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Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2025 season is here. The 2024 archive is here. This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the eighth in a 15-week sequence on the modern American novel. It concerns Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. We consider the perennial relevance of the Gothic to American literature and society; Absalom, Absalom! as Great American Novel; the meaning of this novel’s “unreadable” style; its linear plot and this plot’s distortion through multiple storytellers; its revolutionary depictions of race and class, gender and sex, incest and miscegenation; and more. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe! The slideshow corresponding to the episode can be downloaded behind the paywall: