I'm reading William Faulkner for the first time ever. I made it this far (thirty-two years) having read nothing that was actually written in that style known as "stream of consciousness." I wonder if Annie Dillard's novels, which I haven't read, would somehow have qualified? So now I'm reading Faulkner and I wonder, could a non-intuitive person ever even read such a book? According to Myers-Briggs at least, the opposite of intuitive is sensing. The sensing person is very linearly and detail oriented. They think in terms of specifics. The intuitive person, on the other hand, is interested in connections between ideas. They may start with one idea, and range very far afield before they are finished thinking of even that one idea. I find that this is how Faulkner writes, in *Absalom Absalom!* at least, and again I wonder, could a sensing person even begin to read such a book? I don't mean to make a value judgment here; it is simply a matter of curiosity. I find I like this style of writing, though I think I would have expected otherwise. Clarity is usually my goal in writing anything because I see writing as a certain type of communication with another person. Clarity isn't, evidently, Faulkner's goal at all. He means to present a puzzle for his reader to solve.
This piece was not carefully read or edited before publication, as only a few of my publications ever are.
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