Light in August

Something that stuck out to me in this novel were the names of the characters. Lena Grove, Lucas Burch, Byron Bunch, Rev. Hightower, Mr. McEachern, Miss Burden (who, in my head I kept calling Bundren)-- all of the names have significance to the character. Every new character that was introduced made me stop and think about what the possible meaning of their name could be.
I liked how the book was framed by Lena Grove, having come a "fur-piece" and then, by the time it ends she is back in focus and still has "a fur-piece to go." This is a small detail, but I liked it.
I also liked that Light in August had about a bunch of different people, very different people, who were all separate from society in some way. Lena was pregnant out of wedlock but a very likable character, which was nice after reading Sanctuary and not liking anyone. I liked a lot of the characters in this book. Byron Bunch separates himself from people purposefully, Rev. Hightower had scandalous past because of his wife and is in Jefferson despite being targeted at times. And Joe Christmas is an angry guy who seems to really hate women. This made me wonder about Faulkner's possible deep seated feelings toward women, but I might just be looking too far into Christmas' actions. He seemed to beat up every woman he came across. He was mean, but his character was really interesting. Kind of like how Jason in Sound and the Fury was, for me. I didn't like Jason but his character was fascinating. It was the same way with Joe Christmas for me. Joe's childhood was so sad. I felt really bad for his foster mother and her repeated attempts to be kind to him, which were met with rejection. He was kind of a brat, in a way, but he obviously has major issues that he is trying to work out -- unsuccessfully.
What happens to Miss Burden confused me. I guess I didn't really understand the relationship between Joe Christmas and her, either. I might have missed something (as I tend to do when reading Faulkner), but why did she want to kill him? Was it because she was pregnant? And why did he kill her in a such a horrible way? (Not that being murdered could be pleasant, but it seemed really brutal).
Light in August was a really good read. I was nervous about it because of Sanctuary, but was pleasantly surprised. As I Lay Dying is still my favorite, but this one was really great too. I was so wanting some kind of a Bundren appearance in this book! But no luck.