What's the Great American Novel?

A new book has revived the question, and book critic Michael Dirda has weighed in on the side of Moby-Dick.

Which book gets your vote? Or is the “Great American Novel” an inherently dumb concept?

April 11th, 2014

It’s a dumb concept but I’d say these should at least all of the below should be in the conversation:

The Great Gatsby
Lolita
Moby-Dick
The Haunting of Hill House
The Turn of the Screw
The Red Badge of Courage
The Sun Also Rises
A Farewell to Arms
Invisible Man

And I’d vote for

#Lolita

if forced.

April 11th, 2014

I think the ‘Great American Novel’ is an interesting thing to consider; and most disputes about it come down to different definitions of it. Wikipedia defines it as follows:

the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representation of the spirit of the age in the United States at the time of its writing or in the time it is set.

One thing to note is that a ‘Great American Novel’ is particular to the time it is written or set; so that means there could be many ‘Great American Novels’ under this definition. Any debates about the ‘Great American Novel’ are then about which one captures its specific time’s zeitgeist the best (as opposed to the one that is most generally ‘American’).

But what fun is that? I’ll throw my lot in with Huck Finn. I bet @dalmo would have an interesting take on this!

April 11th, 2014

Actually, I might agree about Moby-Dick.

My copy of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has an introduction that basically compares the two books, and I think it makes a very powerful case for Ahab, crazy as he is, being The American (even though that author ends up with a different conclusion).

There’s something about his individualism, his driven-ness, and the almost blasphemous nature of his quest that strikes me (an Anglophile Canadian) as epitomizing your country’s spirit.

April 11th, 2014

@jeeho

the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representation of the spirit of the age in the United States at the time of its writing or in the time it is set.

This is really interesting to me! Interesting that people automatically respond away from more modern picks… For me, the great American novel of right now is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – it captures a culture, a voice, and a character distinctly American.

There should be a great American novel for every decade! For every year, even!

April 11th, 2014

More people should read Cane. It’s got my vote.

April 11th, 2014

Even though the term is outdated, I’ll throw these titles in the conversation:

  • Beloved
  • Native Son
  • Blood Meridian
  • On The Road
  • Scarlett Letter
April 11th, 2014

These ones might qualify along with the obvious choices (Gatsby, Farewell to Arms, etc.):

  • Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series
  • Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
  • Saul Bellow’s Adventures of Augie March
  • Philip Roth’s American Pastoral
April 11th, 2014

#CURVE BALL.

Could dissect meaning from every panel of this thing.

April 12th, 2014

No Faulkner, Salinger, or Steinbeck? Y'all some haterz! I actually have no idea… probably Pulp Fiction or maybe good kid, m.A.A.d city or better yet –

#MABOOZLED: THE RAP GENIUS STORY

April 12th, 2014

Hmm…don’t know enough to say, but happy to see Morrison here twice. Used to think she was god, until she started repeating herself in unattractive ways. You win some, you lose some. Other than the women, there are very few “great american” novelists that spark me. Rule Britannia!

April 12th, 2014

@stupidpoet See a part of me was thinking that. Hell, the writer and the artist for the book I posted are both British! In fact, why the fuck are we still obsessing over the great American novel? England’s best export is literature!

April 12th, 2014

@Quikstik …and our best export is cinema! I am reminded by A.B. Schmidt’s citation of the Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. I really must read that. The original film, although dated, is freaking amazing! Appreciative of Watchmen, too :)

April 12th, 2014

@stupidpoet Now that I will have to debate with you on. I would have to argue we’re better at that.

April 12th, 2014

@Quikstik What? The cinema or Hill House?

April 12th, 2014

@stupidpoet The cinema.

April 12th, 2014