Possessing the depth of lyrical and emotional resonance unique to this medium. It briefly disguises itself as a puzzle box not just on the well-worn vaguery of 'loss' but on the spontaneous and intimate act of losing. Faulkner's range and the specificity of each perspective supply a near-complete vision of every form of mourning—psychedelic hysteria, mechanistic detachment, disingenuous self-absorbency and on and on. The buzz of the void physically manifests in the hacking and sawing that clouds over every single page. Of course, once the wheels hit the dirt, it expands with the rapidity of a birthed galaxy. Every moment is an ocean of contrast. See the final sentences:
My desire to read and enjoy Faulkner runs up against my near-total lack of appetite for stories set in the American South. This is the only one I’ve read. I should probably get over that.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on him when / if you do. Much as I love the guy, you're in good company on that. I haven't even one IRL friend I've successfully converted, and I've never gotten out of my head that Nabokov interview where he refers to Faulkner's works as 'corncobby chronicles.'
should I hit up Light in August, Sound and Fury, or?
I suppose it depends on which parts of As I Lay Dying appealed to you. I'm always reluctant to recommend people jump straight into The Sound and the Fury, but if what you want is to see Faulkner delve deeper into fragmented structures and denser lyricism, then S&F -> Absalom, Absalom! is exactly what you're looking for, and at the end of the day they are his Great Books for a reason. But if you'd like to colour outside the lines a little first, and I do think seeing his world through a more straightforward lens can make his dismantlings of them more satisfying, then I'd go with one of Light in August, Sanctuary (described by the man himself as his version of a 'potboiler' and easily his nastiest work) or The Reivers (which is atypically funny and sweet in ways that completely reshaped my view of everything he ever wrote after I read it, major personal favourite).
S&F it is, thank you!