Sound and the Fury; Intruder in the Dust; Sanctuary; Edison's Concrete Piano; The Black Moth; Untied

So I decided to have a bit of a William Faulkner retrospective this weekend and reread "The Sound and the Fury", "Intruder in the Dust", and "Sanctuary". I've reread "The Sound and the Fury" quite a few times now, and every time I find something new to love about it. I hadn't read the other two in quite a while now, so it was almost like reading them brand new. I remembered the basic generalities of the stories but not the specifics. "Intruder in the Dust" is a darkly humorous murder mystery. A black man, Lucas Beauchamp, is accused of shooting a white man in the back. Lawyer Gavin Stevens' nephew Chick is racing against the lynch mob clock to prove Lucas is innocent. The ending is brilliant and dry, and I loved how the murdered man's grave was robbed three separate times in the same night.
"Sanctuary" is grimmer, darker. It's the book that had all of polite society in Oxford asking William's mother why Bill had to go and write such a book. Temple Drake, a pretty young coed, is stranded at a gang's hideaway by her loutish, drunk boyfriend. The leader of the gang, Popeye, kills one of his cohorts in order to kidnap and rape Temple. It's graphic and ugly but so well written. I can imagine how shocking it was, especially for 1931 Mississippi, especially the courtroom scene at the end. I'd love to reread some more of Faulkner. I have a vacation coming up in a few weeks, so I just might do that.
On to new books! "Edison's Concrete Piano" by Judy Wearing was a fun look at inventions patented by famous inventors that never went anywhere. Sometimes it got a bit too technical for me to fully grasp everything she said, but it was interesting.
"The Black Moth" by Georgette Heyer was of course light and fluffy, and a much needed break after the heaviness of Faulkner. Jack has given up his rightful place in society as Earl after taking the fall for his brother's cheating at cards. He becomes an outlaw, a highwayman. But then he falls in love with Diana, and he knows he cannot marry her because of his shameful situation. Diana doesn't care, but Jack won't let her throw away her life on a scoundrel like him. Of course everything works out in the end and Jack gets to play the hero and rescue Diana from peril and the whole truth comes out about how he sacrificed for his brother. She's so much fun.
And finally, Meredith Baxter's memoir "Untied". Like most people my age, I grew up loving "Family Ties" and idolizing Meredith's character, Elyse. I thought she was beautiful and smart and talented and so lucky to have such a wonderful family, and my god was she thin! After having so many kids, too! I figured Meredith, in her own life, was just as perfect. Actually, no, her ex-husbands come out looking especially bad but she also relates her own shortcomings, so instead of sour grapes it seems fair. Like everyone else I was shocked when she came out a few years ago, but she finally seems happy now, so I'm glad for her and her real life family.