Why people recommend it
As I Lay Dying is a landmark modernist novel by William Faulkner that chronicles the arduous journey of the Bundren family as they transport the matriarch's body for burial, told through shifting stream-of-consciousness perspectives. The novel was discussed in distinct ways on The Book Review podcast. In October 2025, Satie Stein recalled being assigned the book in her high school English class, admitting that she struggled significantly with the complex narrative structure and felt entirely lost while reading it. In contrast, during a July 2024 episode, a listener named Dustin Faren shared a more positive and lingering connection to the book, writing in to note that it was a work he had read the previous summer which ultimately stuck with him due to its powerful prose and haunting regional themes. These contrasting reflections illustrate the challenging yet unforgettable nature of Faulkner's prose, which frequently provokes intense debate among students, casual readers, and literary critics concerning its accessibility and its profound artistic achievement within American literature.
Who recommended it
- Satie Stein Discussed
- Dustin Faren Discussed
Satie Stein — 1 mention
“Um, being made to read it in a high school English class as I lay dying as well. Um, and just it I was like, I I I have no idea what's happening.”
Dustin Faren — 1 mention
“the book I read last summer that stuck with me is called As I Lay Dying by one William Falkner”