Great American Novel

[Xenalyte]

The Great American novel - voice of a generation.

Xena's Mom says Huck Finn is the definitive GAN, and no one'll ever top it. (What a reactionary that broad is.) I say there's a new novel for each generation.

I'm 32 (which I guess makes me a Gen-Xer), so what's the Great American Gen-X Novel? Or any other generation's? I'm an ex-English teacher, so bring it all on - I'm bound to a) have read it, b) have taught it or c) own it.

And if any of you says Gravity's Rainbow, I'll personally come over there and whomp you with a well-placed chakram to the back of the skull. That goes for Catcher in the Rye and Song of Solomon too. Blech.

[geaux]

One of my favorites was "One flew over the cuckoo's nest." I'm not one of those high-falutin' professor types, and I don't know what a novel needs to have to make it "great," but that was one of the best reads I've ever had.

[B-Chan]

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.

[Constitution Day]

As a fellow so-called Gen X-er (I'll be 31 on Sept. 17), I must agree with A Confederacy of Dunces.
I have probably read that at least three times.

Another of my favorites was White Noise by Don DeLillo.

[B-Chan]

A Confederacy of Dunces is a wonderful book. It made me reconsider my stance on Moorish-American Dignity.

[Dr. Frank fan]

I can't say American Psycho worked for this under-50-year-old. I took it to be a long extended fascinating joke. Skimmed through much of it, because after all half the book was nothing but descriptions of what people were wearing by brand name and price. Clever and all, but "great"? Not really.

[Pietro]

For gen-xers I'd say "Breakfast of Champions" by K Vonnegut or "Slaughter House Five" by the same author. Combines absurd existentialism w/ humorous nihilism.

Or anything by Tom Wolf.

[untenured]

Don't know what you mean by "GAN," but novels that reflect themes with which Americans can (more than other peoples, IMHO) easily identify are Huckleberry Finn, A Scarlet Letter and Catch-22.

[Xenalyte]

Great American Novel = GAN.

[billorites]

All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren.

It's the story of Bubba.

[untenured]

Oh, I knew that, but I 'm not sure what "Great American Novel" means. Is it one that strikes a chord for a certain segment of the population, especially youunger Americans, when it comes out? (In that case, then almost by definition you would be right that "there's a new novel for each generation.") Is it one that, a century or more later, still reflects important American themes. Is it something else entirely?

[brbethke]

For Gen-X'ers? I nominate Tank Girl --- not the movie, the comic book.

[Pharmboy]

Blood Meridian for any generation. Brilliant.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Naturally I nominate For Whom The Bell Tolls.

But seriously, if you haven't read Andre Dubus III's The House of Sand and Fog, you're missing out on some terrific modern fiction. Though Andre's style is very different from his father's, he's every bit as good.

As a writer, I'm a literary non-fiction kind. I'd suggest Thompson's Hell's Angels, Lucas' Common Ground, and Herr's Dispatches for anyone interested in the genre.

[Billthedrill]

Listen to yer mum...Huckleberry Finn IS America.

Well, lessee...in order for a book to claim to be the GAN, IMHO it must (1) be written by an American (sorry, Prof. Tolkien); (2) take place in America; and (3) be about America in some form. Kesey's a bit long in the tooth for a gen-X claim or I might suggest Sometimes A Great Notion. The Right Stuff, of course, is not a novel. Hmm...

Well, maybe I ought to go with Physicist - Neuromancer is a little like plugging your brain into a wall socket...

[Non-Sequitur]

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

[JenB]

Ok, those criteria eliminate what I find to be the great novel for me and my peers - "Ender's Game", by Orson Scott Card is not set in America. It is, however, pertinent to about every Gen-Xer I know who doesn't care for the stereotype we get...

[Hegewisch Dupa]

I'd vote for Bonfire of the Vanities or Confederacy of Dunces. By the way Xena (I just like saying that), have you read Toole's other book?

[Alberta's Child]

William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust is about as American as it gets, though it is more specifically a 1930s novel from the Jim Crow south. Excellent novel, BTW.

[Pietro]

"Neuromancer is a little like plugging your brain into a wall socket..."

sounds like Neuromancer's the next book I buy, thanks.

BTW, I love these book threads, the last suggestion I got on one of these was "The Club Dumas" by a Spanish writer, a very entertaining book for book lovers(bibliophiles).

[Dakmar]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - HSThompson.