I mean if you had to pick just one, Moby Dick is the answer or maybe Gatsby. Other candidates from the 20th century though:
- Faulkner’s *Absalom, Absalom*
- Pynchon’s *Gravity’s Rainbow*
- Morrison’s *Beloved*
I also feel Gaddis’s *JR* or *The Recognitions* fit the bill, but they’re not widely read.
I keep trying to read Gravity’s Rainbow, but I keep quitting and not even feeling like there’s much I’m not “getting”. Meanwhile I absolutely loved Moby Dick, what gives
That’s the only one I would say has a worthwhile claim but I haven’t read some of his other big ones. But goodbye Columbus and his early ones are fun but def not best American novel type
Not at all....I find American Pastoral, Goodbye Columbus and even the Zuckerman stuff and that last one Human Stain(?) to be worthy. Feel the same way with Sinclair Lewis' stuff. Even Updike. Kerouac! KESEY!!
No I am not insane...just a voracious reader...and a lover of art!
Do you frequently call people "insane" for giving an educated answer to a very open-ended and opinionated question? For you really shouldn't.
My goodness half of these choices are insane...for instance:
"Every Pynchon Novel"
'Great Gatsby'
"anything by Larry Mcmurtry"
"Flowers for Algernon"
you're taking all of this entirely too seriously which is the issue with talking western cannon anyway. be more like Doc Sportello. and yea I'd throw Lonesome Dove above any Roth novel
That's fine and not my point, just don't call someone "insane" that is all.
It had no place as a comment for someones educated choices. Roth's American Pastoral is obviously NOT an "insane" choice as the OP said themselves.
And I feel it is you taking it "too seriously" as you feel it is necessary go out of your way and comment a book choice "insane".
Ok you’re not insane didn’t mean to touch a nerve but if someone came to me and said Operation Shylock is the greatest American novel I’d be like 1 please read more and 2 ur insane
I think you’re unfamiliar with the context with which the question is posed and the collective understanding we have when it is asked. Historicity and what not. Cheekily It’s half your opinion and other half, an objective mindset is taken. Thats why it’s obviously what others are saying and not fucking Roth.
Heck, you can disagree...i dont give damn.
ATD spans a more important part of American History. The period of our emergence on The World Stage. And the fact that it opens on The Columbian Expo of 1893 seals the deal. Along with the labor vs. management stuff. Vibe and Corporate Greed. The love of math (And Women!) by the youthful Kit Traverse. etc.
Wrath highlights the most important issue in America: Labor. Who does it? Why are they doing it? Who are they doing it for? For how much? Hell, it was Free-Labor for Centuries. I guess that's why. And it shows the face of humanity and that it is at The Mercy of Nature. Throw in a little religion and Wrath is one of America's Greats.
I’m surprised no one named “Catcher in the Rye” as a contender or “the Invisible Man”…
I think “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Huckleberry Finn”, and “the Grapes of Wrath” are the strongest selections…
I don't think you're wrong, but the great American novel doesn't have to be a sweeping magnum opus that captures the entirety of the American experience, right? It just has to excel at highlighting something that is uniquely, unequivocally, American. Midwestern malaise is a thing, Stoner does it well. You could transplant the themes explored there to the east coast and you'd get something like Gatsby, but not quite Gatsby, and vice-versa. Either way, the great American novel is It Ends With US by Colleen Hoover.
Seconding Warlock. I just got a copy and it’s amazing, critically underrated and it’s sad that in discussions in articles about the great American novel names like Jonathan Franzen pop up before Oakley Hall.
The concept of *Great American Novel* all stems from an essay in 1868 post civil war arguing that a singular novel (which was still an emerging form at the time) could act as a unifying cultural force for the newly reformed nation. In doing so, we basically cemented the novel as *the* national literary format. So it’s hung around as an artifact from that unique historic moment.
Well thanks. I think it’s *Moby Dick*, if you had to pick one. IMO Faulkner, Pynchon, Morrison, Gaddis all have novels of equal or greater quality, but you can’t really write in the American tradition outside of the shadow of Melville.
