20th Century American Literature

theCzar

Anton17 wrote:

(Can't believe no one had mentioned anything by Fitzgerald??)

theCzar wrote:

Hemingway and Steinbeck are the two that jumped to my mind straight away, the others are great but one book wonders!

F.Scott Fitzgerald as well

And I can't believe you didn't read the thread more carefully

luckat

Cormac McCarthy's Borders trilogy - a downer, but a beautiful downer. Plus - coming into the 21st century - his terrifying post-apocalyptic dystopian The Road, about a father and son travelling through a destroyed America after a devastating war that has, effectively, ended all life on earth.

Harper Lee's political masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird has to be central to the canon: the story of a gentle country lawyer in a racist town given the hopeless case of defending a black man accused of rape; a story told through the coming-of-age-novel filter of an inner story, the maturation of his daughter Scout.

Steinbeck, of course - Of Mice and Men, about migrant workers in California; The Grapes of Wrath, about the migration from Oklahoma during the Depression, after the ecological disaster caused by overfarming of the American plains; Cannery Row, a collection of vignettes about fishing people in California, loosely held together by a plot about a young marine biologist.

Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five, a sci-fi story based on the author's own experiences as a prisoner during the firebombing of Dresden.

William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury is typical of his gorgeous, lush, treacly, complex writing. Narrated successively by three brothers and a third-person narrator, it's a family story of the Deep South, full of nasty business.

Alice Walker - The Color Purple is a nasty little novel that ends up redemptive, about a child sold into marriage in 1920s America, who becomes a slave to her husband, and is redeemed by the love of the woman he loves. Kind of soapy, but the writing's brilliant.

Marilyn French - The Women's Room is about a bunch of friends who meet at Harvard and stay friends; they range from the one who won't have anything to do with men because basically all men are rapists to the one who is driven to suicide by her bullying husband. Cheery stuff. No, actually, it's really funny, and the writing is gritty and hard.

Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls is about the Spanish Civil War, told in Hemingway's much-satirised manly style with short sentences and no adjectives. Typical heroic death-worshipping male chest-beating. Good fun.

F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby is the ultimate story of unrequited love. Gatsby is a guy who fell in love with an ambitious girl who had ideas far above his station. Their paths diverged during the war and he became a kind of Sergeant Bilko, developing 'gonnections' with the Mob and making his fortune. Now, remade in what he hopes is the image of her desired man, he has bought a house across the lake from her and her husband, and sets out to win her back. But they and their set are rotten to the core, while the seedy Gatsby is revealed as the true chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. One of my favourite books of all time; a tragedy, delicately and subtly written, with a great narrator and great characters.

Zaph

I know he's Canadian rather than American, but if you're looking for something more recent than many of those already suggested, may I suggest you add Douglas Coupland to your list.

lsedov

zaph wrote:

I know he's Canadian rather than American, but if you're looking for something more recent than many of those already suggested, may I suggest you add Douglas Coupland to your list.

Yeah, Coupland definately calls for an honorary mentioning, considering he mainly depicts contemporary USA -- or we could just make it North American literature. But I feel he's lost it a bit with JPod, dwarfed especially by the vanguard masterpiece that is Microslaves.

johnnyskeleton

The world according to Garp - John Irvine - great and disturbingly funny book about the life of a semi-successful author and his crazy feminist icon mother.

Travells with Charlie - John Steinbeck - a short snappy book from one of the greatest American authors about him travelling coast to coast with his dog, charlie.

The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler - a philip marlowe detective book

Short stories of Philip K Dick - mentally ill sci fi writer who cocked a snook at the McCarthy witchhunts.

Paul Auster can be good; I initially tought that his books had a meaning behind them, but after reading most of them I found them a bit vacuous.

Shutuplaura

I'm surprised no one mentioned Gore Vidal. Julian and Lincoln are too of my favourites.
I also think some prety interesting stuff came out of WWII, Norman Mailers The Naked and the Dead and Jim Jones From Here to Eternity. The experiences of these guys gave them some pretty interesting world views which is partly what these books are about (besides whoring and killing japs) Not sure if its a recommendation but quite a few of the monologues the the Thin Red Line film by Terreence Mallick, as well as some of the plot elements were actually from From here to Eternity which is the first book in the series.

Someone already mentioned The Great Gatsby but I'll have to recommend it too, an amazing book. And of course Fear and Loathing in LV. Makes you want to go on a bender which is probably the best recommendation anyone can give.

Tchocky

Philip Roth, Chick Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, Gore Vidal

buck65

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole is wickedly funny
Sportswriter - Richard Ford
Where I'm Calling From - Raymond Carver
Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski
Underworld - Don de Lillo
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Great Gatsby of course

eclectichoney

buck65 wrote:

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole is wickedly funny
Sportswriter - Richard Ford
Where I'm Calling From - Raymond Carver
Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski
Underworld - Don de Lillo
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Great Gatsby of course

oh my, we clearly need to get married; the sportswriter, mr carver, de lillo, gatsby and bukowski - all perfect choices

brianthebard

dr.bollocko wrote:

Dang. Try Tom Robbins maybe? Another beat / post-beat writer who writes some fascinating fiction. Skinny legs and all is packed densely with eastern philosophy, sculpture, sex, and anthropomorphic spoons.

tom robbins is fantastic. As is hemmingway. Was not impressed with catcher at all, can't express how lowly I consider it! Stay away from Palahnick as well, Diary is pretty good until the end and then it all unravels, he cannot end a novel to save his life.

dr.bollocko

But... U dont like Catcher? Catcher in the rye? The Catcher in the Rye?
Im so shocked Im holdin my caulfields here.
Whoops.

brianthebard

I have no idea why people like catcher in the rye. Upon reading it I was left even more confused. Its just pointless. Thank god its short.

edit: you should burn in hell for that pun!!!

