The Reivers

This book report is on the Faulkner offering The Reivers, subtitled A Reminiscence.
Published in 1962, this was the last novel written by William Faulkner. Surprising enough, at least to me, the novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the next year, 1963.
The plot at first is hard to follow, as I have found most Faulkner fiction, building to a climatic end that makes it difficult to set down.  The period of the story is in the early 1900's before the first World War. The central character of the tale is the 11 year old Lucius Priest who with an employee of his grandfather, Boon Hogganbeck takes a lark on a trip to Memphis. En route the pair learns that Ned McCaslin has managed to climb aboard for the trip. Ned, a black man who works the Priest stables, is also, by blood, a cousin of the young Lucius. The boy was convinced by Boon to take Lucius's grandfather's car (a rare thing) to Memphis while the parent were on a trip to Mobile. Boon wanted to go in order to visit a prostitute called "Miss Corrie". In taking the Priest car without permission, the vehicle could be regarded as stolen, the term "reive" is Scottish work for "rob, which in turn lends itself to the book's title. When they trio arrives in Memphis, Boon and Lucius stay at the brothel, home of Miss Corrie, and while Ned heads off to the other side of town. While off alone Ned trades the car for a racehorse that has a losing reputation.
The second half of the book revolves around the trio of thieves setting up a and getting to the race.  All the while Boon is trying to build a relationship with Corrie whom he obviously loves. Lucius has never been to Memphis let alone a brothel, learns of many things and of people who have taken the wrong way in life.
The story comes to a head when Lucius Priest rides the horse in an race set up for gambling. Lightening is fast but he has a habit of running just behind the other horses so he can keep all them in sight.  Ned has figured out what makes Lightening run in front, by coaxing him with canned fish; or as Ned calls them "sour deans". Lightening win the race and Ned a good deal of money; which Lucius as rider refuses to accept any of. Lucius's grandfather shows up, another race is arranged, and this time Ned doesn't do the bait, Lightening loses and Ned make more money by betting on the other horse.
To finish off the story, Boon and Corrie get married and name their first child for Lucius.
My neighbor the librarian told me that he thought Faulkner was drunk when he wrote this book, in the beginning I was pretty sure he was right, not knowing about the prize, thought the book was crap. But it grows on you, its a lot like a modern Huckleberry Finn.
You should read this book, but give it time to be careful.