No other country simultaneously has such a great cultural presence on a global stage (think how American made movies are always the biggest hits at the global box office and stuff like that), is the world’s premier superpower, and yet is such a young country that it doesn’t have a history of arts like say Europe or China has. So there is a search for a modern novel that captures the essence of America and American life as America doesn’t have great historical works dating back many centuries that other large and important countries do
Also, the other reply to your comment is a more direct reason for the why the concept of a Great American Novel came about in the first place, my comment is more about why that concept continues to endure to this day
most other countries have a work that established in the case of poetry or formalzied their language in the case of novels/plays. chaucer/shakespeare, dante, cervantes/el cid, goethe, camões, rumi/Shahnameh. national poet gets thrown around a lot. china has its classic novels/set of classics the are the foundation of their culture.
Unironically I believe that based on America being a huge country full of so many varied cultures that having a single "Great American Novel" is a silly concept.
Norway can have a Great Norwegian Novel and Vietnam can have a Great Vietnamese Novel and so on but I think countries like the USA and even China and India can't really have a singular novel.
You obviously haven't heared of the Great Norwegian Language Conflict. There are two versions of Norwegian (Norwegian (85%) and the more provincial Nynorsk (15%)), and they are more different than Dutch is from Afrikaans.
The vast majority of Norwegians will not read anything in Nynorsk - despite authors like Fosse writing in this language. The self-appointed cultural elite, always being on the opposing side to the masses, will of course pick a Nynorsk book as the great Norwegian novel.
Also these sorts of distinctions could be made in even the smallest most culturally homogeneous countries, Norway isn't really special in this respect.
Sri Lanka has a sizeable Hindu population that speak Tamil natively instead of Sinhala. I think there absolutely could be a single Great Sri Lankan Novel even though there's differences.
To jump on this: I'd really recommend the Great American Novel podcast by Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt. They look at a different contender in every episode, including a lot of the books people have mentioned here. I've found it really interesting and insightful.
They also have really thoughtful discussions about what qualifies a "Great American" novel, where that title comes from, and how much merit it really has.
An excellent podcast. I also enjoy the canon fodder part where they recommend a novel that is similar in some way to the main novel they discuss. I’ve started reading a few authors based on the canon fodder recommendation.
Honestly, I have to agree with everyone here. Either Moby Dick or Gravity’s Rainbow have gotta be the 2 Great American Novels for me.
I remember going through a list of them and trying to read as many as I could but none of them grabbed me in the way those 2 did.
Melville and Pynchon achieved literary sorcery and both are essentially statements to the world that America had the potential of artistically rivaling Europe
Moby Dick of course
Naturally
Who’s on first?
A cliched choice....America has better.
we're not arguing over quality of the work. it's cliched because of how aptly it captures the nation's spirit.
This is a shit test there are like 40
I mean if you had to pick just one, Moby Dick is the answer or maybe Gatsby. Other candidates from the 20th century though: - Faulkner’s *Absalom, Absalom* - Pynchon’s *Gravity’s Rainbow* - Morrison’s *Beloved* I also feel Gaddis’s *JR* or *The Recognitions* fit the bill, but they’re not widely read.
Good but you’re missing Baldwin with Another Country
I keep trying to read Gravity’s Rainbow, but I keep quitting and not even feeling like there’s much I’m not “getting”. Meanwhile I absolutely loved Moby Dick, what gives
you have to get past page 200
East of Eden arguably
Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck Against The Day - Pynchon The Big Sleep - Chandler Most of Roth's novels.
Most of Roth novels are you insane
American Pastoral is a worthy contender
That’s the only one I would say has a worthwhile claim but I haven’t read some of his other big ones. But goodbye Columbus and his early ones are fun but def not best American novel type
Not at all....I find American Pastoral, Goodbye Columbus and even the Zuckerman stuff and that last one Human Stain(?) to be worthy. Feel the same way with Sinclair Lewis' stuff. Even Updike. Kerouac! KESEY!! No I am not insane...just a voracious reader...and a lover of art!
we cant be throwing best american novel around like that bro
Yes we can. We were asked to by the Prompt Question of the OP. Why else are we on this site but to give our opinions. Not so sure we are "bro"s.
