A young writer with a talent for biography and criticism, HARVEY BREITis the Assistant Editor of the New York Times Book Review. We invited his appraisal of William Faulkner’s novels and short stories with the realization that our latest Nobel Prize winner has never received the thorough reading he deserved from his own countrymen. This essay will make Mr. Faulkner’s work more meaningful for those who wish to make up for lost time.