The Sound and the Fury LE

in all its glory, well in all its bound glory anyway

http://www.scribd.com/doc/89815162/The-Sound-and-the-Fury-Press-Release-UK

can't wait!

Printer letterpress, i wonder what the price will be.
Will surely be buying this one

> 2 The colophon states that it's the paper covering the boards that is printed letterpress.

No pricing that I could find. Luckily it's a fairly large print run. A must for me.

>3 HuxleyTheCat:
ah i see my mistake. My wish was faster then my reading.

Looks gorgeous - thanks a lot for sharing the link.....

Looks superb. Well spotted, lgreen.

I'm not sure I like the spine and sides. Kind bland. And paper sides for an LE? Even though letterpress sides, seems kinda unusual for a typical FS LE. This makes it less tempting, but I'm sure when I get a mailing it will be hard to resist. I really do like that bookmark though!

>8 brother_salvatore:

I dislike paper sides as well, especially on an LE. That said, I love the design of this one. It has a classic, vintage look.

Is this slated for release over the summer? I seem to recall hearing that. It may be enough to snap me out of the Folio boycott I've been on the past few months (too many damaged books).

I thought it was mid-May

> 9, 10
June release according to the last Folio magazine.

I am disappointed that it has paper sides. FS use paper boards more frequently these days and it does not make for a durable binding. But the use of letterpress is fantastic. All in all this looks pretty good. I like the coloured character key on the insert. I am going to visit the Members Room to see if I can inspect a copy before buying. But as I am a Faulkner fan, and assuming the price is not ridiculous, then I will probably get this.

Welcome back David! You've been missed. Looking forward to your report from the MR.

Do we have an idea of the price of this "must -have" ?

> 14

Thank you Sean. I have been here, there and everywhere - and invisibly reading Libraything in the background. Not really gone away !

I vaguely remember it was £495 but don't quote me on that!

> 17

That does seem extraordinarily expensive for this edition. I don't think I will buy it at that price.

>18 Quicksilver66:

I don't think many people would buy it at that price. I am hoping that that figure is wrong.

This edition is a must have for me. So the installment plan seems very likely.

Yes I'm shocked as well. I hope it's a lot cheaper in the range of £195 to £295

The cover looks unnatural and out of proportion , too much paper size with what looks like tiny 1/10-bound in leather.

A full buckram would be better , if they want to cost down.

Any notion if and what kind of illustrations are included?

Let's see. According to the link in post 1 this new Folio Faulkner LE publication will be a book of 320 pages printed letterpress, quarter-bound in vermilion goatskin leather and blocked in gold. In addition, the book comes with a sizeable commentary volume all combined in a cloth solander box. It is the first publication ever where The sound and the fury is issued in the colour scheme Faulkner had envisioned. There is not way this will be a cheap publication, my feeling says this LE will probably be priced in the price range were we find Gulliver's Travels and The Rime. Not sure if I will purchase if the latter turns out to be true though.

Edit: Ah, it is a slipcase not a solander box.
Edit2: It also reads: publication 31 May 2012

> 24

Don't get too excited. The details in the link say "Paper sides printed letterpress with a typographic design by Russell Marat". Knowing the Folio Society, I imagine the actual text will not be letterpress. It still looks good, though.

>25 boldface:. That was my impression also - that the paper sides were letterpress and not the actual text pages.

With the size at 10.5 x 6.5, it is closer to Moby Dick, Aenied, and Candide, whereas Gulliver and Rime are 13 x 9.75. This gives one hope that the price will be within the rage of other similiarly sized titles.

I am really happy they did not go towards the sizes for Gulliver and Rime, as I prefer sizes of Moby Dick, et al.

> 27

I agree Faisel. I loved the size of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner - there is something luxurious about having a poem published in such a huge tome with oversized print. But I prefer my novels to be in a more compact format - the size of Moby Dick (the book that is, not the whale) is just right.

The Sound and the Fury ships mid-June. US price is $295 + $40 shipping.

I already ordered it. When I went to the Folio site, it was available for order and priced way less than I thought it would be set at. So I immediately placed an order. Hoping I get a single-digit limitation number. It must be noted that the $295 price is "for the first 1,000 copies" as a special launch price. Not sure what the final 480 copies will be priced at.

PS: This is the first LE I will own. Probably the last one too. Unless they come up with something like this for Ulysses or a very few other books that I have a special interest in.

Ordered!

Fabulous. Just ordered!

Nice, better price than expected! Yea!

Damn you Folio Society. Damn you all and your fourteen shades of seduction. Have ordered against my will.

Ordered! I guess this will be fast selling, especially the first 1000.

Ordered! I hope there are some left after you lot have finished!

looks wonderful... the bookmark is inspired!

Ordered. At last!

I can see this selling as fast as Candide, especially once word gets out about it (and its price point). I really like how they only did paper sides for this book since the real premium for this book is the colored text. Adding a more elaborate binding would just be overkill in my view.

In any case, this isn't truly "fine press" in my view, since it can be replaced easily (compared to a real fine press production).

Well I never expected to order this book as my one experience attempting to read Faulkner left me cold and confused. But the price was attractive and the production is certainly unique.

But perhaps my most pleasant surprise is to learn the UK members and the US members are finally paying a fair price based on current exchange rates. I hope this is a trend rather than a one-off exception!!!!

AU price $345. Still a bit above, given the Aussie dollar and US dollar are currently pretty much equal, but not bad.

Not ordered yet, but only because I was going to the MR tomorrow in any event, so I'm hoping that there will be an inspection copy. If so, I'll report back.

>43 affle:. I look forward to your report.

Am excited about this one, ordered right when I saw it!

Ordered. I was uncertain about this one. Hoping the price wouldn't be too high as I've been trying to cut back on my spending. I tried The Sound and the Fury a million years ago but couldn't finish it. Probably a combination of being too young and getting confused over the varying points of view. I am so glad FS decided to publish this edition as now it gives me a chance to, hopefully, read it the way the author intended (the commentary and coded bookmark will probably help a lot). Now to find a place to put it.

Any illustration ?
Without illustration I will not buy it

Wow. That is a much lower price point than I imagined. And I was all set to pass. Now, I'm being sucked in...

>47 Macumbeira: I doubt there should be illustration - it would detract from the colour printing.

This is the kind of LE that I like: in a more reasonable price range, emphasizing the content of the book and with a sizeable commentary volume. Let's hope they make many more like it (and let's hope the cheaper first 1000 copies last enough for me to get one).

ROW price is £195, I guess the small gap is because this is an American novel.

My first LE. I was considering Moby Dick but the coloured print and bookmark swung it.

I wish to extend my most sincere appreciation to Leopold Green (the op of this thread - lgreen666). He didn't admit to it, but it's his letter to Folio that proposed this very edition.

Now what I want to know is if the letter to Folio was written by hand or not... I have a few "projects" I'd love to see them undertake.

In any case, thrilled that this LE was made, that it was suggested by a LT member, and I especially love how the binding design for this LE was inspired by Joe's own book-buying foray. He fell in love with a binding by Maret.

I've taken the liberty of finding the original book in question (new printer's marks were designed for the LE): http://russellmaret.blogspot.com/2011/10/specimens-of-diverse-characters-arrives...

>53 nicklong: That's wonderful to know. Well done Leopold! I hope you got a big discount and number 1 of 1480 for your copy!!

By the way, is there any arcane reason why the limitation is as unusual a number as 1,480?

Congratulations on the successful initiative, lgreen666! The writer of the suggestion to the Folio Society is indeed identified as Leopold Green. Nicklong put 2 and 2 together!

By the way, cronshaw, it may be that the actual limitation number is 1500, with 20 lettered copies not for sale. This has been done in the past.

>53 nicklong:, 54, 55 Thanks for your very kind comments... I can't say how thrilled I am they have published it

I was amazed when Joe said they were seriously considering the idea and then that they were going ahead and that they had got Ross and Polk on board... For me this is a good example of what distinguishes the FS from 'just' a publishing house...

looking forward to get my copy is an understatement

>53 nicklong: et al
That's a fantastic story, I had no idea...lgreen666, take a bow! This is without doubt the most exciting FS publication in my (brief) time as a member, so total kudos for planting the seed with them.

>53 nicklong: et al

Ditto--and I've ordered a copy too. I have a feeling that TSATF might be this year's Candide.

Well done, lgreen666! And all power to the FS Devotees!

Alas, no inspection copy in the MR yet - another couple of weeks or so before one is expected. The fliers go out in a day or two.

Yes, lgreen666, you rock!

This will likely be my first LE, but I must confess, I am slightly disappointed that there are apparently no illustrations. Regardless, I just hope it is not sold out before my next paycheck!

>58 podaniel:

The pain of missing out on Candide still stings! In terms of price, presentation, and contents, I think Candide is the best LE Folio has produced. Unfortunately I am prejudiced against buying on the secondary market, so no Candide for me. Only Mapping Golgotha ranks higher on my regret list.

And I agree that the new Faulkner might sell out at a similar pace. The price and novelty pretty much assure it.

Received the marketing bumf this morning - definitely no illustrations and I think artistically that's absolutely right. This is a typographcal marvel; illustrations would intrude.
Nice slipcase for the two volumes - cloth-bound labelled on its spine so that you can shelve it with the books protected from sunning. I only wish all FS slipcases were labelled this way!
If I liked Faulkener I would be very tempted by this.

I'm intrigued by the binding on this one.

"The leather quarter-binding employs an unusual technique using split boards at front and back so that the paper sides can wrap around all four edges of the boards."

I think this is best illustrated in the fourth picture on the webpage. It looks a little odd and clunky, but I'm curious to hear anyone's impression of it if they get a chance to see it in the MR. I'm supposing it was done to prevent the paper from being torn at the seam when removed from the slipcase (something that has happened to me on more than one Folio).

> 64

It does look as you say 'clunky'. It appears that the letterpress paper is wrapped around the board so the cardboard thickness really protudes from the leather around the spine. The endpapers must be subjected to a lot of strain, with the edge of the board next to the leather having a tendency to become unstuck. But let's see...

>64 menteith:

Check link in > 53.

It's called a modified Bradel Binding. Some other books like this:

http://www.songhaein.com/portfolio/01_bookworks/bookworks_bradel.html

http://cassandraelton.blogspot.com/2012/03/bradel-binding.html

http://www.bexxcaswell.com/modernstructures.html#anchor_71

http://henryhebert.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/on-set-boards/

It doesn't look clunky to me. Basically it lets the book lay flat and so the boards can be wrapped entirely in the letterpress paper before being bound to the book.

In any case, I've had a book that looked almost like this. Opened fine. Don't think it will be an issue.

> 66

Very informative, nicklong. Thanks for the links. It's clear now how the binding works!

Great ! Beautiful books are the future !

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/02/beautiful-book-covers

>66 nicklong:

Thanks a lot for the information.

I don't think it looks clunky at all. In fact, I love that you get a glimpse of the ornamental paper bordering the spine. Lovely presentation.

I'm pleased the FS are including sample pages in their mailing - not to mention a free copy of the bookmark, a collector's item in future years if ever there was one!

>70 britchey:

I still think it looks clunky, but I don't mean to say I don't like it or that I won't order it. The information in >66 nicklong: was much appreciated!

> 68 Macumbeira
The article mentions the Full Circle Press. I've just been given one of their books as a(n early) birthday present:



This is a signed (author and artist) limited edition (100 copies) in a sturdy slipcase; not a luxurious FS-style production but a very attractive smallish (9" by 6 1/2") book on thick paper. I already have one of their 'ordinary' publications, George Ewart Evans's classic Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay. No signatures or slipcase, but it's no less attractive, especially as it's illustrated by David Gentleman.

Geezes...are you a lucky son of Gun ! Realy nice.

>73 featherwate: I think the illustrations are by Derrick Greaves, rather than David Gentleman. I've had an unlimited, unsigned, and unslipcased copy of this book for a while, and can recommend even this plainer version as a very decently produced little book.

>70 britchey: It looks very elegant. I'm so pleased it comes in a slipcase rather than a solander box so that you can choose to have the spines showing on your bookcase should you wish.

