Ernest Hebert’s William Faulkner rant

Ernest Hebert is an author and Dartmouth professor who was born in Keene and writes fiction about this area. During an interview with the Keene Sentinel he unloaded a gorgeous rant about William Faulkner. It’ll soon vanish behind the Sentinel’s paywall. So as a public service, and to ensure I can refer to it later, I’m placing it here for safekeeping.

Q: How do you feel about being compared to William Faulkner?

A: I hate being compared to Faulkner — this kind of uppity, snooty southerner with his turgid prose based more or less on the Bible. I can’t bear to read Faulkner. It makes me want to puke. I just loathe Faulkner. And you can quote me on all of that.

Done!

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5 thoughts on “Ernest Hebert’s William Faulkner rant

  1. Heresy, pure and simple heresy. Faulkner is a master—and I can tolerate uppity and snooty when the writing is that good. All that said, now I want to read Herbert and see what this maniac is all about. And of the five novels from the New Hampshire series you recommend?

  2. I can’t remember which of the Darby series I’ve read. What I read most recently is Spoonwood, which isn’t part of the series but is about New Hampshire — I guess all his stuff is.

  3. _The Dogs of March_ was the first novel, and worth reading. Faulkner AND Hebert is probably the formula.

  4. Ernest Hebert is a hoot! Tongue in cheek my friends, tongue in cheek!

    Read the Darby series….has it all. especially The Passion of Estelle Jordan.

  5. I read “Dogs” by pure accident and having New England as home and a partly Franco-Canadian background was stunned by the genius of it.

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