What would you recommend first out of Faulkner's works, TVC? I'm fairly certain The Sound and the Fury is his most famous, right?
The Sound and the Fury may be his best. There are other contenders, like a Light in August, As I Lay Dying, and Absalom Absalom, but I think Sound and the Fury wins out due to its whole Rashomon-y four different storytellers thing, couple with four drastically different styles. Once you finish the book, and finally piece everything together, it feels like you, the reader, have accomplished something. The first 80 or so pages of the novel are a total gauntlet. Then there's a brief reprieve before things get crazy again in the second quarter. The last half of the novel goes down a bit easier, but it's a challenge to get there, and it all means nothing if you didn't decipher the first half.
Faulkner, like most early 20th century American writers, is best started via short stories. A Rose for Emily is probably taught in every US fiction class that covers short stories. As far as novels go, Sanctuary is a good starting point, even if Faulkner hated the book. It is flashy, and also gets readers accustomed to Faulkner's downright biblical writing style.
Also, 19th century US history is also the only really interesting period of US history outside of the immediate post-independence era, so brushing up on that is an added bonus.
I agree 100%> I find it incredibly strange that 19th century US history is basically skipped over in high school, aside from the Civil War. We all know the We Are the Mediocre Presidents bit from the Simpsons, but I doubt many Americans can say why they were mediocre, or indeed give any defining details of what was going on during their terms.