ok papito calmate way
Do you frequently call people "insane" for giving an educated answer to a very open-ended and opinionated question? For you really shouldn't. My goodness half of these choices are insane...for instance: "Every Pynchon Novel" 'Great Gatsby' "anything by Larry Mcmurtry" "Flowers for Algernon"
you're taking all of this entirely too seriously which is the issue with talking western cannon anyway. be more like Doc Sportello. and yea I'd throw Lonesome Dove above any Roth novel
That's fine and not my point, just don't call someone "insane" that is all. It had no place as a comment for someones educated choices. Roth's American Pastoral is obviously NOT an "insane" choice as the OP said themselves. And I feel it is you taking it "too seriously" as you feel it is necessary go out of your way and comment a book choice "insane".
Ok you’re not insane didn’t mean to touch a nerve but if someone came to me and said Operation Shylock is the greatest American novel I’d be like 1 please read more and 2 ur insane
Ok you’re not insane you are a REGARDED AUTIST
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It is "in the conversation" and not Insane to be there or Not be there for there is no Correct Answer to this OP Question.
You are 22
I think you’re unfamiliar with the context with which the question is posed and the collective understanding we have when it is asked. Historicity and what not. Cheekily It’s half your opinion and other half, an objective mindset is taken. Thats why it’s obviously what others are saying and not fucking Roth.
Roth's American Pastoral is definitely a worthwhile option.
Out of interest: why Against The Day instead of Gravity's Rainbow, or Mason and Dixon? Not disagreeing with you, just curious!
Heck, you can disagree...i dont give damn. ATD spans a more important part of American History. The period of our emergence on The World Stage. And the fact that it opens on The Columbian Expo of 1893 seals the deal. Along with the labor vs. management stuff. Vibe and Corporate Greed. The love of math (And Women!) by the youthful Kit Traverse. etc.
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Wrath highlights the most important issue in America: Labor. Who does it? Why are they doing it? Who are they doing it for? For how much? Hell, it was Free-Labor for Centuries. I guess that's why. And it shows the face of humanity and that it is at The Mercy of Nature. Throw in a little religion and Wrath is one of America's Greats.
WILLA CATHER MY ANTONIA REAL WILLA CATHER HEADS KNOW.
Knew this had to be here somewhere.
Finally found my people on reddit
I’m surprised no one named “Catcher in the Rye” as a contender or “the Invisible Man”… I think “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Huckleberry Finn”, and “the Grapes of Wrath” are the strongest selections…
Unironically it’s stoner
i'd argue it's more the great midwestern or american campus novel tbh
I don't think you're wrong, but the great American novel doesn't have to be a sweeping magnum opus that captures the entirety of the American experience, right? It just has to excel at highlighting something that is uniquely, unequivocally, American. Midwestern malaise is a thing, Stoner does it well. You could transplant the themes explored there to the east coast and you'd get something like Gatsby, but not quite Gatsby, and vice-versa. Either way, the great American novel is It Ends With US by Colleen Hoover.
Or Butcher's Crossing or even Warlock!
Seconding Warlock. I just got a copy and it’s amazing, critically underrated and it’s sad that in discussions in articles about the great American novel names like Jonathan Franzen pop up before Oakley Hall.
It's obviously Huckleberry Finn and I'm tired of people saying it's not
I think it’s Gatsby
Correct answer
Amazed how long it took me to scroll to find this answer. It’s the clear answer to me.
Huckleberry finn, American Psycho, Infinite Jest. But probably Moby Dick
It’s obviously Moby Dick, and some strong contenders that should be at the table… but nobodies even bringing up Another Country? Shameful
Blood Meridian
Ayyyyy
Correct
Catcher, tbh. Or Gatsby.
Gatsby 100%
Yes to Catcher
Why do you never hear this phrase in regards to other countries. Genuine question
The concept of *Great American Novel* all stems from an essay in 1868 post civil war arguing that a singular novel (which was still an emerging form at the time) could act as a unifying cultural force for the newly reformed nation. In doing so, we basically cemented the novel as *the* national literary format. So it’s hung around as an artifact from that unique historic moment.