>71 boldface: Having lovingly examined the Sound And The Fury LE marketing envelope with print samples (two leaves) and bookmark, I defy anyone not to purchase!

>73 featherwate: Thanks, it's great to see another quality publishing house. Their website looks tempting with very affordable signed limited editions.

I've had my eye on the Paddington Bear set for ages (for my children) and have just ordered four volumes to get it. Now I'm wondering if I should have ordered Sound and the Fury instead rather than waiting. It's a great price at the moment. Anyone have any idea what the new price will be?

>78 clarelouise:

They added $100 to the US price of Troilus. My guess is that the Faulkner will get either a $50 or $100 boost.

Thanks. I'll have to decide soon. FS really does present problems!

>78 clarelouise: I'd expect the price to jump by £50 or $75. I don't know how close to 1000 have already been reserved, but I was told in the Members' Room that it's the second fastest seller after last year's Candide, and they expect them ALL to be gone over the next couple of weeks!

The Folio Society colourised version will be the subject of a paper at the American Literature Association meeting in San Fran in a few days time. I hope that someone can record the talk and puts it up on the internet

http://faulknersociety.com/panels.htm

>82 SimB: Thanks! That's fascinating to read on the downloadable abstract for Ross' talk. It's interesting that there has been so much 'cringing' among Faulkner experts as to the colourisation of The Sound and the Fury, and that even Ross and Polk harboured doubts even after completion of their project. I'd love to hear his talk. I do hope someone will be able to report back about it here on LT.

>82 SimB:
Thanks! Interesting article. Wouldn't it be great if the FS could organise the recording of this talk and make it available via their websit?

In the following link, a partial hypertext presentation, colour coding of Benjy's section, and other resources may be useful for reading and comparisons once we get the Folio edition:

http://drc.usask.ca/projects/faulkner/

>85 drasvola:

Thanks, Antonio. It's going to be quite a challenge!

> 86

Jonathan: It's going to be hard to wait until publication date! Then we can all start playing with readings, comparisons, colour coding, use of bookmark, etc.

>88 EclecticIndulgence: unfortunately Candide sold out within weeks. It is still on the FS website but instead of a "add to basket" button there is a "sold out" button.
Numerous other FS LEs are similarly shown on the web site.

>82 SimB:

I read the abstract and was highly disappointed in the authors' stance against colorization. It seemed to imply that colorization devalued the literary work, made it into a joke, and generally was an insult to "serious" Faulkner scholars.

Watch me type off a Comic Sans letter to the scholars now! (Google "Comic Sans letter" if you need a background primer).

Seriously though, if that's the actual stance being taken - I wonder why they didn't reject color photographs, color television, and the like.

I hope the entire paper will be published. Not in an audio-only format. I know I'm prejudiced, but audio files are worthless to me (and the vast majority of video on the Internet is worthless to me as well).

>91 nicklong:. It would be great to have heard the discussion after the the paper was presented. I hope the paper does get published, but I also hope the audio becomes available - will be able to hear the Q&A after the formal presentation.

>91 nicklong:

Hmmm, my guess is most "serious" Faulkner scholars are paid to unlock the Faulknerian vaults to the delight of dewy-eyed undergraduate students who in exchange unlock their parents' wallets to fund the fuminations of Faulkner scholars. Anything interfering with that iron triangle must necessarily be condemned. Do not look behind the colorized curtain--I am the great and powerful Professor!

From the newsletter it sounds like around 500 have already been ordered.

My name is Macumbeira and I am a bookaholic
I just ordered the S&F...

>90 wcarter: I tried pressing the "sold out" button and got this:



Actually nothing happened at all, which was kind of disappointing. I'd expected at least a "Better luck next time" or a wee exhortation not to dither too long over buying The Sound and the Fury LE. They definitely missed a marketing opportunity here.

My father always said that no good would come from building scale models of medieval toilets or Roman baths. He had a nasty turn with some lengths of balsa wood in his younger days although he would not go into details.

I don't think I will buying this. My problem is I have too many books

>99 ironjaw:

Very funny. You can't have too many books - it just is not possible.

> 98 Obviously a man of my generation. What with unfettered access to craft knives, electric fretsaws, model airplane glue, unfenced ponds, brakeless bicycles, scrap-metal yards, home-made wine, tree-houses, food without allergy warnings, bayonets, pistols, cyanide pills and other parental war mementoes, not to mention early exposure to Little Richard, Bill Haley, Brigitte Bardot and tobacco ads, it's a wonder that any of us made it out of our teens!

> 101
"When you move, you realize what it means to have 'too many' books. Until you do so, there is never enough."

Fact. Hong Kong - U.K. was not fun but the last move was even worse. I had to repack all my books in to smaller boxes when the removal men refused to lift them. The books were unpacked before my clothes;)

I don't mean to interrupt, but I have RIGHTS OF MAN in a folio slipcase (2007)and cannot find it in Library Thing.
What the?????

>104 gordonkeller: Seems to be here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/63384/covers/

Fifth cover in the first row looks like the FS edition.

>104 gordonkeller:
Stop interupting.

I am tempted by The Sound and The Fury, would like to have some knowledgeable opions on this book. I have never read it and want to know if the way its being presented will (different times/dates/years? in different colors) will ad anything to my understanding of the story being told.

>108 EclecticIndulgence:

Thanks, may have to think seriously on this as there are so many books i am interested in it may not be worth my while spending over three hundred dollars on a book i may place in the to hard corner like i did with james joyce's LE Ulysses.

>108 EclecticIndulgence:

I think, but may be wrong, that only the first section is being colourised.

110 You are right

I know this is terribly petty, but I'm frustrated that I want to buy the Sound and the Fury, but that there aren't any "freebie" offers (books, bags, mugs, whatever).

A 2$ bag shouldn't cause me this trouble, but I've been conditioned to expect a "free" gift :-)

>113 EclecticIndulgence:, Yes, only the Benji narrative is colorized. That leaves approximately 3/4 of the book in non-color text.

I would say it is the only one applicable - due to Benji's character.

>109 xaussienanny: - I read The Sound and the Fury as an undergrad. Once I figured out what was happening in the story, I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to receiving this LE and reading it again with the colored text.

>115 EclecticIndulgence:. that is a good question. There are time shifts in the later parts of the novel, but according to some Faulkner letters, he at least wanted the Benjy section colorized, but I suspect he would not have been averse to having the whole thing colorized if a publisher was willing.

But we can still color the pages ourselves !

>118 Macumbeira:. Absolutely!!! I'm waiting for the mailing that supposedly includes the bookmark with the color key. I'm just gonna use that and mark up an old paperback. Even though Faulkner is one of my favorite writers of all time, I'm just gonna have to pass on the LE. I simply have a gut feeling that someday this colored text will be republished by a university press for a broader academic audience. But it's just a gut feeling.

So I just joined the Folio Society today. Ordered my joining offer and saw that I need to order four books within the next four weeks. I went ahead and ordered "The Sound and the Fury" (the main reason that I joined today), and I was wondering if anyone knows if this book counts as more than one? I've heard that some of their books count as two or three, but I didn't see anything about that today.

Anyone order it and notice how many it counted for?

Any help will be great.

Thanks!

Count as four

>118 Macumbeira:

Colour the pages ourselves - what a great idea.

I will shortly be publishing a limited edition of "sound". This will be a second hand paperback version in custom made solander box ( custom made from old shoes boxes and packing tape ). The edition is strictly limited to 10000000 copies ( or until I run out of shoes boxes ). Each book comes with a colour chart and a set of wax crayons. I will hand number each book. The issue price is £400 and at this price I would suggest you order early. Australian customers will be over charged as usual.

Sorry to out-do you on this one Folio.

For those who might miss having a look at the bookmark provided for the FS edition, I am attaching* a scan:



*Permission for reproduction in this context graciously granted by The Folio Society, London.

>123 drasvola:. Very nice!!!

Thanks for the info, Macumbeira!

Is there a way to see how many books any given book counts for? I could just be missing it . . . .

> 125

There's a roundabout way to find out. Add the book to your basket and check the PP charges. Per volume charge to US is, I believe, US$4.95. The volume count is sometimes indicated in the book description and often in the fliers sent during sales. With LEs there is a flat charge depending on the edition (also indicated when the book is added to the basket).

I was about to say that I am now the very proud owner of the bookmark and post a picture of it. I see I have been beaten. After many sleepless nights thinking about should I or not, I think I have decided not. 20th C, male, American writers are not really me so I don't think I would read it. I just want a copy of the sake of having it printed the way it should have been originally. (which means I may still have to have it)

122 LOL

I just read a rather thought-provoking point of view against colour coding: that monochrome print (with or without the italic-roman shifts indicating time change) more closely attunes the reader to Benjy's own inability to differentiate different time periods, thereby enabling a more empathic perception of Benjy's idiot confusion.

I admit to feeling a little Benjy now about this edition!

That's a good point, cronshaw. Nevertheless, I would say that if Faulkner wanted it this way, then I am convinced. Of course, I'll still keep my old copy, so that I may read it the old fashioned way any time I like.

>131 cronshaw: That's what I'm thinking too, at any rate I haven't cancelled my pending order!

Got my bookmark today. I think this could possibly be the coolest bookmark ever designed/created.

Gosh interest seems to have dropped off a little in S&F: no comments added for 6 days on this thread and 1000 sales yet to be reached according to FS webpage (price still £195) - selling like cakes more warm than hot?

>133 cronshaw:

I think that once it arrives in our hot little hands there will be comments aplenty. It's hardly surprising that less than 1000 copies have been sold. I think that Candide is the only LE to have walked out the door, and I think the only reason that happened is that Quentin Blake signed each copy.

>134 SimB: I think you're right: Candide is a tough one to beat!

I went to the website to order this, and there was a glitch in the payment page, so I called to tell them, and ordered it over the phone, and the service person told me I might have got the last copy, although she did not tell me if that was in the initial 1000 copies, or the full 1480. She did say that they got about 400 calls about the glitch in the payment page.

I'm having a little wobble about this S&F LE (to cancel or not to cancel) and need some enabling please. Having vacillated between thinking that £200 is an awful lot for a paper-sided volume with no commissioned illustration (yes I know, the commissioning is in the coloured text) and marvelling at the novelty of this edition, I've reread ciriticism of the colour coding project (including from no less than one of the editors!) and also the FS S&F prospectus. This set me wondering why this FS edition has maintained the shifts from roman to italic font at every time change when that is supposed to be the function of the colours. If Faulkner only used the roman-italic shift because his editor wouldn't consider colour coding, why still employ the italic shift when colours are now being used? I find it odd that Benjy's 1928 'present', denoted by black font, could appear as roman or italic depending on the random occurrences of the time shifts throughout the Benjy section.

Your thoughts much appreciated, thanks!

>138 cronshaw: I don't know what debates the FS had with Ross & Polk although clearly they considered this... I guess that in the end if you drop the italics shift then you deviate from what is the accepted text of S&F and whilst it is quite logical to suggest that Faulkner would have dropped the italics had he the colour printing it is still conjecture - as indeed the FS colorised edition is...

looked at another way had Faulkner persuaded the publisher I doubt they would have stretched beyond 4 colours, certainly not the number that FS/Ross & Polk have used, so it is equally plausible he would still have needed the italics given the number of time periods

In terms of whether to buy - this is a genuine one-off - essential to those who love Faulkner and to those intrigued by this as an experiment... if you can afford it ask yourself how you will feel when it sells out...

It goes without saying I am hopelessly biased on the merits of this edition

> 139

I second that!

>139 lgreen666: Thanks for the insight. I think you're right that they wanted to retain the italic shift simply because of its established status in the text as published to date, despite its redundancy with the number of colours in this edition.

I do wholly agree that innovative/experimental factor here is very seductive, and I think the Folio Society should be applauded for being so courageous with original approaches and illustrations with so many works, especially when other fine publishing houses are more conservative and cautious (and dull). As you say, my fear of regret of how I would feel after cancelling when the limitation is sold out is a considerable enabler. I was upset at missing out on Pepys Diary through protracted ambivalence (until I ecstatically found one on Amazon) and don't want to put myself through that again.

> 141 "As you say, my fear of regret of how I would feel after cancelling when the limitation is sold out is a considerable enabler."

