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.

[onedoug]

The Caine Mutiny Bump!

[Xenalyte]

I think you've just perfectly outlined the dichotomy between me and Xena's Mom. She thinks the GAN is timeless; I think probably not.

[SamAdams76]

I was thinking of tackling James Michener's books this fall. I've read Alaska and Space and found them very interesting. I am a history buff but sometimes history books can be dry. The idea of putting fictional characters in a historically accurate setting is a great way to teach history in my opinion.

I will definitely check out Chesapeake. Is there any particular order to read the Michener books or can I just grab them in any order?

As for the great America novel, I cast a vote for Jack London's Call of The Wild. It's actually more of a long short story but it's a great read.

[Xenalyte]

I didn't even KNOW there's another one! Tell!

[Xenalyte]

That gets my vote for the most faithful book-to-movie adaptation ever. Did you see it? It totally turned around my opinion of Johnny Depp. And Benicio Del Toro is fabulous.

[Publius]

According to sales figures, the "great American novel" is Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious, published in 1957.

[7thson]

I nominate From Here To Eternity by James Jones.

Also some novels that tell what America is/was about at that time -

Gone With The Wind - tells the feelings of the south and the cause for some of its bitterness. The south lost the war but instead of being left alone to rebuild, carpetbaggers from the north came down and made life miserable for everyone. By the time they left, enough bitterness was stoked to keep the south backwards for generations.

The Grapes of Wrath - effectively tells the story of the Dustbowl migrant workers. Shows native Californians for what they are - not enlightened souls but frightened elitists. Also shows the ugly side of America - Americans turning on Americans. People who never gave a thought about how blacks were treated, if they survived the dustbowl and migration and humilation, now came away of what it was like to be treated inhumanely.

In Cold Blood - I think this crime novel showed America that we have monsters roaming the country - the first warning that we have serial killers in the nation.

[motexva]

I nominate Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, and Dr. Frank you'd love it.

It's about codebreakers in WWII, and their computer geek descendents in the mid-1990s. A fantastic book, amazing how similar it is to the vastly overrated Gravity's Rainbow and yet how much better it is. You read it and realize it's essentially screaming in the face of Gen X: "GOD! COUNTRY! CAPITAL! THESE THREE THINGS WILL ALWAYS SAVE CIVILIZATION!"

[wingnuts'nbolts]

My favorite Michner book is "Texas". If you enjoyed the ones you've already read you will love this book.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

My favorite Michner book is "Texas". If you enjoyed the ones you've already read you will love this book.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

It's odd, as it the story behind it's publishing (as if the history of Confederacy was strange enough).

Turns out Toole wrote a much shorter book as part of a contest. He was 16-18 years old, I forget exactly how old. It has a whole different feel then Dunces. After Toole's death, his mother resisted any attempt to have it published. Legal avenues were persued. I forget who she used to fight off the legal attacks, but who ever it was wrote the foreward to the book and explained how he reluctantly performed his duty to the mother. At the same time, he tried to talk sense into the mother to get her to publish it. She just wouldn't go for it. Maybe if he got her drunk with the wine in the oven...

Anyway, after she died, he figured his service to her was complete. Since he had control of the book, he went ahead and published it. It is a sad tale - the history and the book.

[aculeus]

Haven't read it but The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, which was just published, is getting rave reviews.

[Constitution Day]

I also love Faulkner!
I almost chose "Sartoris" as my screen name here on FR.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

How about "The Winds of War"?

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Good God Xena - I'm an ass. You probably want the title, huh? It's The Neon Bible. Even made into a movie, but you can't find it in any video store I've been to, and I'm too cheap a Polack to dish out $40 for it.

[motexva]

I don't know you might be mixing this up with another story. Walker Percy is the author who got COD published, as I recall in his forward the mother was very enthusiastic about publishing it, and shopped it around for years in an effort to get it published. I seem to remember Percy writing he felt he may have been one of the only ones to read it, because anyone who did would have recognized the book's brilliance.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"Player Piano" by Kurt Vonnegut

[Eric in the Ozarks]

American Lit, please.

[Mrs.Liberty]

I will go with Huck Finn, followed by The Great Gatsby, In Cold Blood, Lonesome Dove.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Good picks, but the first great American novel has to be Mobey Dick.