Ten Greatest American Novels or Novellas

[Jassy Melson]

I'm sure this list is on this site somewhere but I wasn't able to find it, so I'll make a new list

I think the following are the ten best American novels or novellas:

1. Moby Dick
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3. The Scarlet Letter
4. Sancutary
5. The Old Man and the Sea
6. Look Homeward Angel
7. The Great Gatsby
8. The Turn of the Screw
9. Gravity's Rainbow
10. The Grapes of Wrath

[Charles Darnay]

I could get behind most of these.

I'd substitute Old Man and the Sea with For Whom the Bell Tolls, get rid of Scarlet Letter, and add in The Recognitions

It's hard to think of Henry James as an American writer, though technically he is.

[Lykren]

Perhaps On The Road belongs somewhere on that list? Just a thought.

[Silas Thorne]

I'd put 'The Big Sleep' and 'Slaughterhouse Five' on my list.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I'm not sure how I'd compile my list (I am really not a fan of making them). All I know is that Moby Dick would be #1.

[dfloyd]

One could never leave out The Scarlet Letter. The best Faukner novel is Absolem, Absolem! You've left out Sinclair Lewis, an American Nobel Prize winner. His Main Street is deserving. Steinbeck's East of Eden is better written than Grapes of Wrath. Hemingway's the Sun Also Rises rises above his other novels. And no women authors such as Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. And on and on and on.

[Desolation]

There are still a few books on my shelf that I'd like to finish before I could make a personally satisfying top 10 list.

However, I'm certain that I'd include these:
The Sound and the Fury
A Farewell to Arms
The Recognitions
The Great Gatsby

And, I would possibly include some of these:
On the Road
The Awakening
Nightwood
The Bell Jar
White Noise
Slaughterhouse-Five

[Anymodal]

I liked better 'The catcher in the rye" than 'The turn of the screw'.

[RetsixArp]

Perhaps On The Road belongs somewhere on that list? Just a thought.You know what Truman Capote said of On the Road: that's not writing; that's typing.

& To add another Delillo to White Noise, I'd replace On the Road w/ Underworld. Kerouac for me was a passing college fancy: the titles (Dharma Bums, Desolation Angels) were always more attractive than the stories beyond them.

[E.A Rumfield]

You know what Truman Capote said of On the Road: that's not writing; that's typing.

& To add another Delillo to White Noise, I'd replace On the Road w/ Underworld. Kerouac for me was a passing college fancy: the titles (Dharma Bums, Desolation Angels) were always more attractive than the stories beyond them.

Capote sucks. William S. Burroughs was better than Kerouac.

How about 1919 or Big Money by John Dos Passos. I think it's a better read than Ulysses in a similar more interesting style.

[stlukesguild]

Jassy, I can find no real fault with your list. Every last book is worthy of its reputation. Of course I could think of other that I would wish to include...

William Faulkner- As I Lay Dying
Edith Wharton- The Age of Innocence
Nathanael West- Miss Lonelyhearts
Saul Bellow- The Adventures of Augie March
Vladimir Nabokov- Lolita
Gore Vidal- Myra Breckenridge
Cormac McCarthy- Blood Meridian
Philip Roth- Zuckerman Bound: A Trilogy and Epilogue

My personal reading focuses more upon poetry, short story, and non-fiction... and American writers are perhaps even more impressive in at least the first two of these genre.

[Gladys]

If 8. Turn of the Screw - a James' potboiler - is on the list, why not his exquisite The Golden Bowl or his seamless novella The Aspern Papers?

[PabloQ]

I'm not familiar with The Recognitions. Who wrote it?
I can't speak to the works on the OP's list that I haven't read (Hawthorne, Wolfe, this specific Faulkner, this James). I'll leave Hawthorne and Wolfe alone. I'd drop James. He only qualifies as an American in that he was born here. Beyond that his novels aren't that American and, at times not that great. I'd replace him with something by Willa Cather, probably My Antonia. I'd replace Sanctuary (only because I haven't read it) with As I Lay Dying.

[Desolation]

I'm not familiar with The Recognitions. Who wrote it?

William Gaddis...Easily one of the most under-appreciated 20th Century American novelists.

