What is "the great American novel"?

[Salmonchaser]

Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn;
Hemingway, For whom the Bell tolls
Jack London, I had read everything by the time I was 8. We didn’t have Tv in Alaska way back then.

 

[brymoore]

The Great Gatsby

 

[Ben Lamb]

Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

Melville's Moby Dick

Miller's Tropic of Cancer & Big Sur & The Oranges of Hieromymous Bosch (explores post ww2 disenfranchisement that led to the Beat gen)

Burrough's Naked Lunch

And a lot of what Harley said.

 

[Irrelevant]

But what does it mean, "the great American novel"?

 

[Irrelevant]

My take is that it has to define Americans as being uniquely different than people from other locations and also in the process define the American experience

 

[Irrelevant]

Hemingway is great. But I can't think of anything he wrote that fits the bill for me. But Kesey's Sometimes A Great Notion is at the top of my list. To Kill A Mockingbird as well

 

[Irrelevant]

Stegner's Angle Of Repose

 

[Sheltowee]

Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick or To Kill a Mockingbird for me. Might also throw in Catch-22 by Heller, The Naked and the Dead by Mailer or Invisible Man by Ellison.

Huge, huge fan of Hemingway but none of his novels are set in the US.

No Roth, no Salinger and for the love of God, no Faulkner.

 

[brymoore]

My take is that it has to define Americans as being uniquely different than people from other locations and also in the process define the American experience

You can’t ask the question and then answer two pages later!

I’ve read most of the books listed and could support a lot of them. I chose The Great Gatsby because it demonstrates the pursuit of wealth and the American Dream still has exists but new wealth cannot overcome the barriers between old money, new money, and poverty.

 

[noharleyyet]

Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick or To Kill a Mockingbird for me. Might also throw in Catch-22 by Heller, The Naked and the Dead by Mailer or Invisible Man by Ellison.

Huge, huge fan of Hemingway but none of his novels are set in the US.

No Roth, no Salinger and for the love of God, no Faulkner.

Faulkner's darkness pales in comparison to McCarthy's. Child of God will make ya take a shower.

Good thread but entirely subjective...and rightly so

 

[Irrelevant]

Ok, help me out. I read ole Moby Dick not that long ago and while Melville has moments of great depth and insight (mainly in the beginning), what is it that makes it a great America novel? The struggle against nature? Unfounded Obsession? Adventure (though I never felt this part was overly developed).

 

[Ben Lamb]

The GAN is supposed to embody the spirit of America, showcase how we live our lives, and what it truly means to be an American.

In that vein,

Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Suzanne

Peyton Place - Grace Metalious

The Novelization of the Movie "Showgirls" - Ron "Hedgehog" Jeremy

 

[TOGIE]

AI says Huck Finn

I kinda feel like Garfield captures the ethos, life, and struggles of America a little more aptly, though.

 

[Bigjay73]

Grapes of Wrath

 

[44hunter45]

On the Road - Kerouac is another classic.

Misogyny, narcissism, and selfish blather.

If you are going to include any of the beat writers, just as well throw Hunter S. in the pot too.

 

[44hunter45]

We don't think of him as such perhaps, but Melville was American.
That means Moby Dick needs a vote.

 

[noharleyyet]

I vividly remember trying to keep my eyes open while listening to our high school English Lit teacher drone on about Queequeg's noble savage imagery and his complicated relationship with Ishmael. I now recall re-reading many head scratching passages.

Ok, help me out. I read ole Moby Dick not that long ago and while Melville has moments of great depth and insight (mainly in the beginning), what is it that makes it a great America novel? The struggle against nature? Unfounded Obsession? Adventure (though I never felt this part was overly developed).

 

[44hunter45]

While I don't think they have the cultural impact of a "Great American Novel", I think James Fenimore Cooper's work may have been the most influential to me as a YA reader.

I then took a Sci-fi turn. Asimov is self important shit. Bradbury and Ellison are much more interesting. Vonnegut is good, but weird.

Thank God above no one has offered up G.O.T.

Fahrenheit 451 may be overlooked as a great work because of the genre.

+1 on Steinbeck, Hemingway, McCarthy, Salinger.

Yes on Abbey. Textual critics have tried to cancel Desert Solitaire, but there is no rule that art has to follow life minute by minute.

Having lived in the Central Coast region of California, Steinbeck always captivates me. He has demi-god status in Monterey. If you want to see a great film adaptation of Mice and Men, try the Gary Sinise & John Malkovich one.

After Angle of Repose I lost interest in Stegner.

Rephrasing the OP question. What are the required elements of the Great American Novel? None of us has gone after Adam's actual question.

My bullet list.
-Readable prose
-Timeless
-Subtle or overt social human observation or commentary.
-Realistic and captivating characters. Complex is good.
-Grit?

 

[44hunter45]

I vividly remember trying to keep my eyes open while listening to our high school English Lit teacher drone on about Queequeg's noble savage imagery and his complicated relationship with Ishmael. I now recall re-reading many head scratching passages.

Fair enough

 

[44hunter45]

Does Ivan Doig make the cut?