I'm in serious danger of ordering another one. . . .

(Locks himself in Shed and sits on hands.)

>143 cronshaw: Another One! Now that would be quite a serious FAD (Folio Acquisition Disorder) symptom ;)

>142 boldface:

Perfectly understandable!

Boldface - are you contemplating a second copy, or rather prevaricating about a cancelled order. I too am on the fence - not being familiar with the work.

> 145

No, I haven't cancelled anything - the wording stems from cronshaw's post 141. I've ordered just one copy so far, and I think that will probably suffice! I was really commenting on the strength of enabling going on here, and I have to admit that there is nothing worse than prevaricating until it's too late. "Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for a might-have-been", as Commander Ted Walker, R.N. says in Arthur Ransome's We Didn't Mean to Go To Sea.

The website claims that all existing stock is now reserved, and that new orders will not be delivered until August. Is that stock the first 1000, at special price, I wonder? Or is the announcement merely a ruse to tighten the knot in the minds of prevaricators? I am getting a trifle impatient for news (here, no doubt) of when deliveries will start: must be quite soon.

>147 affle:. Indeed. Price is now £225.00

>147 affle:

No mention is made of the 1000, and the special price is still available, so I am guessing the existing stock is less than a 1000.

I'm still debating on this one. The price is about as good as you can get for an LE and the title is among my favorites.

I initially applauded the fact there was no artwork, but have changed my mind. Afterall, only the first section is colored. The color itself might prove off-putting. I am partly convinced that it alters the mood of the book and makes the page appear festive. I can also envision myself disagreeing with the editors' choice of which episode a given fragment belongs to (it's not always obvious), and consulting the bookmark too much. Both might prove a distraction, similar to footnotes in Shakespeare.

>149 menteith:
Special price no longer available, I think? Was AU$325, now $395.

Oh yea, I survived the test.

US now $345.00, up by $50.

>150 johni92:

Well, I'll be. It must've changed during my commute because it was $295 when I left home this morning.

Oh well. The price increase rules it out for me. I have mixed feelings on the color anyway and am not fond of paper sides unless they are hand marbled. My only question now is if I should put the money to the Canterbury Tales (Gill) or The Letterpress Sonnets & Poems.

For what its worth, I asked nicely and got the pre-sale price, the mystery book associated with the summer sale, and the tote bag associated with a purchase of four books.

>154 jshorr: Few people think to ask for the pre-sale price! ;)

It's in the Crack Den (Members' Room to non-FADatics) and it is truly beautiful. Elegant, understated, the restrained external colour of the binding (a very handsome, intricate letterpress pattern on the grey boards) not detracting from the beauty and pre-eminence of the text. The multiple colours look superb, and have been well-chosen to look not at all gaudy (something I had initially feared). I did have difficulty distinguishing one or two of the greens and browns from each other, even with the bookmark pressed up close to the type, but I trust my eye will adjust in time.

The accompanying companion is 90% line-by-line glossary and provides a highly detailed, scholarly explanation and analysis of significant words (particularly use of the southern U.S. vernacular), phrases and passages, including quite arcane references. The two books look extremely smart side by side within the slipcase, the grey of the slipcase and of the companion's spine acknowledging the vermilion magnificence of the SF goatskin. A real design achievement. The books are an excellent size: about 3cm longer than the bookmark, very pleasant to handle indeed. Needless to say, seeing the physical product has assuaged my earlier wobbles and I'm thrilled I ordered. No regret for being £200 poorer.

Note: I was intrigued that in several places there is shift from roman to italic and vice versa without any corresponding change in colour, suggesting that the italic shift must not solely indicate a time change. I hope to learn more in due course when the book is delivered into my hungry palms - within the next fortnight I was told!

> 158

Thanks for another visual appraisal of this edition. My impression is that it will soon become a sought-after book by collectors due to its valiant approach and uniqueness.

IT is indeed a beautiful edition. I was very impressed when I looked at it in the Members Room. I also like the fact that it's not to large as I prefer books to be reasonably compact if possible, even Limited Editions.

> 158

Thanks , cronshaw! I can't wait to get my hands on it after your detailed and enthusiastic description.

> 159

I rather think you might be right, Antonio. It's obviously going to be a significant landmark in the Faulknerian bibliography.

>161 boldface: I hope the paraesthesia will have recovered in time! ;)

Noticed that delivery estimate is now August 2012.

>163 drasvola: The shipping status for my copy switched from "June publication" to "pending" today.

> 164

Mine too. This is promising...

> 165 And mine. I am a-quiver.

> 166

Mine too, but the website still lists an August delivery date...

I'm wondering if the August delivery date is only for the post-1,000 copies that are sold. I think the copies that were sold at the lower, introductory price will ship sooner.

I believe they bind them up in lots, so the June ship date was probably for the first lot. Then as the orders reached a certain level they had another portion of the edition bound and those will be ready to ship. That's my guess.

The shipping status is indicating 'despatched'...

Aargh... mine is still 'pending!

Mine is still 'pending'

Pending here as well. I ordered on 22 May.

>173 Quicksilver66: I ordered on 18 May, David, so I don't suppose it'll be long to wait. It's a new experience for me to be near the front of the queue - I ended up with number 991/1000 of The Holy Land.

> 174

Perfect timing on the Holy Land, Affle. I wonder if any Devotees here have ever received the very last copy in a limitation run?

So, people. I visited the MR this morning and there it was! It is out and I am sure all your copies are in the mail. I am not interested in buying this particular title, but I did have a look at it, and it is simply gorgeous. I love the binding and the paper is really lovely. And indeed, only the first part is coloured. Some of the colours struck me as a bit odd -- especially the brown which does funny things to my eyes.

Anyhow, just thought I'd let you know that your waiting will soon be over!

(Oh, what a terribly enabling thing a visit to the MR isn't....!)

Mine's "At warehouse".

Mine's "At warehouse" as well....

#177/178
Mine too. Hopefully it means it's already shipped. Usually when my status changes to "At warehouse" the books show up the next day or two. That August shipping date had me worried. My Dad's coming in around the middle of that month and it would be really hard to explain to him why I would buy a book with coloured type. He can't understand why I buy regular ones. Now maybe it'll get here before he does and can be just another book on the shelf when he arrives.

Still 'pending'.... :((

Mine's still at the warehouse. Didn't the van driver turn up for work today?!!

Mine is still set to pending. According to the order history on the site, I placed my ordered on May 17th.

Mine now says dispatched. At least if I am reading it correctly - it reads "at warehouse" beside the item description, but above this it now says "dispatched".

> 183

Yes, the driver's on his way at last. What we need now is a site where you can track the GPS co-ordinates of book-delivery-vans - something like http://www.flightradar24.com/.

> 184

My god, what a brilliant web site !! Appeals to my inner aviation nerd.

Yes, this would be great for FS deliveries. Unfortunately, FS tend to use HDN (now re branded as "Yodel") and they have a very poor reputation.

#184

That... smote me with coolness. I'm sending it to EVERYONE. Won't be going in to work today either. Must. Watch. Planes.

Of course, I don't see how I could ever fly again. NO ROOM! NO ROOM!

I waited and waited and waited, but, alas, despatch has not so far led to delivery. Tomorrow is another day.

At first light, I will be sitting in the crow's nest (atop the Shed) with my telescope trained on the horizon.

Still pending, ordered May 16.

Same here, ordered May 22.

Pending still; ordered also on May 16th.

While waiting for the delivery person the NYT has a really good article on Absalom Absalom (it says it is adapted from introduction to new Modern Library edition) - anyway reminds me that AA needs a re-reading after the S&F

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/magazine/how-william-faulkner-tackled-race-and...

Telescope out - suffering eye-strain . . .

Blip on horizon . . . Blip becomes blob . . . Blob resolves into big red van . . . Big red van draws up . . . Nice man hands over parcel . . . IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Copy no. 15.

The coloured type is very tasteful - quite muted and not, in my opinion, distracting. The paper sides are printed letterpress and have a pleasing texture to the hand. True to the book's origins, the American spelling extends to the limitation page and the special Folio Society introduction.

Why American spelling on the limitation page. I don't like that. I will be sending the book back !!!!

>195 Quicksilver66: That's disappointing, I hadn't realised. Undoubtedly the text itself should be in the American English spelling Faulkner himself employed, and the introduction too if it's by an American author, but surely the limitation page of a Folio Society edition should be in UK English?

predictably i think it is a triumph! as boldface says the colour is much subtler when you actually look at it on the pages compared with the photographs or even looking at the bookmark...it will be a delight to read

i think the binding and the letterpress printed sides are glorious (this is only my third LE and it is easily up there with Macbeth and Moby Dick)

they have done a really nice job with the Reading Faulkner - the end papers with Faulkner's letter to Ben Wasson letter and the typescript are excellent touches...

personally have no problem with the spelling of 'colored' on the limitation page - this is one of the great American novels and thus this represents a tribute to that from a particularly English publisher (either than or they have their spell checker set to US English)

The big red van took its time, getting from privileged Hertfordshire to the rural fringes of Hampshire. Even then, I had forcibly to restrain the man from delivering my book to the empty house next door.

But what a pleasure it is to have: a book - or pair of books - of instant appeal, that will insist on being read. Take several bows, Mr Green. I have a slightly surprisingly high limitation number, 144, but a pleasing one.

It was quite modestly packed - fine for the UK, but I hope the FS has something stouter in mind for the ferocious handling parcels seem to get across the water.

I hope that my copy arrives today (or tomorrow) as well. I am in Hertfordshire, so he could have detoured to my house after Boldface and before getting to affle. Fingers crossed.

>199 Quicksilver66:
No detor for you. Driver has read abot your hatred for absent "u" in limitation page. Yor copy has gone strait back to Eagle Stret and despatched to someone who doesn't give a fck abot absent "u"

Expect my copy to arrive in Astralia in the next week or so!

Status of my copy just changed from 'pending' to 'at warehouse'. I expect it to arrive in Germany in the first days of next week. Wonder what the number will be...

>200 SimB: Hilarios! Sond and Fry indeed!

Mine has arrived. Number 505. Very beautiful book - quite happy with it.

>
David, I like your number, quite a lot actually, but why yours is so high is a mystery to me.

> 204

I did order relatively late. I think the book had been available for two or three weeks when I placed my order. But the limitation number never bothers me - it is nice to get a low number, but it’s never a big deal for me.

>203 Quicksilver66:,205
Not the highest praise you've ever given an FS edition David - I'm worried!

> 206

Don’t be worried, Ian. It was late at night and I was feeling lazy.

This is what I posted in the Members Room thread when I first saw this book -

"I also got to have a look at the Sound and the Fury LE - and I’m pleased that I have ordered it because it's beautifully done. I was particularly impressed by the red leather spine - the leather is a nice deep morocco and it looks stunning. This is a really nice LE for the price....................
One thing that also impressed me was the quality of the slipcase - it has a nice smooth texture, unlike the other LE solander boxes and slipcases which have tended to have a slightly rougher texture. The grey slipcase also contrasts nicely with the red on the book. The front and back boards on the book are quite thick and therefore ride quite high from the spine - I am not sure if I have expressed this very well, but it is not something I have ever seen on another book. The effect is unusual but one that I like and I think makes the book quite unique.”

Still holds true. A great LE and highly recommended. But not as sumptuous as the Chaucer or Faerie Queene LE’s, but then it is half the price of these books.

I think we need to see some pictures. :)

>207 Quicksilver66:
Ah - I'd totally forgotten that message on the MR thread, David.
I'm soothed!
Alas, Friday closed with my copy still "At warehouse". I cannot wait to see this edition.

> 208, 209

I can take a hint -

> 210

Thanks, David. Hopefully my copy will arrive next week...

> 211

I am sure it will. It just has a little further to travel.

>210 Quicksilver66:. Thanks David for the pics!

> 210

Lots of thanks for the pics although they make me even more impatient to finally hold the book in my own hands.

>1 lgreen666: Dear Leopold Green I do hope you got Limitation no.1/1480 since this was all inspired by your letter!

>215 cronshaw: Letter "G" and I remain ever so thrilled!

>216 lgreen666: Nice!

