Soldiers’ Pay

Set after the conclusion of World War I, Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Faulkner’s first novel explores the war’s emotional impact on weary veterans as they travel by train across the United States to their Georgia hometown. The condition of one soldier—scarred, blind, and nearly mute—inspires fellow travelers to see him home safely to a family that believes him dead—and a fiancée who has moved on.

With experimental narrative techniques mixed with literary modernism, this early Faulkner classic captures the atmosphere of America’s Lost Generation and marked the beginning of the author’s legacy as one of the most influential fiction writers in American history.

Originally published in 1926.

Public Domain (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

brilliant poetry; and a brilliant reading

This first novel by Faulkner reveals his immediate poetic command of war and tragedy at an extraordinary level. While critics have generally classified "Soldiers' Pay" as less experimental and a minor work compared to his later novels, I found deep appreciation for this book. The descriptions of nature and human characters are some of the best i have ever read. Keith Szarabajka's reading sets the tone and the characters perfectly; his reading is worthy of an award at the highest level. This is an audiobook as it should be.