The Great American Novel is a novel written by an American that contains themes and concerns that are particularly American. Whilst it may speak to people of other cultures, it profoundly speaks to Americans. Many novels have had the term applied to them, such as Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, etc.Originally Posted by kev67
Why would Moby Dick be a Great American Novel? Most of the action takes place at sea, while whaling was not a uniquely American activity.
According to Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence once said that Balzac was 'a gigantic dwarf', and in a sense the same is true of Dickens.
Charles Dickens, by George Orwell
The epic scope I guess. Wiki explains a bit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_dick
ruggerlad, I think you've got an interesting point here because the difficulty in establishing a great British novel, where the criteria is that it reflects in some way the national 'identity' is that the 'British' identity doesn't really exist. You might suggest a great 'English' novel or a great 'Scottish' novel or a great 'Welsh' novel, but what constitutes a 'British' novel? Even under the title of 'English' novel, you would have quite a dispirate range as the 'identity' of someone in the North of England can be quite different to someone in the South or Cornwall, to someone who is British-Asian etc, etc. In the absence of this cohesive identity (or even an illusion of such) how can a novel reflect it in its themes and concerns?
With this in mind, does a novel like Cloud Atlas which is a series of quite different stories, loosely interconnected, more accurately reflect the 'British' identity?
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It's a fun question to ask and discuss here.
I wonder about the term "The Great American Novel". I don't know where it was first used, but I get the feeling that it is a bit defensive, as though wanting to say "we can do just as well".
Previously JonathanB
The more I read, the more I shall covet to read. Robert Burton The Anatomy of Melancholy Partion3, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 1
I think part of it is because America is comparatively young to some of the European countries. The Great American Novel is America asserting itself, trying to form a literary identity separate from European influences.
I also agree about the impossibility of being able to represent every country in Britain in one book. So maybe The Great English Novel would be easiest. However, I wanted to leave it open so people could discuss other GB countries as well (and what about Cornwall?).
The Great Cornish Novel is of course Rebecca.
I'm not convinced that the cultural boundaries between the bits of the UK are that firm. I don't feel I'm reading a foreign novel when I'm reading Scott (which I don't do that often) but some Scots would put that down to English cultural imperialism on my part.
Previously JonathanB
The more I read, the more I shall covet to read. Robert Burton The Anatomy of Melancholy Partion3, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 1
What Ho, Jeeves!
How Green was my valley. For Wales
How Green was my Valet. For the upper class Welsh.
ay up
I've got Richard Usborne's Plum Sauce beside me and can confirm there is no such title. I take it you meant Right Ho! Jeeves.
I saw it in translation when on holiday in Italy. It was irresistible to buy Perfetto! Jeeves.
Previously JonathanB
The more I read, the more I shall covet to read. Robert Burton The Anatomy of Melancholy Partion3, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 1
The Remains of the Day
I think you mean Plum Source.
...fair call though.
And, actually, I wish I'd gone with my first thought which was Leave it to Psmith.
If you mean what is the greatest novel written by a Brtish novelist, I'd say perhaps Tom Jones, Middlemarch, Great Expectations, Women in Love, Sons and Lovers, To The Lighthouse...difficult.
But if you mean is there a British novel which has got the essence of Britain in the way that Huck Finn or the Great Gatsby have nailed the USA, I'm not sure there is one. It's an interesting question. Some would say PG Wodehouse, but he wrote about the upper classes. The majority of Brits (English, Scottish or Welsh) have more in common with the kinds of people you find in Orwell's 'Road to Wigan Pier' or Down and Out than Wodehouse or Waugh.
There isn't a British 'War and Peace' with characters from all social classes and all parts of Britain (private soldiers from the backstreets of Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff etc, Scottish aristocrats and suburban Londoners and so on).
However, I would say that PG Wodehouse expresses and very British humour. If you want to know why the British never fell for Fascism or Communism in the way many other Europeans did, read Wodehouse.
Last edited by WICKES; 10-07-2012 at 04:15 PM.
Wodehouse and the Nazis! Let's not go there.
ay up
Why not? Wodehouse was interned after being captured by German troops in France. Being fully aware that there were a great many people who were afraid for his safety, he made a broadcast, at the Germans' behest , that he wasn't being ill-treated in any way. Of course the Germans knew he was a famous author and used it as a propaganda exercise, but what else could he do but tell the truth?
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
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