As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner · 1930 · Novel

Explore this on the mapTrace its ancestors and descendants live in the tree.

Experimental narrative structure Multiple perspectives and regional focus

It pushed the boundaries of narrative structure with its fragmented, multi-perspective storytelling and deep exploration of the human psyche amidst rural Southern life.

What it is

The novel recounts the Bundren family's journey to bury their deceased matriarch, Addie, told through the perspectives of fifteen different narrators in stream-of-consciousness monologues.

↑Inherited from(1)

Ulysses· 1922↑ open

Joyce's groundbreaking narrative experiments paved the way for Faulkner's use of multiple, fragmented perspectives and stream of consciousness.

↓Passed on to(1)

One Hundred Years of Solitude· 1967↓ open

Faulkner's use of multiple narrators to tell a regional story influenced García Márquez's approach to his epic family saga and its diverse voices.