See the thing you need to understand about America is that it’s big. It’s huge. It essentially spans the entire globe twice. That’s what a lot of Euros don’t understand. Just how fricking ginormous the US of A is. We have every different type of ecosystem you can think of, from arid deserts to lush rainforests, and they’re all stretched over billions of miles. That’s what you need to consider before analyzing American culture. You need to understand how diverse we are. We’re not culturally and ethnically homogenous like the rest of the world, we have israelites in New York who read New Yorker in Yiddish and Mexicans in LA who watch Telemundo in Spanish. You have to deconstruct this before you can begin to understand that whatever applies to the rest of the world cannot apply to us cause we’re just so EFFIN HUGE!
Exactly. If I had a gun to my head, I would say the theme of USA is the American dream. Forced to pick a book I would go with The Great Gatsby or Moby Dick
Your post is pointless. He dated her in the book. They had that blowup and he swore them all off and she rightfully huffed off.
He put his jacket around her and kissed her in the park.
There isn't a single scene mentioning her lezzing out.
nothing from this list is great not even trolling.
American literature is just as bad as their classical music, visual art, and architecture (and food). America didn't get interesting until jazz and blues and hollywood.
I’m not going to attempt to make the case for this being the definitive Great American Novel™, it’s not even one novel to begin with, but all of these together amount to around 300 pages so they might as well be read as such since they’re thematically connected anyway. West doesn’t get mentioned in these discussions much at all, but his work is quintessentially American.
I recommend Robert E. Howard. He's one of the few ill-liberal American authors,and a one I actually enjoyed. Also read pic related. I may not agree with some of the authors,the works are still highly important.
I was having dinner…in London…when eventually he got, as the Europeans always do, to the part about “Your country’s never been invaded.” And so I said, “Let me tell you who those bad guys are. They’re us. WE BE BAD. We’re the baddest-assed sons of b***hes that ever jogged in Reeboks. We’re three-quarters grizzly bear and two-thirds car wreck and descended from a stock market crash on our mother’s side. You take your Germany, France, and Spain, roll them all together and it wouldn’t give us room to park our cars. We’re the big boys, Jack, the original, giant, economy-sized, new and improved butt kickers of all time. When we snort coke in Houston, people lose their hats in Cap d’Antibes. And we’ve got an American Express card credit limit higher than your piss-ant metric numbers go. You say our country’s never been invaded? You’re right, little buddy. Because I’d like to see the needle-dicked foreigners who’d have the guts to try. We drink napalm to get our hearts started in the morning. A rape and a mugging is our way of saying 'Cheerio.' Hell can’t hold our sock-hops.
We walk taller, talk louder, spit further, frick longer and buy more things than you know the names of. I’d rather be a junkie in a New York City jail than king, queen, and jack of all Europeans. We eat little countries like this for breakfast and shit them out before lunch.
Unironically, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson really manages to convey the feeling of growing up 50s even though you're not from that period. It's certainly worth a read of you're looking to scratch a nostalgic itch you didn't know you had. The book deserves an honourable mention to be sure.
>Huckleberry Finn >Great Gatsby >Moby Dick
These are the 3 probably in the running for the title "THE Great American Novel" >Catcher in the Rye
Seems relevant to an age where everyone is now a cynic, but paradoxically those same cynics hate the shit out of this book >Faulkner
I've read Absalom, Absalom and Light in August and they're great and important but I get the feeling that Faulkner is too difficult or stylistically "weird" for most Americans to appreciate >To Kill a Mockingbird
Probably also deserves a mention.
to add to those books. i guess you can consider McTeague a "great american novel" or Babbit
no
have you read it?
USA is too diverse to have one true one
See the thing you need to understand about America is that it’s big. It’s huge. It essentially spans the entire globe twice. That’s what a lot of Euros don’t understand. Just how fricking ginormous the US of A is. We have every different type of ecosystem you can think of, from arid deserts to lush rainforests, and they’re all stretched over billions of miles. That’s what you need to consider before analyzing American culture. You need to understand how diverse we are. We’re not culturally and ethnically homogenous like the rest of the world, we have israelites in New York who read New Yorker in Yiddish and Mexicans in LA who watch Telemundo in Spanish. You have to deconstruct this before you can begin to understand that whatever applies to the rest of the world cannot apply to us cause we’re just so EFFIN HUGE!
Exactly. If I had a gun to my head, I would say the theme of USA is the American dream. Forced to pick a book I would go with The Great Gatsby or Moby Dick
Americans are huge too. Checks out.