>216 lgreen666:

What a great sense of achievement you must feel to have been the catalyst into turning Faulkner's frustrated vision into reality. Much kudos. Look forward to getting my copy soon. I read it in a Penguin edition about 30 years ago, and I'm definitely looking forward reading this anew along with the commentary.

> 218

I agree. We owe you Leopold. Any more ideas - if they are good ones, let FS now as they seem to follow your advice.

> 218

I agree too. FSD should feel very proud having such an outstanding devotee as Leopold. Again, congratulations!
Hip, hip, hooray!

>216 lgreen666: That's wonderful Leopold, I'm delighted your pivotal role has been justly recognised! Well done!

Thank you so much for those kind words!

We must have loads of good ideas between us all - I hope this is just the first of many realized ideas they get from their more 'devoted' members...

>222 lgreen666: Leopold, I'm intrigued about the whole limitation numbering business: did Folio ask you whether you'd rather have a 'letter' outside the limitation or a number within it? I'd imagine Lord Gavron gets no.1 of each LE edition (I had hoped you would get it!). Some Devotees clearly have strong preference for very low limitation numbers. For me it's more important that the quality does not alter within the limitation (as we have seen was the case with Pepys Diary LE where the first 750 were of notably superior marbling and leather quarter binding to the last 250 because of Ann Muir's passing). If Folio produced a LE of The Devil's Dictionary though, I would request no.666!

>223 cronshaw: Hi, no they didn't ask but I always assumed I would get a letter as I thought I read somewhere that it is only the letter editions they present... I was pleased though that they thought to give me one aligning with my name...

there would be a bidding war for no 666 of The Devil's Dictionary!

Now there is a new 'wheeze' as well as selling the LEs they could have a special 'devotees' auction system for low numbers, quirky numbers, etc. -- didn't they say they allowed people buying all/most of the Shakespeare to keep same number?

After I had bought the Lord of the Rings LE, I was given the option of the same number for The Hobbit and The Silmarillion when these came out sometime later.

An optimistic bookseller on ABE is asking £650 for a copy of S&F.

> 226

"Optimistic" is a polite way of putting it. I would be tempted to use a stronger term.

My S&F status has changed to 'despatched'!

>226 affle:,227 I could imagine market forces pushing a mint LE Candide to sell for something silly like £650 as it is a unique full leather bound volume signed by its much-loved illustrator with a smaller limitation and big demand, but asking that for a LE still on sale for £225 from Folio with plenty of copies yet available is pathognomonic of a glanscranium.

I received my copy today. It has number 58.

copy 378 arrived today in Germany - some hours before the status actually changed from "at warehouse" to "despatched" ;))

> 230 You appear from this thread to have ordered a very short time before Boldface yet your limitation no. is 58 and his no. 15. Curiouser and curiouser!

I haven't got mine yet, but I did lag a bit on ordering - 2 or 3 weeks. I expect I'll have a fairly high number but that's OK. I'm actually not that much into the story, but the publication itself was so different I just had to get it!

By the way, did anyone else notice that since the initial 1000 copies have sold, the due date for the remaining 480 (or whatever size batch they want to do first) has been pushed back to August 2012. Just saw it on the FS site.

Received my set yesterday - its number 18....love the set....thanks to Leopold Green....

From the Guardian article today:

The latter sections of the book have not been coloured for the new edition. "We put to the scholars the idea of going beyond Benjy and colouring Quentin and Jason's sections, but Noel and Stephen had a go at the Quentin section and gave up," said Titman. "They said that unlike Benjy's section, in Quentin's there were nuances they simply couldn't disentangle or unpick, so it defied that kind of unravelling. And Faulkner himself didn't envisage any other part of the book being treated in that fashion, anyway."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/04/william-faulkner-sound-fury-coloured...

> 235 Thanks for this link, Faisel.

Had to endure one more day of anguished waiting because I wasn't home to sign for the package. Picked it up this morning at the post office. The binding is beautiful and the smell of the book pungent. My copy is number 11.

Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere. The companion volume of glossary and commentary was originally published in 1996 as part of the 'Reading Faulkner' series by the University Press of Mississippi. The text has been duly revised to reflect the association with the Folio Society text of the novel (from the copyright page of the companion volume).

My copy arrived today. #23. Gorgeous book! Thank you Leopold Green & FS!

Received my copy today. No. 46. Ordered May 16.

It is indeed beautiful. And it arrived just before a weekend where the forecast is for temperatures too hot to do anything but stay inside my air-conditioned house and read, guilt free. Perfect timing.

I hate to admit it but S & F is the only book I couldn't finish, hopefully because I was still too young to appreciate it. After receiving the sample pages and understanding way more in them than I ever did in my original reading I am eager to give it another go. And maybe it's better that my first full encounter with it is in a form that the author wanted.

Yes, indeed, thank you Mr. Green and Folio Society.

>232 cronshaw:
Well observed cronshaw! I guess this shows that the FS sends out the books in random order. However the limitation number is not that important for me. I am happy that I was able to secure a copy before it sells out.

My copy #98 arrived today as well. A very nice edition. I am happy :-)

Changed from warehouse to despached today. Fast delivery as I signed for the battered box today. A quick sigh of relief as copy #30 proved to be in immaculate condition. They've made it to California.

Got #26 in Phoenix today. Yea!

I'm in California too. Maybe I should go sit on the front step? They are going to wait for me to leave for my lunch appointment just to torture me. Then I'll have to wait until Monday!

I think I'm the only one here who hasn't ordered this :-)

Nah, not the only one :)

I'm another non-purchaser. Definitely not my sort of book.

>247 AnnieMod: and 248 thanks for the support. When nearly everyone is buying, you start questioning your own decision, I'm afraid :-)

>246 ironjaw:,247,248 Please tell me what treatment you've been having.

>250 cronshaw:
Cronshaw, it's taste not treatment.
We are all different in what we desire. I collect fine books and fine cars, and in the former love geography, history,art and biographies. Fiction rarely darkens my shelves and the FS has never (and never will) publish any automobilia books although I have many fine editions about fine cars.
Hope you enjoy your Sound and Fury, but I have no taste for this style of writing.

Same here (except the cars :-)) I prefer mostly non-fiction and history, although I didn't blink a second ordering Candide

I like fiction, I am just a layman but this one is not particularly engrossing. more like an failed experiment. imagine more author follow its style to jumble sentences .... more complicated then it need to be.

>253 kafkachen:
While I respect everyone's opinion (if you frequent boards about fine press books, then I automatically respect your taste) I find it difficult to think of this book as a failed experiment while it continues to endure as a classic 20th century novel. Not your cup of tea, however, I can understand with respect.

I finally started reading it today (#682), and the experience is sublime. I'm saving the commentary for my second reading; flipping through it, I marveled at its elegance.

I couldn't be happier with this purchase!

#254
For me this was money very well spent. As I mentioned in my earlier post my first experience with the book was a disaster. I spent this weekend with it, though, and I'm already through the Benjy section, which is much farther than I got the first time, and I'd probably be almost finished the book if life hadn't kept getting in the way. I'm so glad FS gave me a second chance at this work. And I can hardly wait to get back to it tomorrow night!

>254 Dustin.R:

Thanks for your comment. by experiment, I mean something like experiments with narrative and structure , for example, the postmodern literature, so my thinking is if Sound and Fury had succeeded, it would have been more writers following the style.

Of course no doubt it is a classic.

246, 247, 248

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-THE-SOUND-AND-THE-FURY-BY-WILLIAM-FAULKNER-10-COPIES-...

A little sweetening for the chaps!

Despite a certain antipathy towards the works of Faulkner, I was almost converted today, having handled this beautiful version in the members' room today. I think it will take a little more to truly convert me, but I can't faiul what FS has done here. The book has to be seen up close to really get a feel for the quality. Reading this thread over the last few weeks and seeing pictures, I have been wondering what all the fuss was about, but the real thing is magnficently done, with the colour coding working much better (and much more subtle) than I had anticipated.

Still not quite enough to persuade me (yet) to give Faulkner another go, but I admire the concept, and now have a free copy of the bookmark to use with my slightly less challenging choices!

I did not comment on the book - just said I am not buying it... for various reasons.

I don't like the style but I can see why it is a masterpiece. And once upon a time I read it - I probably missed half of what it was saying (or more) but it was assigned in my English class so I just read it through.

I had mentioned before that I like Victorian novels (and later ones.. up to when everyone started experimenting - old SF may be outdated and all but simply works for me). I am not a huge fan of experimental writing - it is just not the way I am thinking - and that's why I am much happier with older works and works written in "outdated" styles with what passes for prose these days.

>259 AnnieMod: That just about sums up my feelings too. I admire experimentation a great deal...just not enough to want to actually read it ;-)

Mind you, I like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, so I am not averse to a certain amount of Modernism. Just spare me Ezra Pound!

FINALLY received my copy today after Folio initially put an incomplete address on the package so that it got sent back (cue wailing and loss of tooth enamel). But the pain of delay is now met with joy of heightened gratification as I've been aaahing and coooing and caressing for the past few hours!

If in this day and age the coloured inks are not that difficult to manage, see House of Leaves for example, then it's quite possible that a much less expensive edition of this title will be published at some point.

That's only part of the joy of this particular edition, though, as those who have handled it know only too well.

I asked for, and received #357, because the number itself has some significance for me, and because for the same reason I own #357 of Faulkner's Notes on a Horsethief - no results. Pooh.

I couldn't actually believe that the Folio Society would grant my request, and was just... amazed when they said yes.

>256 kafkachen: - I think that the reason there have been few followers of Faulkner's approach to this book is that few writers have the skill to pull it off, and probably even fewer can convince publishers to go along with it.

That said, this isn't my cup of tea either, and I have managed to avoid purchasing all Limited Editions so far. But I did buy four Heritage Press books in superb condition over the weekend, at a total cost of $18, which helps explain my aversion to LEs - the cost, if measured in terms of other books one could buy for the same amount of money, is simply too high.

Have finally gotten hold of my copy today - number 95 - and it is as beautiful as I expected. Taken individually the novel is a superb production, but the harmony of the full set (including commentary and slipcase) is impressive.

I wonder if the apparent success of this LE, combined with the lapsing of a certain writer's copyright, will tempt FS to contemplate a version of another unapproachable modernist novel?

>260 Conte_Mosca:

Now that sums the points I missed. I find Joyce and Woolf modernist to a point - their works have structure that is almost linear. I actually can read Ezra Pound - and even like some of his. But his style tends to jar me occasionally...

I don't have issues with narrative jumping between times, places and scenes when it is done properly - if anything that makes me think a little more. It's just the too modernistic that gets me - when the form looks more important than the story.

>264 ian_curtin:

Would not be surprised at the least.

I've read the book three times and love it, but continue to have reservations about the colors.

First, it changes the book. You are bringing an awful lot of order to the most chaotic section of the book. The book I read in High School wasn't colored, nor was the book I read subsequently. For better or for worse, the experience of reading it will be morphed.

I'm also sceptical about the infallibility of the time shifts as chosen by the editors. The shifts aren't always obvious and I envision myself spending more time evaluating whether I agree with their interpretation than actually enjoying the new-found flow brought about by the color scheme. Granted these are Faulknerian scholars, but that hardly puts them beyond potential reproach. If I found a shift that I didn't agree with, the edition would be ruined to me.

Lastly, it's unclear to me how important the color idea was to Faulkner. He did make the comment--I can't remember if I first read it in the introduction to one of my editions or if it was in the Portable Faulkner. But he did say it. My question is, was it just in passing--a momentary thought or reaction--or was it a long-standing and dear wish? My impression--right or wrong--is that it was something he might have chosen to do given the option, but that it was not something he lost any sleep over. If Faulkner cared about clarity he would have used a lot more full stops. Especially in Absalom Absalom.

That said, I am still very tempted by this LE.

What say the Faulkner fans? Has anyone had a chance to go through it yet? Does it feel more like a gimmick or is it a genuinely rewarding edition?

