said, ‘You know, you’re a well-read man, Howard…I’ve always been meaning to do some reading…I never have really done it…What do you think I ought to read?’ And Hawks said, ‘Why don’t you ask Bill back there…He’s a writer, and he’ll be able to tell you.’ Gable said, ‘Do you write, Mr. Faulkner?’ Faulkner said, ‘Yes, Mr. Gable…What do you do?’ ‘’