Faulkner's literary value?

This is a difficult question, and there are many different ways to answer it. Let me try to take the question apart a little bit.

Is Faulkner worth reading? If so, why?

Yes, I think that Faulkner is worth reading. I think that his portrayal of Southern culture has been very important to the world. That's one reason, and perhaps the most obvious and most clear. Millions of people have turned to Faulkner to better understand the South, whether appropriately or not. Another thing that makes Faulkner worth reading is his vast literary influence. Many important writers after Faulkner, like Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy, have shown clear influence. We can only guess at how extensive his influence really has been. The fact that he has become one of the most frequently studied American authors has made him required college reading for the last fifty years or so, and his influence continues because of this. For himself and his texts - and this is the hardest part to suggest or prove - I think that some of Faulkner's work is beautiful. I really enjoy some passages from The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom, despite the difficulty of these texts. There are parts of Faulkner that are horrible. But some of his writing is completely original, and some of it is breathtaking. It's not just about challenging yourself with difficult texts. It's about appreciating the way that a careful writer can surprise a reader with images and language.

Is Faulkner a good writer, or a "master"? Does he deserve his canonical status?

It's hard to say no. Faulkner studies have become a deeply entrenched part of American literary scholarship. There are thousands of published scholarly books and essays arguing about his work. It would be impossible to discard this work and omit him from the study of American literature. He might be less fashionable as an object of study than he was before - say in the 60's and 70's - but he still supplies scholars with material for study. His influence on both critics and other writers cannot be ignored, and it would be impossible to exclude him from any appropriate canon of American literature. I must also add that I personally respect and enjoy a great many of his texts, and I have read and studied him extensively because of that interest - though I cannot claim to have innocently discovered him. I began reading his books because a teacher I respected named him as one of our greatest writers.

If Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, and Spenser are any indication, Faulkner studies will continue for several hundred years more. I doubt that literary criticism will suddenly cease, or that any particular time will come when people will say, "I think everything has been said about Faulkner - let's move on."

If I had to recommend a book to someone for purposes of reading a good story, I might not mention Faulkner at all. If someone wanted a quality, challenging text that is complicated and not completely innocent, I might point that person toward Light in August or The Hamlet. Some of the short stories are excellent on their own, and I might recommend those. The Sound and the Fury is an important book, but I don't think that everyone should read it. It's pretty frustrating.