Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Hemingway...where to start

[ajax090]

Ok, i have read a lot of modern novels such as the road, outer dark, life of pi, into the wild, etc...but i want to start reading some classic stuff. Of the three authors where would you start and what books would you start with.

I am interested in all three just need a good push in that direction. Let me know what author i should start with and what novels of his would be the best to read first


thanks in advance

[dfloyd]

Start with the Novels of Hemingway: The sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and To Have and Have Not. Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men. Faulkner: As I Lay dying, The Sound and the Fury, and Absolam, Absolom. Of course each writer wrote many more novels and short stories, but these nine will get you going, and I hope you don't return to novels like you mentioned in your post. Also, you might want to include three novels by Scott Fitzgerald: This side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night.

[ajax090]

dfloyd,

thanks so much, are those pretty much the order you would read them in, or would you read one from each and then back to the first?

[Travis_R]

Personally I'd suggest starting with Steinbeck, as his writing is the simplest and has the most dialogue. I'd start with The Grapes of Wrath. Next I would try my hand at Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. I'm personally not a fan of Hemingway but you should at least read one of his novels. I'd recommend A Farewell to Arms. Lastly, Faulkner is probably the hardest to understand out of all listed, but The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying are absolute must reads. Try these after reading a bit of Steinbeck or Fitzgerald however.

[Dinkleberry2010]

I would start with Hemingway's In Our Time which was a collection of short stories he had published in 1925 prior to The Sun Also Rises. Although Faulkner was a couple of years older than Hemingway, and had actually been writing longer than Hemingway, it was 1929 before Faulkner really hit his stride with The Sound And The Fury. As For Steinbeck, he came later--in the latter 1930s

[mayneverhave]

It doesn't matter significantly which you order you read them in, or what books to start with.

Personally I read The Sun Also Rises first, followed by The Sound and the Fury, and The Grapes of Wrath (generally considered each author's best novel), and enjoyed The Sound and the Fury the best, followed by Hemingway. I am not a big fan of Steinbeck.

When it comes to Hemingway and Faulkner (as I am far more familiar with these two than Steinbeck), you'll find that their writing styles could not differ more. Hemingway's novels (of which I have read around 4) tend to all be written in the same style and feature generally the same themes, i.e. alienation and submersion of feelings in the modern world. Faulkner, too, often deals with the same themes, in his case, history, the decay of Southern tradition, and existential topics such as consciousness and being. Overall I prefer both Faulkner's style and theme to Hemingway's, though I enjoy both.

There's a good thread on starting out on Faulkner already on this forum, generally you should start out with something like The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, or Light in August, and avoid Absalom, Absalom! to start. With Hemingway, any book will do.

[mal4mac]

Personally I'd suggest starting with Steinbeck, as his writing is the simplest and has the most dialogue. I'd start with The Grapes of Wrath. Next I would try my hand at Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. I'm personally not a fan of Hemingway but you should at least read one of his novels. I'd recommend A Farewell to Arms. Lastly, Faulkner is probably the hardest to understand out of all listed, but The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying are absolute must reads. Try these after reading a bit of Steinbeck or Fitzgerald however.

I agree totally with this advice, and the critical assessments! Except, I haven't read the Sound and the Fury. I read 'As I lay dying' recently, which is the hardest read, but is a good introduction to modernism. If you like it, then you might like to tackle Joyce's Portrait, which offers similar difficulties. If you breeze through these works then why not try some non-American classics? Some examples where the writing is (just about!) as straightforward as Steinbeck's (but better:): "The Cossacks" by Tolstoy (shorter than his most well known novels!), "Madame Bovary" by Flaubert, Tess by Thomas Hardy, Bleak House by Dickens, and Middlemarch by George Eliot.

[dfloyd]

It matters not what order you read them in, but just know that Faulkner is the hardest read. It always amazes me how respondents on this forum try to give advice never asked for; ie, you ask about Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Faulkner and right away you get advice about Hardy and others. I had an employee once who when given instructions immediately started on a tangent which I didn't want him pursuing. I asked for A; he came back with B. At first I let him ramble since I didn't want to squelch creativity, but when it became too irritating, I fired him!

[mal4mac]

It amazes me that some respondents in this forum never want to go off at tangents. I like it when people give advice I've never asked for, that's when I'm likely to learn something new. Does anyone know why sad music is so beautiful?

[myrna22]

Conceptually, Steinbeck is the most simplistic. So, I guess you could say the easiest. Stylistically, Faulkner and Hemingway are opposites: Faulkner's style is dense while Hemingway is a mimimalist. Faulkner is hardest to understand because of his writing style.

For Steinbeck, I don't care much for Of Mice and Men. I think Cannery Row is much better. And I recommend The Grapes of Wrath.

Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bells Toll, A Farewell to Arms--I also like his stories, especially A Clean Well Lighted Place.

Faulkner: As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury

After reading Hemingway, try some of the short stories of Raymond Carver.

Other classic novels of modern American literature to consider are: The Great Gatsby, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch 22, The Catcher in the Rye, Lolita

[mal4mac]

For Steinbeck, I don't care much for Of Mice and Men. I think Cannery Row is much better. And I recommend The Grapes of Wrath.


I agree, Cannery Row is excellent. A good one to read after "Grapes" to see the lighter side of Steinbeck. I had a chance to see Cannery Row after reading the novel--not a good experience, they've changed it into a Steinbeck tourist trap...

