MikeDI

Okay, as I explained in an earlier post I've decided to delve into some 'Classics.' At a Writer's Conference in San Diego about two years ago, I had heard a pair of young female agents discussing how they would never have agreed to represent the likes of Hemingway or Fitzgerald. They found their work 'not up to standards.' As I am old enough to be their grandfather I dismissed their ramblings. Later while talking to an older female agent I mentioned this. She told me that's the problem in today's publishing world. Too many young female agent with a narrow point of view.
It nagged at me though as I had not actually read many 'classic' books since my youth. 
So, about a month ago, as previously posted, while I was rearranging book shelves (actual book shelves, not on line ones) I took a hard look at the dozens of 'Classic' novels that I had but never read. The words of my minimalist daughter rang in my ears, "Dad, if you're never going to read these old books get rid of them." So I decided to add a classic book to my current readings. This one, As I Lay Dying , was the first. 
It started out weird. I was told to never imitate people's dialects in writing, yet here Faulkner was doing just that. And, I found it annoying at first, I wanted to quit. But, I ALWAYS finish a book, so I stuck it out. I got more into the characters and toward the end the story blossomed. I give it two stars because it is hard to read but I'm glad to have read it. Is it a Classic? Don't really know, you tell me.