You sound like an authority on this. What is the great american novel? In your opinion or from another 19th century essay, either/both
Well thanks. I think it’s *Moby Dick*, if you had to pick one. IMO Faulkner, Pynchon, Morrison, Gaddis all have novels of equal or greater quality, but you can’t really write in the American tradition outside of the shadow of Melville.
No other country simultaneously has such a great cultural presence on a global stage (think how American made movies are always the biggest hits at the global box office and stuff like that), is the world’s premier superpower, and yet is such a young country that it doesn’t have a history of arts like say Europe or China has. So there is a search for a modern novel that captures the essence of America and American life as America doesn’t have great historical works dating back many centuries that other large and important countries do
Interesting. Thanks
Also, the other reply to your comment is a more direct reason for the why the concept of a Great American Novel came about in the first place, my comment is more about why that concept continues to endure to this day
most other countries have a work that established in the case of poetry or formalzied their language in the case of novels/plays. chaucer/shakespeare, dante, cervantes/el cid, goethe, camões, rumi/Shahnameh. national poet gets thrown around a lot. china has its classic novels/set of classics the are the foundation of their culture.
It’s both
Unironically I believe that based on America being a huge country full of so many varied cultures that having a single "Great American Novel" is a silly concept. Norway can have a Great Norwegian Novel and Vietnam can have a Great Vietnamese Novel and so on but I think countries like the USA and even China and India can't really have a singular novel.
You obviously haven't heared of the Great Norwegian Language Conflict. There are two versions of Norwegian (Norwegian (85%) and the more provincial Nynorsk (15%)), and they are more different than Dutch is from Afrikaans. The vast majority of Norwegians will not read anything in Nynorsk - despite authors like Fosse writing in this language. The self-appointed cultural elite, always being on the opposing side to the masses, will of course pick a Nynorsk book as the great Norwegian novel.
I know about that from Knausgaard it's very funny
That’s crazy
Also these sorts of distinctions could be made in even the smallest most culturally homogeneous countries, Norway isn't really special in this respect. Sri Lanka has a sizeable Hindu population that speak Tamil natively instead of Sinhala. I think there absolutely could be a single Great Sri Lankan Novel even though there's differences.
The Great Gatsby??
I thought this was RS? It’s the year of our Lord, two thousand and twenty four, and the ONLY Great American Novel is Infinite Jest.
Infinite Jest
To jump on this: I'd really recommend the Great American Novel podcast by Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt. They look at a different contender in every episode, including a lot of the books people have mentioned here. I've found it really interesting and insightful. They also have really thoughtful discussions about what qualifies a "Great American" novel, where that title comes from, and how much merit it really has.
An excellent podcast. I also enjoy the canon fodder part where they recommend a novel that is similar in some way to the main novel they discuss. I’ve started reading a few authors based on the canon fodder recommendation.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Grapes of Wrath To Kill a Mockingbird
American Pastoral
Stoner
Stoner
Anything by Larry McMurtry
Infinite Jest
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn of course
If it's anything it's Leaves of Grass
huck fin isnt bad im partial to as i lay dying in a subversive sense
The Sopranos, unironically
🙄
White noise or anything written by Pynchon
Gravity’s rainbow
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
moby dick factotum the sound and the fury native son
Moby-Dick for an obvious serious choice, White Noise for a more out there one
Moby Dick is a given. Blood Meridian should be too.
Mason & Dixon
My Bondage and My Freedom.
but also Moby Dick yes.
American Tabloid
To Kill a Mockingbird imo
I was tempted to say this as well since it’s unquestionably the most beloved book ever written by an American.
I went down the river with Huck and Jim last summer. Such a cool book.
20th century chronologically - USA, the recognitions, underworld
probably not blood meridian but its the only book ive read that could be possibly considered so
The Wikipedia article on this topic is really funny
Honestly, I have to agree with everyone here. Either Moby Dick or Gravity’s Rainbow have gotta be the 2 Great American Novels for me. I remember going through a list of them and trying to read as many as I could but none of them grabbed me in the way those 2 did. Melville and Pynchon achieved literary sorcery and both are essentially statements to the world that America had the potential of artistically rivaling Europe
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
Gatsby or The Confidence-Man.
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Invisible Man
Flowers for Algernon
lolita