[Jassy Melson]

I guess everyone has their own list, and they all seem to differ in some respect. I wonder if there are two Americans who have the same list?

[crusoe]

Junkie - Burroughs
Naked Lunch - Burroughs
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S.
A Walk on the Wild Side - Nelson Algren
Post Office - Bukowski
The Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket - Poe
The Fan Man - William Kotzwinkle
Stranger in a strange Land - Heinlein
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Dick

...forget the rest.

[PabloQ]

I guess everyone has their own list, and they all seem to differ in some respect. I wonder if there are two Americans who have the same list?

There's always that theory that room full of chimps with typewriters will eventually produce Hamlet, but not likely.

[chrisvia]

I've tried and tried, but I can only get my top picks down to ~20 novels. If I'm absolutely pressed to make a decision, here goes:

1. Moby-Dick - There's really no getting around this one. This is lumped right in there with the works that put American on the literary world map. It offers so much and has been repeated and repeated (e.g. Blood Meridian). The only sad part is that the novel steals the light from Melville's other novels (Typee, Pierre) and his poems, especially the Civil War poems.

2. Lolita - Not only a savory experience of Nabokov's highly stylized prose, this book also contains one of the most enthralling elements in literature: a character's struggle to suppress a passion s/he is not supposed to have! This book also boasts one of my favorite opening paragraphs of all time.

3. O! Pioneers - You don't see this one much on top or great American novel lists, but it should be. This is a look at pieces of our country's history that is often overlooked for authors focusing on parts east of the Mississippi.

4. Look Homeward, Angel - I read the first half of this tedious novel twice, with several, years between. Then, on day, I picked it up and became fascinated, engrossed in this masterpiece. Wolfe told everyone he had a great novel in him, set out to prove it, and left behind a treasure of southern literature. It is rich, rich, rich with detail and beauty.

5. Absalom, Absalom! - The Sound and the Fury is truly a remarkably written novel, but for a list of top American works I want to choose something that really represents a piece of American history, culture, etc. And I feel like Absalom is the right choice here, despite all of Faulkner's works centering around the Old South and the New North. Plus, like Sound it still showcases Faulkner's interesting narrative.

6. The Grapes of Wrath - It's all about the human element! In times of struggle it's family and human relationships that matter. I was already sold on the novel before finishing it; but the ending completely sealed the deal. What a touching trope to end on!

7. On the Road - The book that put Kerouac on the map, despite having attempting to gain fame by copying Thomas Wolfe's style in his first novel. Though this one doesn't come as close to showcases Kerouac's signature free association and bebop, jazz linguistics, the mystique behind its construction (the drug-addled days of non-stop composition on a single roll of teletype paper) and its jarring depiction of a cultural milieu make it a must of American literature.

8. Slaughterhouse-Five - Probably the best anti-war novel out there. Vonnegut's razor-sharp satire is as absurd as it is saddening. If you haven't read this gem, procure a copy immediately.

9. Gravity's Rainbow - I knew I wanted Pynchon in the list, but I struggled to choose between GR and Mason & Dixon. This one appears, interestingly enough, in the same spot (9) as the OP. And the novel is more than just the panoply of research topics and encyclopaedic masturbation that most take it for. There is some serious thoughts on reality and civilization here.

10. Infinite Jest - Did I really pick a book published in 1998? Yes, I did! And I stand by it. I'll skip all the commentary about the aesthetics of the book and the brain of its author. This work represents the collective anxiety of a world that we are all a part of. Wallace is able to turn into writing what so many feel on a daily basis.

So, there it is. I'm not happy about it. It's missing way too much; and my sentiments could change tomorrow. But let it be.

[kelby_lake]

I'd drop James. He only qualifies as an American in that he was born here. Beyond that his novels aren't that American and, at times not that great.

I think James qualifies as an American. The novels I've read of his all have that theme of Old World Europe corrupting Young America. I'd love to include Nabokov but isn't the inclusion of him a bit iffy, considering that he wasn't American born and bred?

It really depends on whether we're going for ten great novels that happen to have been written by an American or ten great novels that say something about America.

[byquist]

Still think "Ethan Frome" should be on any such list, even if it is not popular with high school students. Although Ibsen paved the way in "Rosmersholm", the ending is so tragic. Ethan is so worthy of pity.

