Why read A Rose for Emily?

Book cover of A Rose for Emily

Book description

The short tale A Rose for Emily was first published on April 30, 1930, by American author William Faulkner. This narrative is set in Faulkner's fictional city of Jefferson, Mississippi, in his fictional county of Yoknapatawpha County. It was the first time Faulkner's short tale had been published in a…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked A Rose for Emily as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Vicki Olsen

Author

I cheated a little here; this one isn’t a novel, it is instead, a short story (or perhaps a novella). I couldn’t put it down and stayed up into the wee hours reading it in a single sitting. Granted, it is a short story, but this is still an unusual feat for me.

What an unforgettable ending.

If you haven’t experienced classic Southern Gothic, this is a wonderful introduction to the genre...follow it with Flannery O’Connor’s “Wise Blood” and you will be hooked. If your high school English teacher did not introduce you to William Faulkner, A Rose For Emily…

From Vicki's list on vulnerable protagonists with family secrets.

Adele Holmes

Author

I like to start with an easy read to slide into the Southern Gothic genre. While a macabre or grotesque element is required, mysticism—or even magical realism—is not required to label a work as a Southern Gothic, though many Southern Gothic pieces hold hauntings front and center.

A Rose for Emily is a short story, an allegory for the stuck ways of the old South, wherein at the funeral of an elderly, reclusive woman the town recalls her lifetime of idiosyncrasies. And shortly thereafter, they find harrowing evidence of her true nature. The tale is a quick read from the…

From Adele's list on Southern Gothic for today’s readers.