Personal Response 1

Since I'm such a book lover, its kind of rare for me to dislike or despise a book. The novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner that I read for the second quarter made my "dislike" list this time. Even though there were times where the book made interesting points or thoughts to think about, I could not connect with the story and the characters like I did with my last independent reading book, The Color Purple. Basically, the story is about a dysfunctional family that goes on a journey to bury their mother who did not really love them all equally. Also, each family member is going through their own personal issues and their own selfish reasons of coming to Jefferson other than the funeral.
The last independent book I read dealt with racism and feminism, themes that I find very interesting and pulls me in from the very beginning. I was drawn into Celie's story of pain and survival. But with As I Lay Dying, only the strange little boy named Vardaman perked my interest. The other characters I found displeasing or boring. For instance, I found the dead mother Addie to be a cold woman who was a mother but did not love all of her children. The husband Anse, I find him vain because he only wanted to go to Jefferson to get new teeth and a wife. The oldest son Cash, I find boring and the third son Jewel, seriously violent and has anger management issues. At first, I thought I would like it because it was about death, and strangely, I like books that deal with the issue of death and how living loved ones cope with the passing of a relative or a friend. But after reading it, I did not like most of the characters and could not connect with them. Also, the back of the book said that the novel had dark comedy, but I did not find it funny or sarcastic in any way. Hopefully, for next quarter when I choose another independent reading novel, I will find a book I can connect with.