Just For Fun

[nothingman87]

In order to spark a good debate, a simple question:

The best American novel is....
My answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

[Koa]

Why only American?
*wonders if she ever read any American novels*
*finds out she did but wasn't impressed at all by the 2 or 3 she read*

Can I vote for 100 years of Loneliness? It's South-American :D

[emily655321]

The English title is actually 100 Years of Solitude. Thank you for reminding me of it, though, Koa. :D I knew there was a book that I kept hearing about that I planned to read, but I've been drawing a blank. And that's it! Yay. Don't worry, in another hour I'll have forgotten it again. :p

American novels, eh... I can't argue with either of those, because I haven't read them. Hmm.. I can think of some, but most of them I haven't read, and the ones I have I didn't think were that great.

[nothingman87]

I too think that good American novels are lacking in quantity. That's supposed to be part of the fun of this topic, to see the different answers we get. Maybe someone will suggest an American title that I've overlooked, as the majority of novels I read are not by American authors. So c'mon even if you've only read one American novel in your entire life :goof: , throw it out there.

[amuse]

louisa may alcott:
jo's boys, little women, eight cousins, good wives, little men, an old-fashioned girl, a rose in bloom.
i want to reread all of them at some point; they're fresh, inspirational, and not at all preachy though in the wrong hands they could've been.
also on the road by jack kerouac. or some such spelling, am too lazy to find my book and verify...

[seeker]

I want to read keruoac, have to find his stuff

anything by John Steinback!!

[Koa]

OOOh right! I liked Little Women!!! :D First book I ever read, I was 5... :eek:

I read On the Road and hated it, The Great Gatsby and hated it... I might have read some Steinbeck and not hated it, but I have to check cos I dont remember... I think that's it.

Oh and The Scarlet Letter is American lit., isn't it? I havent read it though.

[Kiwi Shelf]

The American author I like is Madeleine L'engle, and that is about it. I generally read Canadian or other forms of literature.

[Capnplank]

I could maybe narrow it down to a few, but I don't know that I could pick only one.

Catch-22; Joseph Heller
The World According to Garp; John Irving
Invisible Man; Ralph Ellison
As I Lay Dying; William Faulkner
Cat's Cradle; Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Those are a few favorites anyhoo, and I believe the authors are all American, or from the U.S. which "American" tends to mean most of the time...

[tommytucker]

the princess bride, william goldman
at least i think its american. i could be wrong. admittedly its not as good as the film but early on there is some really good stuff which wasnt put into the film at all.
tommy.

[Koa]

Oh we forgot the catcher in the rye...that one was good.

emily(i know you're out there ;)), is Burgess American???

[ravana]

Jack London is an American writer, isn't he? - Martin Eden. It's one of the best.

[amuse]

he's great. i liked going to his Wolf House when i was home in sonoma county*. where is ursula le guin from - america or across the pond? and i like marion zimmer bradley. also james baldwin. can't forget e.b. white - great essays he wrote, also was an editor for "the new yorker" for a while - had no idea. charlotte's web was the tip of the iceberg. :)

*http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLPark.html (yes i left here to go to philly) and http://www.parks.sonoma.net/wolfhouse.html (2nd and 3rd pics - thank god he hadn't moved in first!!!)

[Max Whittaker]

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

[nome1486]

Hmm, you made me realize I really don't know that many good full-length novels by American authors. Looking over my list of favorite books, it seems the only ones that fit are by Mark Twain, definitely a great American author: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Prince and the Pauper, which, ironically, is set in England. Although I did like Call of the Wild and White Fang, but it's been a while since I've read them.

O. Henry is also a good American author, but he wrote short stories. And this is also not really a novel, but I have to mention 84 Charing Cross Road as a great book for book-lovers; it's the actual 20-year correspondence between an American woman playwright and a British bookseller. The topic made me think of it somehow.

[simon]

How about the best Vietnamese novel, or rather the best of the vietnamese novels translated into english? Which would be: Novel Without a Name, by Duong something or other.

[emily655321]

emily(i know you're out there ;)), is Burgess American???
Nope, nope. Burgess is English. I'm getting a lot of ideas from this thread, though! I can never think of any good Amerian authors.

[Koa]

Oh cool...I was fearing he was American so I had to change some of my mental settings and love England a 0,01% less and the USA a 0,01% more ;)

Bradbury American? I loved Fahrenheit 451, but I didn' like his short stories much, might be cos im not fond of short stories nor of sci-fi...

[Diceman]

Well I have to say The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart, for obvious reasons ;)

[Raven]

In order to spark a good debate, a simple question:

The best American novel is....
My answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Sorry to say I can't really join in - it's a pity, because I like a good debate.

I'm not a big fan of American Literature, it doesn't sit right with me at all. The only one I ever finished all the way through was 'A Farewell to Arms' by Ernest Hemingway, and that was only because I was doing a 'War in Literature' project, and had to compare German, English, French and American War Literature

[Raven]

Oh we forgot the catcher in the rye...that one was good.

emily(i know you're out there ;)), is Burgess American???


oop, I tell a lie, I finished this one too... I was so relieved once I got to the end, it made me feel more depressed than I ever had before ((and I hit some pretty deep lows))

[ravana]

O. Henry is also a good American author, but he wrote short stories. And this is also not really a novel

I'm for O.Henry. He's my favorite. He wrote novel too, but it didn't get fame
as his short stories. It's pity I haven't read his novel yet.