[ForKnowledge]

Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea or The sun Also Rises
Faulkner Go Down Moses
Steinbeck I like East of Eden but Grapes of Wrath is a good place to start.

[Pecksie]

Personally I'd suggest starting with Steinbeck, as his writing is the simplest and has the most dialogue.

Agree to that. 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Moon is Down' are both novellas, very readable and very gripping.

[cindrella]

I think that we should start with william faulkner: Light in August. personally I'm interested in this book. I want to explore the depths and the perspectives of this book.

[myrna22]

Ok, i have read a lot of modern novels such as the road, outer dark, life of pi, into the wild, etc...but i want to start reading some classic stuff. Of the three authors where would you start and what books would you start with.

I am interested in all three just need a good push in that direction. Let me know what author i should start with and what novels of his would be the best to read first


thanks in advance

You say you want to 'start reading some classic stuff.' I'm not dismissing your specific interest in Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck, though I wonder from what that interest arises. However, I want to make the point that those particular authors are a limited representation of classic American literature and all come from a mid-20th century perspective. Some other American classics that may be of interest are (and this is not meant to be a definitive list):

Lolita, Vladimirovich Nabokov
The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles
Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
Slaughter House Five, Kurt Vonnegut
Native Son, Richard Wright
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

[IceM]

It amazes me that some respondents in this forum never want to go off at tangents. I like it when people give advice I've never asked for, that's when I'm likely to learn something new. Does anyone know why sad music is so beautiful?

You're answering a question not asked on this thread. If I asked you whether Tolstoy's Anna Karenina or Dosteovsky's Crime and Punishment is better written, I wouldn't want to hear (God forbid you do this) about Oxford Literary Guide's opinion on this. I, just like the original poster, want an answer, an answer you're not giving.

In regards to the thread, I agree with what most others are saying. I only liked A Farewell to Arms from Hemingway, but I found the Old Man and the Sea an easy start. Straightforward, at least for me. Then again, if nobody else is mentioning it, maybe I'm just an outlier.

[keilj]

Steinbeck and Hemingway - maybe try one by each first and see if you like their writing style

I've always found lesser known stuff by known writers to be better:

Steinbeck - Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, Sweet Thursday

Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls, To Have and Have Not, Old Man and the Sea


Instead of Faulkner - read Sinclair Lewis - he is great! Babbit, Kingsblood Royal, The Prodigal Parents

[Shoaib Asghar]

Ok, i have read a lot of modern novels such as the road, outer dark, life of pi, into the wild, etc...but i want to start reading some classic stuff. Of the three authors where would you start and what books would you start with.

I am interested in all three just need a good push in that direction. Let me know what author i should start with and what novels of his would be the best to read first


thanks in advance
'A Farewell to Arms' by Hemingway, Its a must read novel.

[Seasider]

On a recommendation, before I had read any other Faulkner novel, I read Sanctuary. I hated it and never read another word of Faulkner. As for the other suggestions for Hemingway and Steinbeck, I agree with all of them and would also add Tortilla Flats to the Steinbeck's suggestions.
Raymond Chandler's good too.

[country doctor]

for steinbeck you could do alot worse than 'the grapes of wrath'...

hemingway? the nick adams stories or 'a moveable feast' wouldn't be bad...

faulkner? the doc thinks he just has to be read and read and read...here's a great place to start w/ him...

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58402

[Reichmann]

I find short story compilations to be excellent devices to experience many authors' writing styles in a short amount of time. I introduced myself to Hemingway, Wharton and James this way. With Steinbeck you can't go wrong, and if you want to really feel him, read Travels With Charley.

[grechzoo]

Start with the Novels of Hemingway: The sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and To Have and Have Not. Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men. Faulkner: As I Lay dying, The Sound and the Fury, and Absolam, Absolom. Of course each writer wrote many more novels and short stories, but these nine will get you going, and I hope you don't return to novels like you mentioned in your post. Also, you might want to include three novels by Scott Fitzgerald: This side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night.

Is is cool to hate on Cormac McCarthy now? ;)

He is my favourite author, but :shock: :horror: i also enjoy faulkner, hemingway, eliot, tolstoy, even proust.

its possible you know.

to the OP, dont feel down if you can get into some of these authors, just enjoy what you can, and stay hungry for new authors and different writing styles. dont let people on this forum make you feel inferior just because you like different authors to them.

[ajax090]

Thanks for everyone that has made some comments on this thread. I can't believe that someone found this thread that was over a year old. I a lot has changed since writting it. i have read a few of each of the three authors and would say i like them all in certain ways and disappointed in them in others, but so is Lit.

grechzoo, thanks so much for your comments. I am a big Mccarthy fan, and have finished his works recently. Right now I am on the hunt for my next author of choice

[SFG75]

Allow me to add my bit of advice. I would recommend Steinbeck's The Moon is Down. It was intended as a propaganda piece and Hitler had it banned, as well as the death penalty in place for those who possessed it. The book is a great story about resistance by a people who face an unwelcome foreign visitor. It has a core message that rings true to this day. When I read it in '06, I couldn't help but think of other people who didn't like a foreign presence, ironic I know.

Oh well, glad to see this thread had some wonderful suggestions. Enjoy!