I have read my copy and I found the colored text helped immensely. The first time I read the Sound and the Fury I was hopelessly confused until I came across a critical review that put everything in perspective. It was like a "eureka" moment as everything in section one fell into place. If you have read Sound and Fury before but were clueless about what was going on, reading this will certainly give you that "eureka"moment. I only see the coloured text as improving the novel by making it more comprehensible. That's got to be better.

Coincidentally, I've just added an early (1989) Folio edition to my collection -- Buddenbrooks -- and noticed that the pattern used for the cover is very similar to the one printed for S&F. See below:

Can others in the United States who have received their copy of S&F please comment on the condition/quality of the packaging? I found it to be appalling (I could feel the book moving around inside a box that was not even properly sealed against the elements!) and of course my copy arrived in less than perfect condition. I have ordered many LEs over the years and never had ANY condition issues let alone one delivered in anything short of a cardboard casket with ample protection all the way around (an entirely different experience than standard Folio books which regularly, about 30 to 40%, arrive damaged). This was simply unbelievable negligence that a $300+ book would not even be sent in a completely sealed box, especially given the wet weather being experienced across the UK. In all fairness, none of my damage was due to water, but still! The slipcase is dinged up along the edges in several places (ok, this I may have been able to live with if all else was perfect) and in one place the slipcase has been bent inward with enough apparent force (there is a huge dent in the box) as to crinkle the red leather spine. So now if I look at the spine both inside and outside of the slipcase, I see a wrinkly line going across the length of the spine about 1 inch above the bottom. In addition, the gold stamping of the title into the leather is obviously off-center, and as another FSD member informed us, the letters did not exactly line up with the commentary volume. I realize I am probably more of a perfectionist than most when it comes to ordering new books directly from the publisher (I am obviously a bit more forgiving in second hand copies), but I spend several thousand dollars a year with Folio Society and I am tired of almost EVERY single order having damage to one or more books. And since this book cost a significant amount of money for a single volume with commentary and no illustrations, I cannot settle for something that appears damaged (even if it is relatively minor) and sloppily printed (the title).

I also picked up from my packaging room the second delivery in a recent order (each book is being shipped separate due to publication schedules). The first delivery was for Religion and the Decline of Magic (arrived damaged, replacement arrived damaged, but less so and I am tired of ordering replacements so I just kept it but was not happy) and this delivery was for The Age of Elizabeth, which is a VERY heavy four volume set. Despite copious amounts of bubble wrap, which SHOULD have protected the book (I suspect the boxes they use are too soft), it arrived with damage to a couple places on the slipcase and appears to be crushed in one corner which resulted in the first volume's spine bottom being "mashed in." That would make every single one of my last 6 shipments damaged in some way or another (granted in one of them, it was only one of five books in the shipment that was damaged, but still!).

This is incredibly frustrating, despite the completely apologetic and "no hassle" replacement offered by the Folio Society customer reps. And as a long-term member, I have to think that all these replacements are adding up to something that can only increase all member prices in the long run.

I received my S&F on Saturday. The package arrived in typical LE fashion - sent Express and in a similar type box. No damage to the books or slipcase.

I've only had one damaged book from the Folio Society. Every shipment I get is wrapped in lots of bubble wrap and usually in a Royal Mail bag.

>269 UK_History_Fan: - When mine arrived here in Manhattan I was actually surprised that it was packaged as minimally as it was, but regardless, it actually arrived in perfect condition. I was waiting for more than one FS delivery when it came, and since it didn't have the usual limited edition labels on the outside, I just assumed it was one of the other non-LE books I was expecting to be delivered around the same time. If I had known it was The Sound and the Fury, I probably would have been more careful & gentle opening the box, but like I said, it came in perfect condition. And I just went and checked - the gold leaf titles of both volumes line up perfectly along their spines.

I've ordered several LE's from FS, and none of them ever arrived damaged (with the exception of The Faerie Queene; the dye used on the slipcase has actually left a few insignificant marks on the white leather & bottom edge of the pages- probably from rubbing during shipping? - you can barely notice it and I didn't think it was significant enough for a replacement, even though FS offered one). However that is not the case with a few of the non-LE's I've ordered over the years. It seems like the quality of the packaging of their non-LE books is rather inconsistent. However, the good thing about FS is they always do replace damaged books with practically no questions asked. I do have to say that most of my damaged non-LE books came last year... This year every non-LE order has arrived in good/excellent condition.

I honestly don't know if the fault is really with FS or with the postal system. Quite often I can observe the USPS at work here on the streets of New York City, and quite often I am shocked and appalled at how roughly packages get handled/treated during delivery!

Regardless, I am very sorry to hear about your copy of The Sound and the Fury. I would be just as upset if mine arrived in that same condition.

>269 UK_History_Fan: California here, my copy of S&F came in a heavily damaged box but the book itself was in perfect condition. I think the packaging is designed with crumple zones to absorb shock and prevent damage to the book itself. Previous FS LE's came in heavier packaging that showed very little if any damage. I can't get too upset if the book came through unscathed. The packaging just ends up in the recycling bin anyway.

>269 UK_History_Fan: How very, very frustrating for you. I am not at all surprised about S&F: see my comment at 198 above. I really do not understand why the FS does not analyse where its replacements are going, and work out that they need to pack more stoutly for transatlantic customers. I have never received books with any transit damage, and I am not alone among long-standing UK customers in that experience, yet the experiences reported here make it perfectly plain that packages for the US (and maybe Canada?) often get really violent handling somewhere along the route; and I would have thought that was obvious to the FS's distribution manager.

>269 UK_History_Fan:

Unfortunately I'm not surprised. I seem to recall that we've had similar damage rates.

I've received more than my share of both damaged and faulty books. I was actually debating with myself earlier about getting either S&F or Moby Dick. I was leaning toward Moby Dick--even though I prefer S&F as a story--because Moby Dick looks like it could sustain a bigger shock without damage.

I recently ordered The Canterbury Tales (Gill), and if THAT arrives damaged I am going to take a long hiatus from the society.

> 274
Well I own both Moby Dick and Canterbury Tales and both arrived in much better packaging and perfect condition. So while I would love to tell you not to worry, there seems to be no consistency in trouble free deliveries. I realize the fault is mostly with the postal services and not FS (as I mentioned my damaged Age of Elizabeth could not have been better packed), but in the case of S&F I have to partially fault Folio for shoddy packaging. It is good to hear that other US members are receiving undamaged books. I have no concerns about Folio offering a hassle free replacement, but I am just sick of dealing with it to the point, as you mention, where it may actually drive away my business if I cannot get the books without multiple attempts at undamaged delivery.

Sean

I am not at all surprised. I was shocked at the minimal packaging for my copy as well - the book was rattling around in a large dingy box. Previously, even regular FS books were far better packed than this. I am afraid something has seriously gone wrong with FS packaging - it has declined significantly over the past year, and that’s why I try to get books from the Members Room when possible. Complain - eventually they may get their act together.

>275 UK_History_Fan:

I can fully understand your dilemma. Since walking away is not an option , I have resort to keep asking for more bubble warp, multiple layer of it, even for just a few books. and the damage rate is under control now.

I've noticed some smudging on the front and back covers of my book. I usually make it a point to wash my hands before handling such a book, I must have slipped and read it with somewhat dirty hands. The smudging is very faint, but I see it and it bothers me. I don't want to risk cleaning it because I don't want to damage the paper binding, but I thought I'd check to see if anyone here knows of any good ways to clean a book bound in this material. If not, I'll get over it -- it's very hard to notice.

Also, I live in Florida. My books come, without fail, in utterly destroyed boxes -- but the books are immaculate!

I am very jealous of all of you who get completely intact books in "utterly destroyed" boxes. Of course, I don't care about the condition of the boxes provided the books are well protected.

I will definitely be requesting a return and replacement. My limitation number is 61 (ordered May 16th from Scotland while on holiday) and I would like to keep it!

> 279

If you want to keep the same number then Folio will do this but the book will have to be re-bound, which is time consuming, so you might face a delay. They offered this with my damaged Gulliver’s Travels so I told them just to give me another number.

>269 UK_History_Fan: et al
I was also taken aback by the way S&F was packed when I eventually picked it up (had re-directed delivery to my parents' house to be sure it didn't go back into the postal system). No wrap at all, just braced inside the box. Fortunately mine is undamaged, save a pinprick-sized spot on the spine of the commentary volume, just below the main title. Seems crazy that such an expensive and high-profile volume is shipped in this inadequate manner.

How many of you get your shipments in Royal Mail bags? Mine are always bagged (I'm in Seattle), and I can't remember ever having received a box with much damage.

> 282
It is in fact the boxes hidden inside the Royal Mail bags that are most susceptible to damage. It has been speculated on here that they are used by postal employees as sling shots and thrown around without any care or concern for the contents therein. On a recent trip to Scotland, I actually witnessed this first hand in a Royal Mail sorting facility from my train window. Naturally, I cannot prove what was inside the bag, but if other bags are handled in this manner, I can see why so many get damaged. In all honesty I wonder how some of you get undamaged books based on my high rate!

> 280
Yes, David, I already spoke to FS Customer Service this morning. I do want the same number. The book would have had to be rebound anyway given the damage to the outside. I was not planning on reading it this year, so I don't mind the delay so long as I can get an unblemished copy.

I have uploaded photos to Photobucket for anyone who would like to see the pictures of the shoddy packaging, slipcase damage, printing offset (where the leather volume titling is noticeably higher than the commentary volume and printed off-center to the right and at a slight angle) and wrinkled leather spine (where the entire bottom of the book appears to have received a heavy drop). Please keep in mind it does appear much worse in person (I do not get sufficient natural light in the evenings to take quality pictures). Some of you will probably think (and some may even say) that I am too picky and you would have lived with it, but this is to document the issue for posterity since this copy will be sent back and replaced.

http://photobucket.com/lesf

PASSWORD: lefury

Just took a look at your photos. You're definitely not being too picky in asking for a replacement.

>284 UK_History_Fan: Sean, I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles, rest assured FS are always very understanding of the problems. I always call or email them after ordering, specifically requesting that my order is carefully packed accordingly so as to avoid any unnecessary damage. And if this does happen, I'm what you Americans say: not a happy bunny.

> 284

You are quite right in asking for a replacement. In my case (misaligned title also), I've already returned the volume. We'll see how long it takes to receive a new one with the same limitation number.

Antonio: Oh how I loathe misaligned titles. Still don't know what to do with The Selfish Gene - it looks so out of place when placed with its comrads

> 288

Hi Faisel: It's all due to a pathological disorder of the Pythagorean theorem... perhaps Dawkins has a solution for it.

Haha! That's a good one!

Thanks all for the reassurances that I'm not crazy or overly critical!

>291 UK_History_Fan: No-one said you weren't crazy. Picky, no, but crazy? Well... ;-)

Based on those photographs you are absolutely right to request a replacement. I would not be happy to receive valuable books damaged in this way.

He is a video of a LE delivery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q6_9A90cUk

It beggars all belief why these companies can't pack these items properly.

> 288

I know what you mean. It would get on my nerves too!

>294 DanMat:. Funny video. Video does show where some of the deliveries go wrong namely with the last mile, the short distance between depot and your delivery address. Delivery people usually get paid per parcel delivered and yes I can believe they get a little bit frustrated with yet another bozo not being at home and still ordering heavy parcels. What are these book loving people thinking! For a while I had the trouble that my delivery person would hide parcels in my garden. No no, I kid you not! After all, a carefully hidden parcel is a delivered parcel and they get paid. Sometimes it rains, actually here in the Netherlands it rains a lot.

Must say that the box wrapping the The Sound and the Fury (similar to one Candide came in) does make an excellent frisbee. Looks like the box shown in the photos (#284) was "bisbeed" back in the delivery van. Not at home!

:-)

>284 UK_History_Fan:
Shocking stuff.

A few people have mentioned the title offsets on the spines: it made me paranoid and I rechecked my copy, which looks fine. Am I right in thinking that the horizontal offset is wrong on your copy of the novel as well? Looks totally wrong in your pictures.

> 297
Yes, it is both horizontally misaligned as well as vertically misaligned. The commentary title is noticeably lower on its spine (in relation to the top and bottom) when compared to the S&F volume. But the more distracting error is in the off-center stamping on the S&F volume itself. Not only is the title stamped into the leather significantly to the right of center but it is actually angled a little (the best way I can describe this is in terms of a clock face: rather than being positioned at 12 is actually positioned about at the 1).

