Well? What is it, Yea Forums?

Well? What is it, Yea Forums?

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Obviously it's Moby Dick, why do people still debate this?

The idea that there is a great American novel, or could be, is why American literature will never compare to Russian, Spanish, English, or French literature. At least the Germans can take pride in their philosophy. What does America have except propaganda for degeneracy?

It's amazing how there are so many books written in the latter half of the previous century which have fallen into obscurity and yet possess a real claim to being the great american novel. Angle of Repose, Darconville's Cat, The Stones of Summer, Take Five, Something Happened, and so on. Moby Dick of course is probably the safest choice here and completely deserves its status, but there are real contenders out there just waiting for an audience.

You can't just namedrop those books and not give any kind of explanation.

>English literature
>not Irish
hm.

The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium by Harry Mathews

or

The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson

The Great American Novel is a nineteenth-century idea. It made sense to talk about it when the county was new and it hadn't produced any literature to rival Europe's, but since then there have been lots of great American novels.

What, you want a paragraph on every single one? A lot of them have some of the most beautiful prose ever put to paper. Their plots vary wildly, but a lot of them are long, dense, "interior" novels that still manage to focus and hone in on experiences universal and particular to the American experience and history. I suppose that's the one thing they have in common, their ability to sweep you along on the tide of writing that can be languorous and contemplative or frenetic and spiraling while still speaking to truths imbibed in some particular epoch, whether it be the Antebellum south or post-war Hollywood, and that reflects upon the individual not just as an individual but as part of the current of capital-H History. Much of what makes Moby Dick good can be found there and some do it even better (Darconville's Cat in particular I think manages to transcend Melville in terms of themes and language). You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by reading them.

You called?

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