<P> As I Lay Dying is a 1930 novel, in the genre of Southern Gothic, by American author William Faulkner . Faulkner said that he wrote the novel from midnight to 4: 00 AM over the course of six weeks and that he did not change a word of it . Faulkner wrote it while working at a power plant, published it in 1930, and described it as a "tour de force". Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th - century literature . The title derives from Book XI of Homer's Odyssey, wherein Agamemnon tells Odysseus: "As I lay dying, the woman with the dog's eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades ." </P> <P> The novel utilizes stream of consciousness writing technique, multiple narrators, and varying chapter lengths . </P> <P> The book is narrated by 15 different characters over 59 chapters . It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her poor, rural family's quest and motivations--noble or selfish--to honor her wish to be buried in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi . </P> <P> As the book opens, Addie is alive, though in ill health . Addie and others expect her to die soon, and she sits at a window watching as her firstborn, Cash, builds her coffin . Anse, Addie's husband, waits on the porch, while their daughter, Dewey Dell, fans her mother in the July heat . The night after Addie dies a heavy rainstorm sets in; rivers rise and wash out bridges the family will need to cross to get to Jefferson . </P>

Where does addie bundren want to be buried