Historically Relevant Modern Novels, Anyone?

[ParanoidAndroid]

Hi, my name is (I won't reveal my real name ). I'm currently doing a Fall semester course in American History (106) which goes on from the Reconstruction Era till' present day. It touches only the first layer of American History. We've got to write a paper on a book which we think is historically relevant. Now, we've been prescribed a reading list by our dear' old lecturer, but I want to deviate a little. Currently, I have these books in mind but I don't know how historically relevant they are and I would REALLY appreciate some help in ascertaining their historical relevance. On my list are;


1.) All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
2.) No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
3.) A Light in August by William Faulkner
4.) The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5.) To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
6.) As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

those who'd like to play safe would definitely pick something after choice no.2; but personally, I'd really love to do either No Country or Pretty Horses because Cormac is my ONLY favorite author.

No Country is set in the 1980s, just after the cold war. All the Pretty Horses is set around 1949 - 1950.

But at the end of the day, if Cormac's novels aren't historically relevant enough, I'd have to to something else...or worse come to worse, stick to the reading list!

[PeterL]

It's too bad that you don't have anything by Hunter Thompson or Tom Wolfe.

[stlukesguild]

If you want to do Cormac McCarthy then certainly do his most masterful novel, Blood Meridian. What could be more historically relevant than an image of an America of gorgeous visionary natural splendors contrasted with violence and religion... the gun and the Bible?

[ParanoidAndroid]

Blood Meridian? Man, I love that book! Look's like we're on the same page. Literally!

Unfortunately, I can't do Blood Meridian because History 106 covers everything that happened after the Civil War. Blood Meridian takes place before and during the Civil War. You can rule out The Orchard Keeper and Outer Dark because those are more mythic than they are Historical. I'm not saying that mythic is bad, but it just isn't appropriate for a history paper because it isn't set in any particular era. Suttree....while, I'm not sure about that.

But the Border Trilogy has some pretty strong timelines and sense of place. Yet, I still can't help but feel them a little irrelevant, historically-speaking. And besides, I'm doing US history. The border trilogy sort of spills over into Mexico.

But personally, I've never read any prose as stunning as that of Cormac McCarthy's.