[crusoe]

The Man with the golden Arm - Algren
Last Exit Brooklyn - Shelby

[wordeater]

1. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
2. The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
3. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
4. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchel
5. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
6. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston
8. Native Son - Richard Wright
9. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
11. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
12. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
13. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
14. From Here to Eternity - James Jones
15. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiel Hammett
16. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
17. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
18. The Godfather - Mario Puzo
19. The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain
20. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Yes, the greatest American novel was written by a born Russian.

P.S. Why is this post called "Asventures of Tom Sawyer"? I can't remember typing that.

[mvrmoorthy]

I would like to add 1. An American Tragedy
2. The Open Boat
3.The Call of the Wild
4. Sister Carrie

[mortalterror]

1.Moby Dick
2.The Great Gatsby
3.For Whom the Bell Tolls
4.The Scarlet Letter
5.The Grapes of Wrath
6.The Call of the Wild
7.Catch-22
8.Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
9.On the Road
10.The Catcher in the Rye

[kev67]

Moby Dick
Lonesome Dove (the whole series)
Breakfast at Tiffany's
We Need to Talk About Kevin
True Grit
The Left Hand of Darkness
Catch 22 (just the Milo Minderbender bits)
Farewell My Lovely (as representative of the series)
The Amateur Marriage
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (although I preferred the film)

I have not included books that bored or annoyed me or I thought were overrated. I would have included Homicide if it wasn't true crime.

[desiresjab]

1 The Adventures of Huckberry Finn--Twain
2 Moby Dick--Melville
3 The Great Gatsby--Fitzgerald
4 Sound & the Fury--Faulkner
5 The Scarlet Letter--Hawthorne
6 Herzog--Bellow
7 A Farewell to Arms--Hemingway
8 Ironweed--Kennedy
9 Grapes of Wrath--Steinbeck
10 Look Homeward Angel--Wolfe
11 The Awakening--Chopin
12 Letters From the Earth--Twain
13 Miss Lonelyhearts-West
14 Johnny Got His Gun--Trumbo
15 The Old Man and the Sea--Hemingway
16 The Call of the Wild--London
17 Humboldt's Gift--Bellow
18 Main Street--Lewis
19 Seize the Day--Bellow
20 Ragtime-Doctorow

[ajvenigalla]

My ten favorite American novels (there’s of course so much more than 10 masterpices od American literature)

Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Benito Cereno - Herman Melville
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
Suttree - Cormac McCarthy
Wise Blood - Flannery O’Connor

[tonywalt]

The Catcher in the Rye - jd salinger
Lolita - Nabokov
Underworld - don delillo
Rabbit is Rich - john updike
Rabbit at Rest - john updike
Rabbit Redux john updike
Slaughterhouse Five - kurt vonnegut
Confederacy of Dunces - john kennedy toole
Bark - Lorrie Moore
white album - joan didion
9 Stories - jd salinger

[country doctor]

I've tried and tried, but I can only get my top picks down to ~20 novels. If I'm absolutely pressed to make a decision, here goes:

1. Moby-Dick - There's really no getting around this one. This is lumped right in there with the works that put American on the literary world map. It offers so much and has been repeated and repeated (e.g. Blood Meridian). The only sad part is that the novel steals the light from Melville's other novels (Typee, Pierre) and his poems, especially the Civil War poems.

2. Lolita - Not only a savory experience of Nabokov's highly stylized prose, this book also contains one of the most enthralling elements in literature: a character's struggle to suppress a passion s/he is not supposed to have! This book also boasts one of my favorite opening paragraphs of all time.

3. O! Pioneers - You don't see this one much on top or great American novel lists, but it should be. This is a look at pieces of our country's history that is often overlooked for authors focusing on parts east of the Mississippi.

4. Look Homeward, Angel - I read the first half of this tedious novel twice, with several, years between. Then, on day, I picked it up and became fascinated, engrossed in this masterpiece. Wolfe told everyone he had a great novel in him, set out to prove it, and left behind a treasure of southern literature. It is rich, rich, rich with detail and beauty.

