According to the back of the book, As I Lay Dying tells the story of a family carting the coffin of Addie Bundren to Jefferson, Mississippi to bury her among her people.

For the most part, the garbled chapters are told by her family members who apparently suffer from severe retardation and are unable to put together coherent thoughts. I had to read the Cliffs Notes to try to get a sense of what was going on, which is like having to learn an artist’s life story in order to appreciate one of his works. This is not a good thing.