The Reivers by William Faulkner, 305 pages
When I read a bunch of Faulkner's books decades ago, this was one of my favorites, probably because it seemed more lighthearted, among the least entangled with the ugliness of racism, poverty, and despair found in his more serious novels. Boon Hogganbeck and Lucius Priest decide, in 1906, when
Lucius was eleven, to borrow grandfather McCaslin’s automobile for a
long-weekend trip from Jefferson Mississippi to Memphis. This was all made possible by the absence of Lucius's parents and grandparents due to a
family funeral. Along with Ned McCaslin, a black man who works for Lucius's grandfather and who is also a blood relation to the McCaslins, Edmonds, and Priests of Yoknapatawpha County, Boon and Lucius travel on bad roads to encounter a stolen horse (to match their stolen auto) several prostitutes, a knife fight, several horse races, and a jealous constable.
Faulkner's last book before his death, The Reivers won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize.
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