The Modern American Novel

[uiscebeatha]

This is an enquiry as to some novels [I would probably only get to read one or two over the next few months] that people found engrossing and represent or portray modern America. I recognise that the vastness of the place means that a particular novel[ist] can only deal with a bit of the place / its character. Our education system tended to concentrate very much on British and Irish authors although I have read some of Melville, Hawthorn, Fitzgerald, Salinger. I would just like to pick up a novel that some American people [or others] say represents characters, places and themes that are reflective of the modern US. Anything from 1980s onwards. Thank you for any suggestions that arise. Will read something over next several months and come back with some thoughts!

[Iain Sparrow]

Here in America we've always been a very regional country, and I think sometimes folks outside of America don't appreciate just how much that has to do with our individual identities. I'd suggest that instead of finding that one novel depicting the vastness of America, that you find a story that's more intimate.
Since I live in the Deep South I'll offer up two 'Southern Gothic' novels that are very representative of my region of the country... the first would be To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee... the other is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt. Of the two, it's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil that would probably interest you. It's a very provocative tale.:)

[R.F. Schiller]

I find Philip Roth to be the best contemporary American novelist. For his works that are most representative of America, I'd recommend American Pastoral (1997) (I consider this to be the contemporary rendition of The Great American Novel) and The Human Stain (2000). There are a lot of historical markers in both that reference the Vietnam War, Racism, Watergate and the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal.

[AuntShecky]

I agree with R.F. Schiller about Roth, our greatest living American novelist. Other contemporary authors to include on the list: Bellow, Updike, Nabokov, and -- happily still with us, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. More recent writers who fit the category: Richard Ford, Richard Powers, Jeffrey Eugenides, and the late David Foster Wallace.

[Lykren]

How about Mr. Pynchon?

[uiscebeatha]

Great suggestions. Thank you very much folks. Heck of lot there. Should have mentioned a couple I have already read - Harper Lee and Toni Morrison. As soon as I can I'll start with 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'. Next up the two novels of Philip Roth. Those should keep me going for a while!! Have heard of 'Midnight in the Garden etc.' and, of course, have heard of Philip Roth but have never read anything by him. Looking forward to it. Thanks again.

[JBI]

How about Mr. Pynchon?

In all honesty, I get what he is trying to do, but I'm yet to find many people who actually enjoy his books, regardless of their innovative nature. My problem is, while reading his books, I am rather unmoved emotionally by anything. The sort of nihilistic meaninglessness is so 1970s intellectually. It's a bit dated to my tastes.

As for best living author, who knows? Novels are now hardly the main form of literature. HBO screenplays are.

[Lykren]

The sort of nihilistic meaninglessness is so 1970s intellectually. It's a bit dated to my tastes.

What about the idea of the formal innovation being a sort of antidote to the nihilism of the content? That is the richness of the style overcomes any sense of despair generated by the ideas being overtly discussed.

[R.F. Schiller]

What about the idea of the formal innovation being a sort of antidote to the nihilism of the content? That is the richness of the style overcomes any sense of despair generated by the ideas being overtly discussed.


In all honesty, I get what he is trying to do, but I'm yet to find many people who actually enjoy his books, regardless of their innovative nature. My problem is, while reading his books, I am rather unmoved emotionally by anything. The sort of nihilistic meaninglessness is so 1970s intellectually. It's a bit dated to my tastes.

As for best living author, who knows? Novels are now hardly the main form of literature. HBO screenplays are.

I've only read The Crying of Lot 49 (twice, actually - incorporated it into a paper I had to write on David Foster Wallace), which is hardly considered his best novel, but my impressions were generally similar to JBI. I didn't give a damn about any of his characters and they seemed very un-human. I thought his characters were just symbols and used for technical purposes rather than embodying living, breathing individuals. I definitely wouldn't call The Crying of Lot 49 "rich". Pynchon's Cornell mentor Vladimir Nabokov had a very rich style IMO. Pynchon's style is more... I don't really have a proper term for it but "crammed" or "overloaded are words that I'll use. The problem is I can't really tell whether the Pynchon is endorsing the "nihilistic meaninglessness" or satirizing it. During my second reading of The Crying of Lot 49 , I found evidence that pointed to both. David Foster Wallace is an example of an author who satirized it. Unfortunately, nobody knows anything about Thomas Pynchon's life or opinions outside of his fiction due to his reclusive nature.

[Eiseabhal]

There is an awful lot to choose (Some is awful and some full of awe) Just start. It is miles better than anything English or Scottish. That's fer sure!