William Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949 and won Pulitzer Prizes for his novels “A Fable” and “The Reivers.” Credit Associated Press

Faulkner rarely discussed his love of mysteries, perhaps considering them lowbrow, but he seemed to understand their importance to his writing.

A friend recalled visiting a library with him, so Faulkner could “exchange a stack of mystery stories for a new stack. I asked him, ‘Why do you read all of these damn mysteries?’ and he said, ‘Bud, no matter what you write, it’s a mystery of one kind or another.’ ”
(Nancy Wartik, “Back Story, NYTimes, 9-25-18)

(c) 2018 JMN.