Same packaging story here. My box was pretty battered but the books were fine. Definitely a step down from the other LEs I've purchased from them. The packaging only had the crumple barrier on the ends and not on the sides, so a big enough bump to the corner of the box could have reached the corner of the book. I could also tell the book could move around inside the packaging, which is never good. On the other LEs, the crumple barrier was on all four edges of the box, so the book corners were better protected. And the book couldn't move inside the packaging. I've had some Letterpress Shakespeares come with boxes that I would swear had to contain a damaged book and they come out pristine.

Still yet to receive my copy. Though, to be fair, it will be delivered to the office and I haven't been in for the past week. It's probably sitting there right now, waiting for me :-)

Has anyone in Australia received their copy yet?

For the record, it's my pleasure to report that I have received my replacement copy of The Sound and the Fury, copy #11. The spine titles on the two volume set align perfectly. FS has sent me a complete set although, to save postage, I had returned only the main volume. So now I have an extra commentary volume and slipcase! A small difference that makes my copy a bit more unique (I think) is that on the limitation page in the first imperfect volume the handwritten number was '011' and the replacement has it as '11'. Obviously, two different people at work...

My copy of The Sound and the Fury was also damaged on arrival. The packing was far substandard for the price of the book and the $40 US shipping charge as others have noted. It was not damaged in transit, however. There was a small hole on the cover where the cloth had been ripped off. The Folio Society was very polite and replaced the book fairly quickly. I am happy to say that the new one was in perfect condition and packed much better.

The reason I am adding to the thread is that this was my first LE from Folio Society and while dissapointing, the book is great and worth the money. The big problem is that the second LE I bought, Moby Dick, also had a problem with the cover with scratches and indentations on the leather on the front and back of the book and a worn spot in the cover. This is one of the ones that was just bound. I am sure they will fix it but the Folio Society seems to have serious quality control issues when both of the expensive books I have bought were PACKED in a damaged state.

I love the Folio Society books. Their standard editions are fantastic and a joy to read. They are also packed MUCH better than the Limited Editions and at a much cheaper price. Go figure.

> 303 I completely agree with you regarding the absolute cheap and horrible packing of SOUND AND FURY: I'm still wondering how my copy made it to arrive without any damage. But MOBY DICK and HOLKHAM BIBLE (the only 2 LEs I bought first hand from FS) were very well and carefully packed, especially the HOLKHAM BIBLE with extra polystyrene box in which the thick paper wrapped solander box was inserted. I've never seen a packing as good as that for their standard editions (although even those are very good packed).

Regarding my replaced copy I should add that, this second time, the inadequate cardboard box housing the set was itself packed in several layers of bubble wrap and placed in another box for shipment. That's the way it probably should have been done in the very beginning, although my original set didn't sustain any damage. Maybe all August shipments will get the double treatment.

>303 SDB2012:

You aren't alone, unfortunately. I've received multiple LEs with issues, none of which appeared to be in-transit damage.

Has anyone else had endpaper issues with their Gill Canterbury Tales LE? On mine, the endpapers aren't completely glued down at the top corner on the front board. This was the case with my original copy and also the replacement. The replacement seems to be, overall, in a better condition, but the damn end paper is STILL not completely glued down on the board. I'm turning the issue over in my head. Perhaps it's worth reaching out to them and seeing if there's some cheap and simple glue I can apply myself to fix the issue. My concern is that it would stain through the endpaper or that I would apply it clumsily and gunk up the leather.

Both copies also had flaws in the gilding in the exact same spot, leading me to believe that something in the process is doing the damage and that it isn't just by chance. The spot in question is toward at the bottom of the vertical guilded edge, toward the last few pages of the book.

I want the book and am sitting on whether it is satisfactory as is or if it's just an LE I will have to make do without.

> 306

Your message made me check my copy and, fortunately, I don't see anywhere the endpapers in danger of becoming detached from the cover. If the part coming unstuck is small, I would use some special binders glue to carefully attach the offending fragment in place.

A look at FS's LE The Sound and the Fury is up on Books and Vines.

http://booksandvines.com/2012/08/06/the-sound-and-the-fury-by-william-faulkner-f....

or

http://booksandvines.com/

I've almost been convinced to buy it. Better make my mind up before it sells out and I regret missing out...

>310 johni92:

I'm in the same boat. I am deciding between this or the Bowler Press Importance of Being Earnest. I am exerting all my efforts to prevent myself from buying both.

Well, I've decided to order this given that (1) I've have never read Faulkner and this edition will make it easier to follow the dialogue; and (2) the great deal of publicity this edition is getting in different litterary articles, newspapers, magazines, etc. as the first "coloured (first section)" edition of The Sound and the Fury; and (3) the chances that this will cost quite heavily on the second hand market if I were to buy it later.

>311 menteith: So if you can factor one of these into your argument then go with TSATF, and buy Bowler Press' edition later or in the secondhand market, if not then don't buy this.

Not up to the standard of the Bowler Press edition (nor limited to only 65 copies) but FS published a nice edition of this with illustrations by Cecil Beaton. Not sure when, but somebody with Folio 60 to hand will be able to say. It appears regularly on the second hand market.

> 313

It was published in 1960 and is publication 148 (p.77) in Folio 60.

Was down to 14 copies left, so had to quickly order it. Only 13 left now...

It's marked as "sold out" now--not quite as fast a sell out as the Rubaiyat but quick enough.

I think I now know why TSATF sold out on Sunday, August 12th. This great article appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, August 11th:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444873204577536924262727192.html

It includes a nice photo of the FS edition.

>317 podaniel:

Thanks for posting that article, a very interesting read. There are already a couple of copies of the book up on Abebooks at $800 - $1000!

> 318

Now there is only 1 copy left on Abebooks. The one for $ 800 seems to be sold.

Just found out about Noel Polk's passing. Sad day indeed.

http://www.usm.edu/news/article/memorial-service-noel-polk-aug-25-southern-miss-...

http://www.foliosociety.com/blog/

>320 brother_salvatore: Thanks for highlighting the moving tribute on the Folio website about this sad loss.

Although this edition uses American spellings I've noticed that 'symbolise' is spelt with an 's' at the top of page 167, while in American English it is always spelt with a 'z'. Did Faulkner himself spell 'symbolise' this way, or was it 'misspelt' by the Folio Society? Not that it matters particularly, unless it shows the existence of variant spellings in the southern US?

"... the whole thing came to symbolise night and unrest ... "

Faulkner did intend to write "symbolise" there - it appears that way in the "corrected Faulkner" version as well. To be honest, it's not representative of the southern US, but merely a spelling variant chosen by Faulkner. That's all you can infer from that choice.

>323 nicklong: Thanks for your reply ‒ there's also 'realise' on page 175 and probably other 'British' spellings.

>324 mkpc7:

There's a reason for that. Faulkner was actually born "Falkner" and joined the Canadian Royal Air Force (when he changed his name to the British-spelled "Faulkner"). He also adopted a British accent when dealing with the RAF, so he was clearly familiar with the British spelling of certain words. Do as you may with this information.

I would never have imagined that one could spell realise with a z.

>326 overthemoon:
Americans love to "zee" their English.

Az long az it pleazez them to do so.

...zo

Yet another intersting article about this FS edition in yesterday's NYT Book Review section:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/books/review/the-sound-and-the-fury-in-14-colo...

This does appear to have been, at least in terms of critical commentary, the most significant FS LE.

> 330

The controversy will probably go on and on. What would Faulkner have said if he had seen pageproofs of the coloured version, i.e. the practical result of his idea? I think the reviewer is right in saying that the effect might be too arresting. Another way of seeing this is that the text would incorporate a footnote indicating the time period of the sentence, paragraph, etc. Wouldn't the reader's patience be taxed?

As it is, I like very much the FS edition. But not precisely for reading. It is a great source to use as reference, to check your own impression of what is going on, and to compare previous versions of italics and romans text. Together with the commentary volume, FS has contributed to an improved understanding of a masterpiece which will continue to hide some secrets.

#331 Your last paragraph sums up very nicely my impressions of this edition. I am thrilled to have it, and look at it often, but I may never read S&F in full from it. I'm very eager to get into the commentary, which I have not yet had the time and appropriate mental state to begin.

Ardis is offering a copy No. 574 of the TSATF LE reasonably priced at 400 GBP (http://www.ardis.co.uk/book_search.asp?Textlink=Details&Find=97278). It's much cheaper than the other 2 copies currently offered at abebooks (http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=faulkner&kn=folio+society&sts=t&tn=sound+and+fury&x=43&y=10).

>334 rainerc:

Thanks for the alert, rainerc. Another case like the Violet Fairy Book on ebay. To think Ardis are trying to sell S & F at the ridiculous price of £400 when they could be asking £5000!

> 335
I just checked and discovered that the Ardis offer is not listed on abebooks anymore. Seems it has been sold quite fast at this decent price.

I'm so glad I ordered this wonderful LE as soon as it was available directly at the Folio Society!

> 336

Me too! At £195, if I remember correctly.

Collected a copy from the Members Room in the week, after asking (without much hope) on a previous visit if any were left. My impression was it was the last copy.

>338 nonehead:

Congratulations, nonehead. Who would have thought that any were still available?

I'm exceedingly jealous, as I've been kicking myself for letting this LE sell out. Enjoy it in good health.

Reading this one right now. Simply awesome...

FFS

This is the only LE I bought, and I have 2 copies of it, 188 and 189. 188 is in the shrink wrap. I'll be a long time dead before I could get 5000 pounds for it!

>341 SimB: I'll let more knowledgeable folks weigh in on this issue, but I think leaving valuable books in shrinkwrap is actually harmful to them and can reduce their re-sale value. I believe that the key factor is that they are "unread" (besides otherwise being "as new" etc.). But, again, I'm not a fine book collector.

> 342
I'm afraid I will have to disagree with that. Whether rightly or wrongly the "marketplace" puts on premium on shrink-wrapped books. Removing this obvious evidence of "newness" can reduce value significantly. Or more accurately, leaving something shrink-wrapped will increase its value relative to a non-shrink-wrapped copy. I don't disagree with your caution that there could be some long-term impact of not letting a book properly "breathe" but I imagine it would take a decade or so rather than just a few years.

Maybe more than you want to know about shrink wrap:

http://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/230233/Book-Collecting-Basics-Can-I-Read-My-...

http://www.stephenkingcollector.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=138

http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v12/bp12-13.html

http://www.abebooks.com/docs/RareBooks/Avid-Collector/May07/ask-the-experts.shtm... (You'll need to scroll to the end to find the shrink wrap question)

I think the last one puts it very succinctly: if you want to preserve the value, leave the shrink wrap on. If you want to enjoy the book at all, or be sure it is what you expect, you'll have to take it off.

Veering off topic and away from FS, but relevant to the value question, I have recently bought several books from the 1920s which have uncut and unopened pages. I probably paid 'extra' for them because they could never have been read all through. However, I want to read them, so I have very carefully and neatly cut them, thus destroying a proportion of their resale value at a stroke. But what's the good of a book if you can't read it? What's the good of buying fine wines which are too valuable to drink? What's the use of leaving the shrink wrap on? Have I just defined the difference between a book/wine lover and a collector/investor? Which are we? Take the shrink wrap off! Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!

>345 boldface: I'm with you. If I don't love a thing, I don't collect it. And you can't love anything (or anyone) properly by keeping it untouched and perfectly preserved. I assume, however, that someone like >341 SimB: who buys two of something when it's pristine and new intends to appreciate one, and save the other to appreciate in value. That's a plan that covers all bases...a good plan if you can do it.

>345 boldface:

Well said. These books will be around a lot longer than we will.

>345 boldface:
Can I please ask how you "very carefully and neatly cut them"?. I have copy of The Tower by W.B. Yeats from the Folio Fine Press series with uncut pages, and I'm very nervous of going anywhere near it with a knife or scissors.
What would you recommend?

>345 boldface: Completely agree. I worry about condition only as it bothers me. I don't intend to ever get rid of my books. I treat them well, but I read them.

