I should have Gatbsy in here also. I don't do Faulkner and i don't like Hemingway though they should probably be on the list.Originally Posted by promtbr
Blood Meridian is probably the more seminal and more complete work but i really love the quiet desperation of Suttree. Gass and Barthelme are two authors i really have to check out.
I have been reading some of Gass's essays and, wow, he is a marvelous writer. I will have to check out his fiction. I just ordered his collection of short stories.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
That is why I qualified my post that if it were to be a POST WWII survey or a suggested selection.
Of course if it was to be all of 20th cent American it would have to include the big three (Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Hemingway).Also one would of course have to include Cather, Wharton, and Stienbeck (tho not a fan of his writing).
I would refuse to include some commonly taught authors already mentioned in the post.
I like to divide the "survey" into Post and Pre WWII...because the list would be too long and some of the interesting authors 'we' posted would not make the final cut of say 10 or so (imho).
I have only read Blood Meridian of McCarthy's and was sceptical of its hype when I started. It may hold a place among the better PostWW2 American novels... I have heard good things about Suttree tho...
Cool. By most reader's and some critics accounts. Gass's early work is favored (Pre Tunnel his magnum opus that the jury's for sure split on). Omensetters Luck is supposed to be one of the neglected gems of American fiction and has been on my TBR list for too long...
His selection of short Stories, In the Heart of the Heart of the Country contains the novella/ long story The Pederson Kid. The prose is amazing, a powerful storyline, captivating narraror and in the top 3 all timers in my reading experience...
Last edited by promtbr; 04-18-2009 at 11:28 AM.
Wow, thanks people! Lots of recommendations
Any other seminal American Lit works I should be tackling?
I ordered his collected stories. Judging from the essays he may be the best American prose writer. Cormac McCarthy is up there too. All The Pretty Horses is a fine novel as well as The Road. I have not read Blood Meridan and Suttree but they are supposed to be his best works. I think McCarthy is our best living novelist. Oh, No Country For Old Men is very good too.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
It’s interesting how many of the overwhelmingly American novels recommended in this thread are from the 1920’s and 1930’s. A golden age for American literature for sure. Some great books recommended. I loved 'As I Lay Dying' and really enjoyed 'Tender is the Night', however, for a more far flung outlook what about some of the following:
Milan Kundera ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’
Graham Green ‘The Quiet American’
James Joyce ‘The Dubliners’
Doris Lessing ‘The Golden Notebook’
Gabriel Marquez ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’
Alexander Solzhenitsyn ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’
Any thoughts?
Last edited by Michael T; 04-21-2009 at 12:22 PM. Reason: Addition
Aside from them not being American?
Ha ha. How dumb am I! My first time on here and didn't notice it was 20th century AMERICAN Literature. I thought there was an overwhelming American bias to the thread. I apologise for my foolishness. MUST TRY HARDER. Thanks for pointing out my error 'mayneverhave'
After my last debacle I thought I better try again.
I would defiantly recommend the following AMERICAN novels:
William Faulkner ‘As I lay Dying’
Joseph Heller ‘Catch 22’ and ‘God Only Knows’
F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Tender is the Night’
Dos Passos ‘Manhattan Transfer’ and ‘USA’
Richard Wright ‘Native Son’
Nathaniel West ‘Day of the Locust’
Ernest Hemmingway ’The Sun Also Rises’
Toni Morrison ‘Beloved’
And for a good play what about Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Desire Under the Elms’
Read the O'Neill play- not my favourite, I have to say, a bit too melodramatic. I prefer Mourning Becomes Electra.
Read Gatsby: I really need to get round to reading Tender is The Night- it's the only Fitzgerald novel I haven't read.
YES! I love all of the books on this list. I haven't read Dos Passos USA, but it is on my to read list. Everyone that I have met that has read As I Lay Dying hated it, but I think it is one of the greatest books I have ever read. Oh, and as for your other list of books, Gabriel Marquez could work...North America isn't the only America...
William Faulkener- A Light in August
John Steinback- The Pearl, The Red Pony
Scott O'Dell- Island of the Blue Dolphins
Mark Twain- Huckleberry Finn
Not a huge fan of Hemmingway's novels though there is no denying his talent. For example: Old Man and the Sea...I found it rather dry (maybe it was just my mood when I read it) and didn't enjoy it as I usually do with stories, but could certainly appreciate the message and the allegory of Christ
I remember reading Steinback and O'Dell's books as a child and really enjoying them. I was older when I read A Light in August which I also enjoyed. I've always been more partial in English literature rather than American though there are certainly some gems out there. I'm interested in exploring more American literature. I will certainly be looking into some of your suggestions.
To high light some I've read, my scale of 1-10:
10 Chaucer
10 Goethe
10 George Eliot
10 Molliere
10 Montaigne
9 Edith Wharton
9 Ambassadors
6+ Norman Mailer
5+ Sound And Fury
5+ Ayn Rand
4 Gatsby
4 Catch 22
4 As I Lay Dying
3 All The Pretty Horses
0 White Noise
0 Of Mice And Men
I've read several good American books that get little pub, and would be greatful if anyone would identify recent (since 2000) American lit that might be rated with the likes of Edith Wharton or some of the great authors.
Last edited by fb0252; 04-21-2009 at 03:33 PM.
Update!
I read Tender is The Night. Really love it
I'm willing to give Hemingway another go- I loved A Moveable Feast and really liked The Sun Also Rises.
Faulkner-wise, I've only read Soldier's Pay.
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