Country Lawyer and Other Stories for the Screen (Center for the Study of Southern Culture Series) - Hardcover

Faulkner, William; Brodsky, Louis Daniel; Hamblin, Robert W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0878053085 ISBN 13: 9780878053087

Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi, 1987

Synopsis

Three screenplays deal with a conflict between generations, petty problems that delay the production of a warplane, and love between a poor girl and a rich boy

About this title

From School Library Journal

YA This slim collection of three previously unpublished narratives gives new insights into Faulkner's writings and the construction of a screenplay. ``The Country Lawyer'' has the complexity and dimensions of a movie, a television mini-series, or even a family saga novel. There is a strong sense of character and a well sustained plot with a Romeo and Juliet theme. The other narratives do not fare as well. ``The Life and Death of a Bomber,'' written in 1943 as a war propaganda effort, is poorly plotted, with little sense of character and two weakly connected sections, but Faulkner's comments show how a writer works. ``The Damned Don't Cry,'' written in 1942, seems maudlin by current standards. It deals with a poor girl from the wrong side of town who becomes a fallen woman as a result of her alcoholic parents, her love for a rich boy, a criminal brother, an illegitimate son, and a murder trial. At the end of the 16-page draft she is redeemed by the love of another man. While the strict format does not allow for the development of Faulkner's famous style, it does show his storytelling capability. This book will be of interest to those wanting more stories by Faulkner and will show readers how a narrative serves as the skeleton for a screenplay. Carolyn Praytor Boyd, Episcopal High School, Bellaire
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

In the 1940s Warner Brothers commissioned William Faulkner to write three story outlines that would eventually be expanded into screenplays by others. Now published for the first time, the three narratives show not only the adaptable creativity of the Nobel laureate, but also his ability to translate his Yoknapatawpha material to the Hollywood milieu. Readers of Faulkner's fiction will recognize the genealogy and interracial friendships of the Southern families in "Country Lawyer," and the central female character in "The Damned Don't Cry" foreshadows Temple Drake, the celebrated protagonist of Requiem for a Nun. The third story, "The Life and Death of a Bomber," reflects Faulkner's commitment to participatory patriotism during World War II. These stories' greatest significance is the insight they provide into Faulkner's fictive design and complex plots.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0878053085
• ISBN 13: 9780878053087
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 101