Anton17

Just curious, how old were you when you read thecatcher in the rye? I read it at about 14, and have always loved iton every re-read. People who read it after they reach some level of maturity (their 20's anyway) seem not to dig it so much...
It's strange though because a lot of other stuff I read at that age, I would have no time for now, such as Tolkien.

brianthebard

*adds up* I think between 16 and 18, definitely still a teenager anyways. I'm not sure about what you're saying about age, you reckon its a kids book, or that once you reach a certain level of maturity it won't appeal to you? That's an odd review of a piece of literature.

dr.bollocko

Nah its not that. Its an incerdibly intelligent and well written book. But the book is about adolescence, attaining adulthood, dealing with limited options. Themes that appeal to teens or those not sure where their place in life is. Hence it is an important book to read at that age.
The catcher is a great book to read as you are struggling to understand adulthood. Partic if you are having a hard time of it as a teenager, it eloquently explains teen apathy in a deeply personal way. The book works best on unwritten levels, and the uniquely simple colloquial nature of the writing allows a younger person to personally identify with Holden, but still allows him to express a full array of emotions, despite the simplification in writing style.

I really cant believe that anyone wouldnt like that book....

Anton17

I didn't say anything about it being a kids book. I just feel that it can make a greater impression on someone who is still developing. The majoity of people I know who have read and loved the novel originally read it in their teens. You do appear buck this trend somewhat though...

Alsatian_Cousin

The adventures of augie march by saul bellow is a great read.
"This is the great american novel - search no further"-Martin Amis

Whim

I know what you mean about Catcher being more youth orientated. I've yet to meet a teen who hasn't loved it yet many adults who just get it. And the only adults who do get it read it in their teens. Same for A Clockwork Orange. But that's English so it's a bit off topic.. On a sidenote to Salinger, I read Franny and Zooey ages ago. It's definately worth reading but not a pinacle of 20th century literatute.

Someone earlier said The World According To Garp was by John Irvine. Hate to be picky but it was John Irving. And that's a fantastic book. If you want a really good book by him though try The Hotel New Hampshire. It's my favourite book in American literature, any century.

brianthebard

Anton17 wrote:

I didn't say anything about it being a kids book. I just feel that it can make a greater impression on someone who is still developing. The majoity of people I know who have read and loved the novel originally read it in their teens. You do appear buck this trend somewhat though...

Perhaps I came to the novel thinking whats all the fuss about then? And ended up underwhelmed. But I often approach a novel like that, imo it gives it more credibility (on a personal level) if I can go to it not thinking I'll like it or not treating it as a "sacred text" as can often happen with novels that have made a huge impact on many people. Ulysses is a case in point, I started reading it this semester with the express purpose of beating down on it in my essay but the sheer brilliance of it won me over. I didn't like Portrait of an artist but I may return to it after this. I can't see myself doing that with Catcher though.

BossArky

Catcher in the Rye is classic stuff. Caulfield got into my head - can still feel him up there, damn rabbit at the controls :mad:

Must have read it when I was about 19 or 20.

Red Hand

Try the Secret History by Donna Tart. Grand novel.

Spectator#1

Moby Dick is absolutely brilliant, it's the kind of book you can keep coming back to.

Poetry-wise I'd recommend Robert Lowell (especially if you like Sylvia Plath) and Amiri Baraka (aka LeRoi Jones).

Flannery O' Connor writes great short stories and Philip Roth is pretty good as well. That's all I can think of for now, might come back with more. Oh, I think Gene Wolfe is American as well, he'd qualify as 20th century, he's meant to be brilliant I haven't read him at all yet though.

Sci-Fi, somebody mentioned Philip K Dick. Add to that Frank Herbert, Norman Spinrad and Kim Stanley-Robinson, although I'm not sure if they're American...

giddyup

All mentioned but To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath should be read. I was kicked in the balls stunned when I read both of them. Slightly more contemporary were Less than zero by Brett Easton Ellis (this might have been the age I read it kind of thing) and again as someone else has mentioned Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. I'm also partial to a bit of Garrison Keillor. Reading this thread has reminded me that there are a lot of books I need to get on with reading.

darraghmcg

Fight Club (Chuck Palinuik)
Less than zero ( Bret Easton Ellis)
Come to think of it, anything by Bret Easton Ellis

TelePaul

Henderson, The Rain King - Saul Bellow

dan719

Anton17 wrote:

Theres very little here Pre-WWII. The Age of Innocnece by Edith Wharton and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerlald are absolute musts.
(Can't believe no one had mentioned anything by Fitzgerald??)

Okay I know two people mentioned it, but it has to be The Book of American 20th Century Literature. Also The Bell Jar is a great read too.

Houston Griffin

I see a lot of people on this thread like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Those who enjoy Fitzgerald would probably also really like John O'Hara. I'd particularly recommend his first novel 'Appointment in Samarra' and the short story 'Imagine Kissing Pete'. For more contemporary suggestions, I'd recommend Larry Brown and Thom Jones.

metrovelvet

If you like John O'Hara you will love John Cheever. Probably Raymond Carver too.