The Sound and the Fury
At your speed≈ 5½ hrs
Pages274
Audiobook≈ 9 hrs
274 pages works out to roughly 82,000 words. At an average 250 words a minute that is 5½ hrs — a weekend's reading.
Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.75 out of 5, from 316 ratings.
How long does it take to read The Sound and the Fury?
The Sound and the Fury is 274 pages, or roughly 82,000 words. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:
| Your pace | Words per minute | Time to finish |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | 175 | 8 hrs |
| Average | 250 | 5½ hrs |
| Fast | 400 | 3½ hrs |
Estimated at about 300 words per page. Most adults read between 200 and 300 words a minute — use the reading-speed control to set your own pace and every time on the site adjusts.
Every reading time on the site updates to your pace. Page counts are an estimate, so treat the hours as a good guide, not a stopwatch.
Common questions
- How long does it take to read The Sound and the Fury?
- About 5½ hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. The Sound and the Fury runs 274 pages, roughly 82,000 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 8 hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 3½ hrs.
- How many pages is The Sound and the Fury?
- 274 pages, which is about 82,000 words and 5½ hrs of reading. Editions vary, so we take the figure two of our three sources agree on.
- Is The Sound and the Fury worth reading?
- Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.75 out of 5, from 316 ratings. What we can tell you for certain is the cost: 274 pages and about 5½ hrs of your time, or 3½ hrs if you read quickly. Whether that is worth it depends on the hours you have.
- How long is The Sound and the Fury audiobook?
- About 9 hrs, estimated from the 82,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.
From the publisher
The tragedy of the Compson family features some of the most memorable characters in literature: beautiful, rebellious Caddy; the manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant.…
Their lives fragmented and harrowed by history and legacy, the character’s voices and actions mesh to create what is arguably Faulkner’s masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.
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