>348 N11284:

Don't use scissors - you won't get a straight edge. I use a medium-sized kitchen knife with a smooth edge (not serrated). I sharpen the knife before use. This is essential - a blunt knife will tear the paper. The knife should be positioned between the pair of leaves to be cut and slid up to the fold. Make sure the pages are kept as flat as possible throughout the cutting process. Keep the blade at a narrow angle to the edge being cut. Practise on a spare folded paper first! Good luck!

It's never seemed to me that any premium was being asked for the many and various unopened books I've bought down the years, though admittedly most of those have been common trade editions and not in any very remarkable condition aside from the evidence that they've not been read. A couple of recent arrivals, though, the Medici Society editions of Walter Pater's Marius the Epicurean in two volumes and Stephen MacKenna's Plotinus translation in five, have each turned up partly unopened and are delightful productions on some of the stiffest, creamiest paper I've seen. Memory tells me that I've seen a recommendation for an ivory paper knife for the opening of pages, but I'm currently out of bits of dead elephant and a funny old ornate silver-plated kitchen knife has performed the office to my full satisfaction.

> 352
I do the same. To be clear, I was not advocating that someone keep everything in shrinkwrap and never read their own collection, I was merely acknowledging that removing it decreases value. But since I am not collecting explicitly to preserve value or for resale (and let's face it, with few exceptions, books are like cars in that they depreciate greatly), I have no hesitation in removing the wrap when I am ready to read something.

I must say ,when I receive an order from FS I don't hesitate to open all books immediately , stretch the covers, smell the pages and binding, feel the paper and check the illustrations. I then put them in order of preferred reading (although that often changes). Having said that, if I had the (large amount of) spare cash I would by 2 of each new LE, as >346 laytonwoman3rd: suggests; as far as I can see, the LEs always appreciate in value.

I always take the shrink wrap off right away for two reasons: (1) I dislike shrink wrap, and (2) I want to check the contents to make sure there aren't any production problems I need to bring to the attention of the good folks at the FS. I don't buy books as investment goods, but as consumption goods, so maintaining resale value matters little to me.

I am so happy that you don't have the spare cash to buy 2 of each new LE; there won't be any LE left for the rest of us if everyone starting buying two LE each :)

And the thought of LE appreciating in value; I've never understood it and probably never will. I'm too busy reading and loving my growing collection.

When I started collecting books, I was quite eccentric (maybe I still am) and was amused by a fellow that recommended that a true collector should always buy three copies of each book: one for lending, one for appreciation and one for reading. That's when I realised there is a world outside and more to life than waisting ones time on multiple copies. I really need my shelf space for other interesting books :)

>356 ironjaw: you may rest assured, this is not a financial situation that is likely to change soon :) As for 3 copies, inc one for lending, I must say that I am loathe to lend any FS anymore, even to old friends; my Master and Commander was missing for 18 months before I finally reclaimed it last week, to join the majestic, now complete, set on their own shelf !

>357 tarangurgi:, 18 months! Well at least you received it in the end. The O'Brian series by the FS are really beautiful.

>358 ironjaw: Agreed . Overall, my most prized Folios

Not ordering the Folio LE Faulkner is my biggest Folio regret. I have not yet taken the plunge of ordering a LE but I was very close on this one.

So sad.

Oh yeah, there is that content thing. I know what you mean with Faulkner. Visiting his home, Rowan Oak, though brought me closer though.

Buy the LE that you'll know that you will love and READ. There's no point in stacking up LE which are gathering dust.

#361

Years ago I tried to read The Sound and the Fury and felt like such a failure when I couldn't get past the first few pages. So when the LE came along and I had some spare cash I decided to go for it--and was glad I did. The FS edition was so different to read. It's so much easier to hear the characters' voices when you know who is speaking and when. I may even try some of his other works some day, if I can get my TBR pile whittled down a little. I used to read so many books but once computers came into my workplace I've been lucky to get one book read a month. After staring into a computer screen all day I just want to close my eyes as soon as I get home.

I strongly second As I Lay Dying. It is not a long book but it does shift from character to another in voice. The characters and the mood is beautifully drawn. There is also a James Franco film that actually follows the book rather faithfully that I viewed recently. I can't believe that I just said that but I will risk being out of fashion.

>364 haniwitch:

Once I found that I started a PhD and then spent all day reading papers, writing manuscripts the number of books I read plummeted to a couple a year.

However, since joining the Society it's back up to ~20, not as many as I'd like, but all I can afford given that they are all Folios. Just something inherently different to picking up and reading (also smelling and touching) a good hardbook book, that makes it worthwhile.

I have a shrinkwrapped copy of "The Sound and The Fury" on Ebay for those that are interested. When it was released in 2012 I got two copies, one to read and this other one! It is copy #188. It's reached $1000 Australian, so - around $700 - $750 USD. I'd like it to go to a FSD if interested. So there will be a 10% sale price rebate for FSD group members, where membership acquired prior to 7 July 2015, and that membership remains active. If you win, contact me in this thread and I will arrange the discount. This will be a cash back outside Ebay through your paypal account.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/southernsky78/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&amp...

I’m finally beginning this LE and after flipping through the book this evening, I found the last 15 to 20 pages are a fainter black, somewhat more dark gray, than all preceding text (the fainter text is similar to the color of the page numbers). Does anyone find this in their copy? The fainter text doesn’t clearly match a time period on the color coded bookmark so it seems a potential production error. Please let me know!

>370 Bacon.And.Eggs: I'm not sure I would have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it, (probably would have thought I needed to clean my glasses!) but between pages 298 and 299 the print does seem to get lighter--not quite as faint as the page numbers, but definitely lighter. And there isn't any shift in time there, so it does seem to be an anomaly.

>371 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for replying. It’s odd and subtle — I’ll post a photo later for the group. If anyone else is willing to check their copy, I’d appreciate it.

>370 Bacon.And.Eggs:

I wouldn't have noticed this either, but I concur with the comments of >371 laytonwoman3rd:.

>371 laytonwoman3rd:

You never know. Maybe it's an obscure Easter Egg of some kind :p...I was thinking of the type for the Centipede Press edition of Jekyll and Hyde. Halfway through, the text becomes this shaky/drunken "handwritten" scribble, but there's no explanation anywhere in the book or the advertising materials. I had to ask Jerad about it and he confirmed it was intentional.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this amazing work. In my opinion it's one of the greatest American novels of all time. It's a difficult and amazing read. The companion is super useful to get a better grasp of the situation.

>375 astropi: I agree. Faulkner is brilliant. One of the few authors who always makes me feel so stupid at times but somehow he brilliantly puts it all together. Even some of the books he wrote when he was apparently sloshed the whole time and wrote quickly for money are wonderful. In my opinion the best American author by a long shot (with Moby Dick being the best novel, of course.) By chance have you ever read A Fable? Faulkner spent 10 years writing it and considered it his masterpiece but it gets such little press these days. It's underrated to say the least and after you get past the first 70-80 pages when things start clicking it's beautiful and book to remember.

>377 Joshbooks1: I have not, but I appreciate the suggestion and will definitely search for a copy!
I would have to agree that Moby Dick is likely THE American novel, but in terms of authors it's tough. The usual names come to mind: Twain, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and of course Faulkner. Also what about London, Poe, Lewis... I'll take them all :)

>378 astropi: They're all a bunch of ham-and-eggers by comparison! Faulkner, Melville a close second and Bellow are my top three. Hemingway, Poe, Whitman, Steinbeck are close. Twain and Fitzgerald are cute but overrated. I still have no idea how Huckleberry Finn is so popular; I reread it recently and what a disaster of the last hundred pages. Am I crazy or does it seem as if Twain had no idea how to end the book so he just had Tom Sawyer make a cameo appearance? What a head scratcher. Salinger should be up there with the greats if his published material is as good as his earlier works (hopefully it's not all hype like Twain's autobiography only to have it be absolute garbage.) The wonders and subjectivity of literature!

"Am I crazy or does it seem as if Twain had no idea how to end the book so he just had Tom Sawyer make a cameo appearance?" I think that's a pretty widely held opinion! Even my husband and my brother, who both feel about Twain the way I feel about Faulkner, can't defend the way that books fizzles out.

Thing about Twain, it's not just his "popular" books that make him a legend. It's his opinions and criticisms, his sayings and his larger-than-life persona. He is part of American lore and culture. Even if you prefer Faulkner's works, style, etc. there's no denying that Twain is one of the greats when all things are considered. Speaking of Melville, have you read his poetry? I have, don't recommend it. It pales in comparison to his other works. However, we do have some amazing poets - Longfellow, Whitman, Frost, Dickinson... and of course, Poe. I think Poe actually is beyond simply "a great American author" he transcends such labels and is in my opinion without doubt "world literature" - along the lines of Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc. I'm sure some purists are "shocked and appalled" ready to write an angry message how no one can compare with Shakespeare... well I disagree! Poe's works are as beautiful as Shakespeare. And back to the original discussion, I love Faulkner, but when it comes to the beauty of the language, Poe > Faulkner any day of the week.

>381 astropi: Twain certainly was a character. I visited his house a few years ago in Hartford and he certainly was a smart man - he married rich! What a house and life. I've never read Melville's poetry but was planning to purchase his LOA poetry collection which included Clarel. What a tragic life he led and only if people at that time appreciated his work he probably would have written a lot more. Bartleby the scrivener is one of my favorite short stories and even the Confidence Man, his final novel, was brilliant. I agree with Poe: underrated and a wonderful author. A shame he died so young. It probably won't be a popular comment on this site, and I think Shakespeare is great, but I sometimes think people put him on an untouchable pedestal simply because literature from England is, how do I put it nicely, average? Even my favorite author from there was Polish. Although I do love Virginia Woolf. They were pretty good at ruling the world though for a few centuries.

>382 Joshbooks1: Joseph Conrad is one of my favorite authors too, and Heart of Darkness definitely puts him in the "world literature" category. You know, I am a bit curious if and what American books they read in the UK *before* college? (fellow devotees can you answer :)

I recently read a comment from Adlous Huxley that suggested the reason Poe was so popular in France was that the French had absolutely no ear for English. Perhaps a little unfair, but ... consider The Raven

>384 gmacaree: will read this later
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41506391?seq=1

>380 laytonwoman3rd: >381 astropi: >382 Joshbooks1: A bit off topic here, but I saw Ron Chernow of “Hamilton” fame is working on a biography of Twain - I was surprised he chose him as the topic for his next book, but certainly a testament to his stature.

>384 gmacaree: Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Huxley who wrote one pretty good book? whatever one wants to call it, insulting someone who is not even in the same league as Poe. It's like Nabokov's famous insults about Dostoevsky. Yes Lolita is very clever but the book itself is not great. A lot of his other books are pretty good: Pale Fire, Pnin, Sebastian Knight, etc. But the nerve and ego, or maybe it's just insecurity, of him to insult one of the best novelists of all time always makes me laugh. But that's why literature and books are so fun. It's always fascinating to see someone's likes and dislikes.

>387 Joshbooks1:

I know plenty of people who find Dostoevsky unreadable...lol. Way too preachy. And I wouldn't call Nabokov's comments insulting. He simply pointed out that the West admires Dostoevsky far more than Russians do (inversely, the Russians admire Pushkin far more than Westerners do).

About Poe: I think it was H.L. Mencken who pointed out that Poe was hated by practically everyone during his lifetime to the point where almost nobody attended his "real" funeral (Walt Whitman attended, which makes sense since Whitman's contemporaries also hated his poems) held decades after his first funeral which was even more sparsely attended. The French saved his reputation, to our lasting benefit.

Ultimately it comes down to personal taste. I do really like Dostoevsky, but I do think he can be overly preachy, in particular (if memory serves) in The Idiot, which even with the preachy segments is a fabulous work. Melville was a total failure during his time. It's only in hindsight that we can say whether a work or works is truly "world literature" or not. Poe definitely in my opinion is one of the world's greatest writers. He has inspired so many authors and artists across the world that I would argue strongly with anyone who thought otherwise :)

>388 MobyRichard: He simply pointed out that the West admires Dostoevsky far more than Russians do (inversely, the Russians admire Pushkin far more than Westerners do

I wouldn't say that Russians admire Dostoevsky far less. He's definitely right there at the top in public perception. Which doesn't mean that everyone likes him. There are probably many more Russians who actually dislike him, but overall his stature is still up there with Tolstoy.