HUGGEEEEEEEEEE AAAAHHHH
>What are the true great American novels?
Race war now!
Moby Dick may be the greatest American novel, but Absolam Absolam is the Great American Novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/203
The Great Gatsby
This is certainly the most fun.
Though Nick is a fricking SHIT for lumping Jordan in with the rest of them.
He could have had a fit tomboy qt golf gf.
It was a lesbian
What the hell are you talking about?
Do you even do the reads, bro?
Your post is pointless. He dated her in the book. They had that blowup and he swore them all off and she rightfully huffed off.
He put his jacket around her and kissed her in the park.
There isn't a single scene mentioning her lezzing out.
Nick was gay. That's why he never followed up with Jordan. Even though every reader knows she waas a total qt.
Jordan was a psycho.
Of course she was, she's a woman.
I know this girl lol we dated
Too bad she has shitty tats now
Nice LARP, bud
That's Nelly Korda, bot.
For me, it's East of Eden
The Great Gatsby.
Currently reading The Age of Innocence (I'm not American).
Can this book compete for the award?
nothing from this list is great not even trolling.
American literature is just as bad as their classical music, visual art, and architecture (and food). America didn't get interesting until jazz and blues and hollywood.
>ESL Hispanic who got BTFO in their own thread
still seething, bud
Oy vey!
America has one of the worst literary traditions of any major civilization.
I hate America as much as the next guy but you're genuinely delusional
The great gatsby,
USA or All The King’s Men. I need to give it a reread, but IJ is up there too.
>infinite jest
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
>but IJ is up there too.
No it isn't.
There is only one
I’m not going to attempt to make the case for this being the definitive Great American Novel™, it’s not even one novel to begin with, but all of these together amount to around 300 pages so they might as well be read as such since they’re thematically connected anyway. West doesn’t get mentioned in these discussions much at all, but his work is quintessentially American.
middle right
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote To chaos
To have and have not
Never heard of it.
I recommend Robert E. Howard. He's one of the few ill-liberal American authors,and a one I actually enjoyed. Also read pic related. I may not agree with some of the authors,the works are still highly important.
Moby Dick.
the naked lunch
Moby Dick, it has many lessons that are still relevant today. Also, Huckleberry Finn. Sadly, cancel culture now prevents it from being taught.
Thomas Wolfe is excellent.
Why hasn't this been posted?
I was having dinner…in London…when eventually he got, as the Europeans always do, to the part about “Your country’s never been invaded.” And so I said, “Let me tell you who those bad guys are. They’re us. WE BE BAD. We’re the baddest-assed sons of b***hes that ever jogged in Reeboks. We’re three-quarters grizzly bear and two-thirds car wreck and descended from a stock market crash on our mother’s side. You take your Germany, France, and Spain, roll them all together and it wouldn’t give us room to park our cars. We’re the big boys, Jack, the original, giant, economy-sized, new and improved butt kickers of all time. When we snort coke in Houston, people lose their hats in Cap d’Antibes. And we’ve got an American Express card credit limit higher than your piss-ant metric numbers go. You say our country’s never been invaded? You’re right, little buddy. Because I’d like to see the needle-dicked foreigners who’d have the guts to try. We drink napalm to get our hearts started in the morning. A rape and a mugging is our way of saying 'Cheerio.' Hell can’t hold our sock-hops.
We walk taller, talk louder, spit further, frick longer and buy more things than you know the names of. I’d rather be a junkie in a New York City jail than king, queen, and jack of all Europeans. We eat little countries like this for breakfast and shit them out before lunch.
I kek'd. I love the America is better than everybody attitude.
What's that from?
Stoner by John Williams is the great American novel
No. Just no.
Unironically, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson really manages to convey the feeling of growing up 50s even though you're not from that period. It's certainly worth a read of you're looking to scratch a nostalgic itch you didn't know you had. The book deserves an honourable mention to be sure.
>Huckleberry Finn
>Great Gatsby
>Moby Dick
These are the 3 probably in the running for the title "THE Great American Novel"
>Catcher in the Rye
Seems relevant to an age where everyone is now a cynic, but paradoxically those same cynics hate the shit out of this book
>Faulkner
I've read Absalom, Absalom and Light in August and they're great and important but I get the feeling that Faulkner is too difficult or stylistically "weird" for most Americans to appreciate
>To Kill a Mockingbird
Probably also deserves a mention.
Does Hemingway's fit the bill here too?
>great
>american
pick 1