Light in August is an incredible masterpiece by William Faulkner that takes place in a post WWI south still suffering from abundant segregation and racism. Not only does Light in August touch upon the troubles of the south, it also weaves together a myriad of plot lines, independent yet correlated by the town of Jefferson.

Even though the novel follows several characters thorough multiple times and locations, Jefferson serves as a nexus of strife for the characters of the novel. The characters face his/her own struggles independently and come from varying backgrounds, but each one eventually crosses through Jefferson and becomes a part of Faulkner’s elaborate web. Even though they come within meters of each other, the characters are all isolated by years of solitude and misfortune that eventually led them to an equally isolated and segregated town. The town houses a wealth suffering to mock the failures of the constitution. While Thomas Jefferson declares “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the town stands as a testament of all three rights being alienated and crushed.

While Light in August has an abundance of characters, Faulkner portrays wraiths struggling to their deaths, not people trying to live. The very title of the novel gives away the main theme of the novel. Light in August (or the last light of summer) begins at the end and details what the end means for each character. Lena’s end was set in stone the second she decided to chase after her deserting lover but Hightower’s life ended with his grandfather’s during the civil war more than 40 years before he was even born. But even though the characters are all doomed, they each blaze until their predestined finale. Christmas and the rest all know how their lives will conclude, but they don’t fight against their fate. Instead, they fight to remain on their paths, stubbornly clinging on to their tortured identities because the alternative is giving in to change.

The reason this novel resonated so strongly with me is because its theme of self-identification and acceptance. I was initially exasperated by the novel jumping across characters and time, but I soon realized the significance of the constant shifting. Faulkner changes the point of view so often to reflect the disjointed life of the characters. The characters are struggling to find a single defining moment that led to their present but only find a maze to sort through. As soon as a character finds what defines him/her, they hold on to who they are and fight change because it would lead to another maze.

The literary masterpiece is more than a school book. Light in August by William Faulkner is an enjoyable read and the classical equivalent to a modern TV show. It has a reading level of 6.7 and is worth 25 AR points.