Overview:
First published in the year 1962, “The Reivers” is the last novel written by Nobel Prize winning American author William Faulkner. It won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the year 1963, making Faulkner one of only three people to have won this famed award on more than one instance. Unlike other books written by Faulkner, “The Reivers” is a straightforwardly narrated picaresque novel and is extremely light-hearted in nature.
Numerous scholars, who studied Faulkner, did not appreciate this work because they believe its subject wasn’t heavy enough. However, filmmakers appreciated the novel and Mark Rydell adapted into a movie of the same name.
Summary of the Plot:
Based in the first decade of the twentieth century, “The Reivers” comprises of four main characters; Boon Hogganbeck, Lucius Priest, Ned McCaslin and Everbe Corinthia (Miss Corrie). Boon and family friend Lucius plan a journey to Memphis and don’t have any means to get there. Hence, they reive Lucius’ grandfather’s car and take it to Memphis. Ned McCaslin, a black man but a blood relative of Lucius, tows along with them. When they reach their destination, Ned goes into the black part of the town and trades the car for a racehorse. Meanwhile, Boon and Lucius are put up in a brothel, where Boon tries to woo a prostitute who is called Miss Corrie. The rest of the story explains how Ned tries to race the horse in events so that he can accumulate enough money to help one of his relatives out and how Boon falls in love with Corrie. It also speaks about how Lucius, the young, sheltered and wealthy boy realizes the harsh truths of life by associating himself with Corrie’s cousin. In the end, Ned gets what he aims to get and Boon marries Corrie and names their first child Lucius.
