Soldiers' Pay

By William Faulkner

After the end of World War I, a group of soldiers traveling by train across the United States are on their way home. One is horribly scarred, blind, and almost entirely mute. Moved by his condition, a few civilian fellow travellers decided to see him safely home to Georgia, to a family that believes him dead—and a fiancée who grew tired of waiting. This is William Faulkner's first novel, a powerful tale of lives blighted by war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781479455423

William Faulkner

William Faulkner (1897-1962) is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all American novelists and short-story writers.  His other works include the novels The Sound and the Fury, The Reivers, and Sanctuary.  He twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and in 1949 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Reviews for Soldiers' Pay

[Katherine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was good and not a difficult read. His first novel I believe? Over 100 years old but addressing themes we are all familiar with of love, loss, pettiness, war, jealousy, vanity, meaning of of life, male and female identity, lust, growing old, and friendship. Set in 1919 a soldier thought dead is returned to his southern home by a a group of travellers. His terrible injuries bring out the best and worst in people. The dialogue is rich and philosophical. The book is suspenseful, at times comic and hard to put down. A gem I’m glad I finally read.

Having that this it is a book written by a white man where only white characters are richly drawn and some seem quite non conformist.
Unfortunately, any other race or colour is basically represented as one amorphous atmosphere providing background.
Also.. set in the South and written point in time ..this version does not appear to have been edited. Very ugly to see certain words in print …

However as a point in time book .. fascinating on a number of levels.