5. Absalom, Absalom! - The Sound and the Fury is truly a remarkably written novel, but for a list of top American works I want to choose something that really represents a piece of American history, culture, etc. And I feel like Absalom is the right choice here, despite all of Faulkner's works centering around the Old South and the New North. Plus, like Sound it still showcases Faulkner's interesting narrative.

6. The Grapes of Wrath - It's all about the human element! In times of struggle it's family and human relationships that matter. I was already sold on the novel before finishing it; but the ending completely sealed the deal. What a touching trope to end on!

7. On the Road - The book that put Kerouac on the map, despite having attempting to gain fame by copying Thomas Wolfe's style in his first novel. Though this one doesn't come as close to showcases Kerouac's signature free association and bebop, jazz linguistics, the mystique behind its construction (the drug-addled days of non-stop composition on a single roll of teletype paper) and its jarring depiction of a cultural milieu make it a must of American literature.

8. Slaughterhouse-Five - Probably the best anti-war novel out there. Vonnegut's razor-sharp satire is as absurd as it is saddening. If you haven't read this gem, procure a copy immediately.

9. Gravity's Rainbow - I knew I wanted Pynchon in the list, but I struggled to choose between GR and Mason & Dixon. This one appears, interestingly enough, in the same spot (9) as the OP. And the novel is more than just the panoply of research topics and encyclopaedic masturbation that most take it for. There is some serious thoughts on reality and civilization here.

10. Infinite Jest - Did I really pick a book published in 1998? Yes, I did! And I stand by it. I'll skip all the commentary about the aesthetics of the book and the brain of its author. This work represents the collective anxiety of a world that we are all a part of. Wallace is able to turn into writing what so many feel on a daily basis.

So, there it is. I'm not happy about it. It's missing way too much; and my sentiments could change tomorrow. But let it be.

ROAR! the doc has read every one of those books sans GR. he read mason & dixon and found it to be simply exquisite. loved look homeward angel on the first read. oh pioneers! the doc was out to eat with his daughter and grandson a couple of months ago and there was another lady with her daughter. the talk came around to names and she said her daughter's name was willa. the first thought for the doc was willa cather and so that's what came out of his mouth. those two words-and mom said that's who she was named for. big bonus points for the doc in his daughter's eyes for knowing the writer. infinite jest is well worth the read. have your dictionary near you though. ROAR!

[kev67]

Now I am reading Huckleberry Finn, I can see it will have to go in the top ten. I am not sure which to drop, but probably The Amateur Marriage. It was a good book though. I have not read any of Anne Tyler's other books, so I do not know it was even her best. I was struggling to decide on a ninth and tenth in my original list.

Afterthought: I wonder if Last of the Mohicans should go on the list. I am not sure I got to the end of that book, although I remember enjoying the beginning. I enjoyed the Daniel Day Lewis film.

[bounty]

this wont be popular, but moby dick and the catcher in the rye are two of the most hated books ive read.

kev---im a cooper fan, and the last of mohicans is one of my favorite movies---as a book though, i enjoyed the pathfinder a little better.

[desiresjab]

Mohicans not at all. Twain's scathing critiques of Cooper should be more famous.

[kev67]

this wont be popular, but moby dick and the catcher in the rye are two of the most hated books ive read.

kev---im a cooper fan, and the last of mohicans is one of my favorite movies---as a book though, i enjoyed the pathfinder a little better.

Is that because you had to study them at school? I thought Catcher in the Rye was fine, but couldn't see what the fuss was about. Moby Dick was long and frustrating with many digressions into all things whaling. It was still worth it, though.

[Whiskeyclone]

My Personal Top 10, no order:

Blood Meridian
Slaughterhouse-Five
Moby Dick
Catch 22
Ironweed
Pudd'nhead Wilson (a few glaring flaws but I enjoyed it decisively more than Huck)
The Old Man & the Sea
The Great Gatsby
The Border Trilogy (McCarthy...may be cheating to use the whole trilogy)
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (also maybe cheating - it's more non-fiction than fiction - but I think it belongs; I wouldn't count, say On the Campaign Trail '72)

Among stuff I haven't read that could easily alter the list, I plan to re-read Beloved and, perhaps a bit later, Grapes of Wrath, for the first times in almost 20 years in the next year or two. I'm interested to see if they make the list once I can connect with them as an adult.