Intruder in the Dust

by William Faulkner
List(s):"Racine Library List"
Category: "Fiction - General"
Pages:185
Year of Publication:1948
Date Added:04/29/2009
Date Read:11/24/2009
Notes:Lucas Beauchamp, an old, dignified Black man, is discovered standing over the corpse of a no-good White man and is arrested immediately. The entire town gathers by the jail, expecting the friends and relatives of the murdered man to break in and lynch Lucas. Only one person in town takes the time to listen to Lucas' side of the story — Charles, a 16-year old White boy. Lucas asks him to travel 10 miles out of town to where the body is buried and dig it up to prove the man wasn't killed with Lucas' gun. Charles brings along his Black friend Alex, and he intends to dig up the grave, but it's an open question whether or not he will have the courage. But then he meets Mrs. Habersham, a 70-year-old woman who joins the boys. They discover a different body in the grave and return to tell the sheriff and Charles' uncle. The group return to the graveyard, but this time the coffin is empty. They track down the two bodies and find evidence that the murderer is the brother of the first murdered man. Lucas is set free. Charles is forced to confront the place of Blacks in the South.
My Rating: 6

Reviews for Intruder in the Dust

Review - Intruder in the Dust

I'm not a big fan of Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness style, but this story was good enough for a while to make it work. The whole bit about digging up the grave was just plain interesting, but the story went on for a bit too long after the mystery was solved.

Reviewed by Roger on 2009-11-25 07:03:37

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