What about Drieser ? He was the second foreign author I read after M.Twain.
I began with "Genius" His works are good,but I don't like them, maybe because of sad ends.

"The Catcher in the Rye" is excellent

Who I don't like is Hemingway.

[nome1486]

I didn't know O. Henry wrote a novel! That would be interesting to read. Do you know what it's called?

It's funny, I've never read Dreiser or Salinger or Hemingway. There are a lot of famous American authors I've never even looked at; I think it's because so many of them seem to be cynical or depressing, like you said about Dreiser.

[nome1486]

I forgot Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, I might consider that the best American novel of the ones I've read and can remember. Two American plays that I like are Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie and Arthur Miller's The Crucible (Miller was American, wasn't he?).

**I also loved John Steinbeck's short novel Of Mice and Men--anyone else read that and want to comment or discuss?**

Honorable mention here for Edgar Allen Poe, who, from what I've heard, is credited with the invention of the mystery story. I like his short stories and poems, at least the ones that I've read.

[ucdawg12]

Moby-Dick :D

[Black Flag]

(Sigh) It appears that once again it has fallen onto my lot to give William Faulkner his due credit. The Sound and the Fury.

[Isagel]

And this is also not really a novel, but I have to mention 84 Charing Cross Road as a great book for book-lovers; it's the actual 20-year correspondence between an American woman playwright and a British bookseller. The topic made me think of it somehow.

That is such a wonderful book! I do not know how many times I´have read it. (- and how many people I have talked into reading it) It´s not only a lovely story of friendship and how it grows but also a very good inspiration to start and study classic english literature. It made me read Donne.

The movie based on the book is good too. Anthony Hopkins plays the bookseller.

[ravana]

Nome, I'm so sorry! I don't know how comes I confused the authors. I was sure that I read it about O.Henry, but when looked at that link again realised that I might confused what read about Vilhelm Gauf. I'm really sorry!
You know I came across his play "Sound and Fury" when searched. I've not read it.
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1457

[Koa]

oh-oh-oh... Gone with the wind!!!

[nome1486]

That's okay, I didn't really think a novel of his could be as good as his short stories anyway! ;)

[nome1486]

That is such a wonderful book! I do not know how many times I´have read it. (- and how many people I have talked into reading it) It´s not only a lovely story of friendship and how it grows but also a very good inspiration to start and study classic english literature. It made me read Donne.

The movie based on the book is good too. Anthony Hopkins plays the bookseller.

:nod: --agree to all of the above, although now I cannot read the book without hearing Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins' voices in my head! Have you read any of the other books she published after this book? No wait, the one I read I think was published before 84; it was called Underfoot in Show Business and about her life as a struggling playwright. It's very humorous. She also wrote a couple about her experiences in London when she finally got to go there.

[subterranean]

I dont really pay attention to the nationality of an author..well sometimes i do if the story has strong relationship with the social condition when the author wrote that story (I like frank mccourt's angela's ashes (but he's not an american..)
) or the story was inspired with an important event in world history, then an author's nationality was an important ingredient which formed the story.

I like Joseph hellar indeed, one flew over is also fascinating..i prefer watching gone with the wind than reading it :)..bradburry is also one of my favs...

[5Parker]

So I read another of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's works for a Modern Lit class, and I wasn't impressed in the slightest. I've heard good things about One Hundred Years of Solitude, not to mention it won the flippin' Nobel Prize. (Didn't it?) Something tells me his name is only going to get bigger, and I wonder if it's justified. Let me know if it's worth the read.

[simon]

I thought it was worth the read, in fact I would rank it among my top ten, if such a list could be contained to that. What I enjoyed about it was it's epic quality, the magic realism, and depth of character and exploration of solitude. It was long and confusing and at time boring, but nonetheless worthwhile. The above qualities seem to be characteristic of South American writers, they have the ability to mix fantasy and reality together and make magic realism. Another good South American novel is The War of Don Emmanuel's Netherparts.

[Kiwi Shelf]

I think it is worth the read too, basically for the same reasons as Simon. He goes so indepth with his characters, but at the same time doesn't bog you down like those authors you wish you could skip to some action and less description. I think the only thing that bothered me about this book was how many of the names were the same, it got confusing at times. I still recommend it though.

[atreides]

Gone with the Wind! Gone with the Windddddddd!!

best american novel of all time (i just finished reading it)

second place would have to be catch 22.

did someone say mark twain is american, but his novels are set in england? maybe the pauper book (sorry forgot its title though i have a copy back home) and a conneticut yankee etc. But both tom sawyer and mark twain are set in the U.S. Those are definatley one of the best american novels for children. That and Jack Londons books (I loved them both as a kid).

[baddad]

...anything by Kurt Vonnegut....


....still love this little button that makes dots...........

[simon]

atreides: Twain is American, Did you like conneticutt Yankee in Kind Arthurs Court? I find that to be even better than his most well known works of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

baddad I think you are suffering from cronic elipses usage