Pushkin - yes; I'd say in Russia has has even greater stature than Shakespeare in the anglophone world. You'd be very hard-pressed to find someone who actively dislikes him. His language is also much more accessible to the masses than Shakespeare's, and he's a household name for Russians since early childhood as he wrote a number of poetic fairy tales still popular today. I mean, the guy's nickname is "our everything." And I think it makes sense why he's not nearly as admired outside of the Russian-speaking world - poetry doesn't travel well across languages.

>389 astropi: I'm biased and Dostoevsky is my favorite author but I'm not sure if I would call his works preachy, especially for 19th century fiction. I think he is more philosophical than his contemporaries, which, at times, makes him difficult to read since some long rants don't fit in with the story. Tolstoy, Hugo, Stendhal are far more preachy in my opinion. I like Dostoevsky because of his inner turmoil and struggles which usually have little resolution. Hugo and Tolstoy preach about the beauty of Jesus, Christianity, love one another, etc., while in Dostoevsky's work you can see how much he wants to believe yet he simply cannot take that leap of faith. Ivan's monologue in the Brother's Karamazov shows Dostoevsky's uncertainties regarding faith brilliantly. I love Dostoevsky because of the uncertainties and inner turmoil in nearly all of his characters. Where Tolstoy has Levin and Pierre face challenges that cause inner turmoil, in the end they both find peace and become enlightened. Dostoevsky has none of that. Maybe you can make the argument of Raskolnikov and Sonia finding some type of inner peace, but, God, what suffering to come. Prince Myshkin and Aglaya? Nikolai and Stepan? Dimitri and Ivan? Although I do find Father Zosima's story about his brother one of the most beautiful passages in literature. What an enviable way to live your last few days.

I consider The Idiot one of the best novels ever written. If Dostoevsky hadn't written so many other novels of great import it would get more recognition. Heck, even The Adolescent is certainly worth reading. I've read The Idiot twice now and the hardest part with the novel can be described in one word: despair. Such a beautiful novel filled with utter hopelessness. One of the only novels in which i've cried (the other being Laxness' Independent People,) yet so beautiful and such a worthwhile read. Only if Dostoevsky lived long enough to write the second part of Brother's Karamazov and had had the immense resources at hand like Tolstoy to have not rushed certain parts of his novels. But again, maybe that anxiety and suffering along with several years in the gulag is what made him so special.

>391 Joshbooks1: In fairness, apart from that brilliant monologue of Ivan's, the rest of the Brothers Karamazov's 10 million pages are not...unpreachy. I found a lot of Aloysha's sections to be hard work.

You make me want to read the Idiot though.

>391 Joshbooks1:

I agree very much with the distinction you made between preachiness and philosophy in Dostoevsky. It's precisely the opposite of preaching that excites people about his books--the questions, the doubts, the dilemmas, the profound seeking. If he were merely preaching he'd be unreadable to most, especially atheists (including myself)--and yet he is fascinating, akin to the "culty" authors (at least in the generations past) like Hesse or Nietzsche.

>392 HarpsichordKnight: You should give it a shot, I think you'd enjoy it. The House of the Dead and his short stories are also worthwhile.

>393 LolaWalser: Dostoevsky was the first author who made me truly love literature and one of the few that after going back to his works years later made me appreciate him even more. And funny you mentioned preaching making books unreadable - When I was in my early 20s or late teens I adored Les Mis. Six months ago I decided to go back to it (albeit an audiobook but it is an easy story to follow,) and couldn't finish the book. How black and white and even boring it is now to me. Ha, probably the exact opposite with Don Quixote! It's funny how one changes with literature.

On a side note, I like your author selection! I just finished reading Hourglass, Encyclopedia of the Dead, and The Tomb of Boris Davidovich - it's amazing Kis isn't better recognized. And for Benjamin I recently finished the Storyteller essays and only heard of him through NYRB. Any other recommendations?

Anyone reading Dostoevsky in the original Russian? I can only read the English translation. The Constance Garnett translation of The Idiot is very well respected. Perhaps you're right, "preachy" is relative. I'm sure many would find this shocking, but personally I do wish The Idiot was shorter. I found myself losing patience especially with last third of the book. I read Crime and Punishment years and years ago... but don't ever remember being bored.

>396 astropi: Ugh, I wish. I always wanted to learn Russian since it is my favorite genre of literature but I've never been good at languages and now there are so many books that I need to read before I die that it would get in the way. The Idiot does have some parts that are long, but I always enjoy the longwinded discourses in novels. My wife, who is much smarter than me, always jokes that the books I read are too long with no plot. The amount of times I've tried to get her to read the books I like! The Man Without Qualities is one of my favorite books and it's nearly 2000 pages with pretty much no plot whatsoever. To each their own I suppose! Oh how I wish Folio would make an edition of Musil's masterpiece. I mean if they can publish multiple copies of Joyce, including Finnegans Wake, how about some real literature!

>395 Joshbooks1:

Hmm, Benjamin, Dostoevsky, Kiš, Musil... Everything I'm associating to is probably something you'd have heard of--not listing your library doesn't make it easier! :) Perhaps Borges' beloved Macedonio Fernández would fit the bill for you?--I think I saw there have been recently several translations into English, at long last.

Going back to Dostoevsky... might you be interested in fiction about or inspired by him?

If yes, I'd have three suggestions by three very different authors--Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin and The Master of Petersburg by J. M. Coetzee, which feature Dostoevsky as a character, and Cristina Peri Rossi's Dostoevsky's last night, like Tsypkin's book dramatising addiction to gambling, but delving deeper into its roots via psychoanalysis. P.S. Er, neither book being "about" gambling as such, rather treating it as the symptom of a personality crisis in Dostoevsky and the Dostoevsky-like character.

>391 Joshbooks1:
>392 HarpsichordKnight:
>393 LolaWalser:

Preachiness doesn't have to be evangelism. I consider Dostoevsky preachy b/c he seems more interested in his own moral struggles than in creating art. I think the other pat of Nabokov's point about Dostoevsky, is that many of the Russians who do admire him, admire him for his moral views or his mysticism and not necessarily his art.

Just my opinion though. I much prefer art for art's sake and for form and substance to be One and indivisible. And in Dostoevsky I feel like I can cut each character in half and cleanly separate out the "Dostoevsky's moral/spiritual struggle" part.

I think art here is subjective. What makes Dostoevsky great is his philosophical rantings in his novels. In fact, all of his novels are based on philosophical dilemmas. Take Crime and Punishment for example. Dostoevsky takes a good hearted, poor, well educated young man in Raskolnikov who is fascinated with the concept: can one commit a crime for a morally good reason? Is this what differentiates the meek commoner from a 'great' man like Napoleon? Or in The Idiot where he takes Prince Myshkin, a Jesus like figure, and asks the question what would happen to Jesus if he lived in 19th century Russia? To me it's much more creative and intriguing than any author of his time and am unsure how his books are not considered art, even masterpieces.

I'm a little confused with the preachiness or morality complaint people are referring to about Dostoevsky. I consider his writing philosophical and of course when your whole novel is based on a philosophical dilemma I don't know how you can't get away from voicing your opinion. It's not a story like Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, etc. It's why I don't like a lot of English authors (Dickens, Bronte sisters, Austin, Eliot, etc) since their work reads more like a well written soap opera. At least Tolstoy has more introspection than the authors above but even Anna Kareneina and War and Peace, although entertaining reads, have very simple black and white ideology. How many times in War and Peace does Tolstoy make such an erroneous argument that Napoleon's success was simply luck! I wanted to pull my hair out! Yes we get it that Russia is great, France is evil, and war is bad. But I love Tolstoy because of his later works and adore his last novel, Resurrection; it's his only novel where he frees his soul and talks about what he really thinks and believes. And dare I say, copies Dostoevsky? And I can't think of an author who is more moralizing or preachy than the later years of Count Leo.

Ranting again. I just find Nabokov annoying. He always seemed to me a pretentious writer who had a few pretty good novels, Lolita being very clever but I wouldn't call it great, who always felt he was superior when there are so many Russian authors better than him. I'm glad he didn't win the Nobel.

1. Does anyone recall the original FS prices for both the 2012 Limited Edition and the 2016 single-volume reprint?

2. Does the 2016 reprint have the same color-coding innovation in the text as the original 2012 Limited Edition?

>401 dlphcoracl:

1. No, I do not
2. I own the 2016 SE reprint, but not the 2012 LE. The SE definitely has color-coding in the text, and to the best of my knowledge, it is identical to the LE, including the bookmark that contains the color coding legend.

Note: the LE and the SE use the same paper: Abbey Wove

I paid $295 US for my 2012 edition.

>401 dlphcoracl:

The UK publication price (Jun 2012) was £225, but it was offered at £195 for an introductory period: it was a good seller, so I imagine many copies were sold at the lower price, including mine.

>400 Joshbooks1:

Yes, sometimes a great artist can overcome his own preachiness. I don't know of any great preachers who improved their art by inserting one or more sermons into their book. I know of exactly zero professional preachers who were even decent writers. Ok, maybe Laurence Sterne, but he was a great sinner and lived during a time when English preachers were all men of the world.

>402 ultrarightist:
>403 laytonwoman3rd:
>404 affle:

Thanks to all for your answers and help. It rarely happens nowadays, but I whiffed on this one and should have acquired one of these FS editions.

>406 dlphcoracl: You're welcome. I'm glad I could reciprocate for a change. Unless you think the limitation and cover are worth the cost difference, I recommend the SE. By all indications, the text blocks are identical between the SE and the LE.

>405 MobyRichard: “I know of exactly zero professional preachers who were even decent writers.”

John Donne perhaps? Though his non-sermon artistic works were poetry rather than stories. I’m not that widely read in this area, but sermons used to serve as more general entertainment prior to modern mass media, so I’m sure there are other examples.

I think “preachy” is the wrong word to apply to Dostoevsky, as it has connotations regarding persuasion which don’t apply. Dostoevsky was a philosophical novelist who attempted to embody particular philosophical positions in psychologically realized characters. I think it’s actually hard to isolate Dostoevsky’s own personal doubts (though he certainly had many) in the details of his characters.

Part of the reason his work is so effective for me is because when he’s writing a character that embodies a particular idea, he takes the character’s perspective, almost like a method actor. He doesn’t try to just describe how he thinks a character who holds a particular position would think or feel or act, but almost loses himself in the character, ceasing to take an external judgmental perspective (at least beyond self judgments the character would have).

The aspect of this approach that can sometimes feel unnatural to modern readers (which I think some commenters above are using the word preachy to describe) is the strong identification of particular characters with particular social or ideological stances, which can lend a sense of didacticism to his work. Except he’s not trying, as an author, to convince the reader of anything! Just trying to take the stance as seriously, and as impartially, as possible, and using a fictional psychological lens to do so. At least that is my read.

>405 MobyRichard: Gerard Manley Hopkins - an extraordinary poet, in addition to Donne. Donne is a great example because a great deal of his poetry was unlike anything you would expect from a deeply religious man - very sensual. There was also George Herbert, although a lot of his poetry was religious in inspiration - a great poet, nonetheless. I’m struggling to think of prose writers that were ordained, except Sterne and Robert Burton of melancholy fame.

>401 dlphcoracl: The 2012 LE retailed for $345 and the 2016 edition sold for 60 pounds, which I believe would be about $85.

>410 AMindForeverVoyaging:

Thank you.

Unfortunately, current prices in the secondary market for either the 2012 LE or the 2016 reprint seem to have taken on a life of their own.

>405 MobyRichard: “I know of exactly zero professional preachers who were even decent writers.”

There's no shortage (and I say so as a confirmed atheist), but I'd start with Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, placed by Coleridge with Shakespeare, Bacon and Milton as the four principal masters of the language writing in the first half of the seventeenth century.

>405 MobyRichard: “I know of exactly zero professional preachers who were even decent writers.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thomas Cranmer

>413 itacal1001: good call re: Emerson.