5 Great American Novels -- FAVE FIVE BOOK THOUGHTS

 

5 Great American Novels

FAVE FIVE BOOK THOUGHTS

The word of the month is semiquincentennial! On this Independence Day weekend, in honor of America's 250th anniversary, I picked five of my favorite American novels. I think these are all "great American novels" even if I don't know I would pick one of them for the Great American Novel, which is an elusive critter. 

Instead of trying to pick the most American novel I could think of (Huckleberry Finn? To Kill a Mocking Bird?), I picked these because I love them and I think they all have a particularly American spirit to them. 

• Postcards by E. Annie Proulx. Her debut novel, this overlooked gem follows the tragic hero from a hardscrabble farm in upstate New York across America and across the decades from 1940 to 1980. An unforgettable story of rural American life in the mid 20th century.

• My Ántonia by Willa Cather. My favorite Cather book and the best novel about immigrant pioneer life on the Great Plains.

• Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels by John Updike (Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redoux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest). No matter your feelings about Rabbit, no fiction better captures the zeitgeist of the Silent Generation’s era. From basketball stardom in 1950s high school, to a rocky marriage in the turbulent '60s, commercial success in the '70s, and retirement in Florida in the '80s, Rabbit lived through it all. Updike won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for Rabbit is Rich and 1991 for Rabbit at Rest.

• The Road Home by Jim Harrison. Like My Ántonia, this intergenerational family saga is set in Nebraska, but deals more directly with the tragic conflict between pioneers and Native Americans. At the same time, it is a great yarn with Harrison's typical wry humor, big characters, astute sense of place, and forgiving heart.

• All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. Louisiana is like nowhere else in the United States, but could only happen in the United States, making this fictional story of Huey Long a quintessential American political novel. It won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize.

Have you rea any of these? What do you think? What book would you nominate for the Great American Novel? 

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books (or authors) grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Authors I'd Like to Meet

FIVE FAVE AUTHORS I'D LIKE TO MEET

My Five Faves today are five favorite authors instead of particular books. I was inspired by a couple of related hashtag posts on Instagram: #5authorsforcoffee and #FiveAuthorsIWouldLikeToMeet. As with all such "who would you most like to meet" questions, the writers can be living or dead. It's not like I'm really going to meet up for dinner with any of them except in my head.

These are the five authors I would like to meet, for a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or at least a good long chat, with a little explanation for each. The links go to my post for each author, with a list of their books, with the exception of Erica Jong. That link goes to her list of Top 100 Novels by Women.

• KINGSLEY AMIS: Amis is at the top of my list not only because his name starts with A but because, push comes to shove, if I had to name my very favorite author, it would be him. He wrote a lot of books, dabbled with many genres (literary fiction primarily, but nonfiction, criticism, poetry, murder mystery, sci-fi, spy, and grammar), was consistently funny, and told a good story. He delivers for me. He was a notorious drunk, the father of Martin Amis, the friend of poet Philip Larkin. I'd love to go for drinks with Sir Kingsley.

• JIM HARRISON: Harrison is a close second when it comes to my all-time favorites and could beat out Amis on any given day. Harrison also wrote fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The Road Home is my favorite of his books. Harrison was also an interesting character, living mostly in Michigan then Montana in his older years, appreciating food, drink, and women, battling some personal demons. Anthony Bourdain did an episode of his Parts Unknown show in Montana with Jim Harrison. That and Harrison's excellent book The Raw and the Cooked are as close as I'll ever get to sharing a drink with Harrison.

• P. D. JAMES: I love James's Adam Dalgliesh mystery series. Each one takes place in a closed community, like a hospital, church,  publishing house, or Inns of Court. She did a meticulous job at creating those worlds so the books are not repetitive. The characters are dark and troubled, so there is heft to the stories without being too scary to read. Her other books are also very good. The Children of Men is my favorite alt-history book, not the least because of the kittens! She was a lifetime Peer and served in the House of Lords from 1991 until her death in 2014. I'd like to have tea with Lady James and learn more about her.

• ERICA JONG: I may not live like Jong's heroine Isadora Wing, but Jong touches a chord with me. Many chords, and often at just the right time. As mentioned above, she also compiled a list of Top 100 20th Century Novels by Women, back at the turn of the Millennium when Top 100 books lists were big. Her list is excellent and I've found many new-to-me authors and books because of it. I am a wholehearted fan and would love to split a bottle of wine with Erica Jong.

• P. G. WODEHOUSE: People either think Wodehouse is a comic genius or an anachronism. I'm in the first camp. His wordplay is incomparable. I prefer to read his books with my ears to appreciate the language, but I will read them any way I can to get through them all. I always have a Wodehouse book going. I'd love to meet Plum for a chat out in the Hamptons and see if he is as funny and charming in real life as he was in his books. 

I have a shorter version of this post on my Instagram feed. Please visit me there. If you are on IG, let me know. I'd love to find you! And feel free to post your own list of the five authors you would like to meet, on your blog, on Instagram, or both. Let me know if you do so I can find it.

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books (or authors) grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Alternate History

A good alternate history novel is about as close as I get to enjoying sci-fi or fantasy fiction. Five of my favorites, in alphabetical order by author name, are:

• The Alteration by Kingly Amis (what if the Reformation never happened?)
• The Children of Men by P. D. James (kittens really aren't children)
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (something's not right about this boarding school)
• The Child in Time by Ian McEwan (set in a vaguely alternate future)
• The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (what if Lindbergh were President?)

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Favorite Reads of 2014

Looking over the list of books I read last year, a main theme seems to be secondary works by favorite authors.  It was not a year for lights-out great reading for me.  I enjoyed spending time with some old friends, but nothing really knocked my socks off and I didn't fall in love with any new authors.

But there were several books that stuck with me.  These five were my solid favorites (in the order I read them):

• C. S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister McGrath

• The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter

• Snobs by Julian Fellows (reviewed here)

• The Truth About Lorin Jones by Alison Lurie

• The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Food-Centered Memoirs

Food-centered memoirs are a big hit with me.  Reading these memoirs -- either classics or newer books -- is what makes the Foodies Read Challenge so much fun for me each year.

Here is a list of five of my particular favorite food memoirs:

• Delights and Prejudices by James Beard (reviewed here)

• My Life in France by Julia Child (reviewed here)

• The Gastronomical Me by M. F. K. Fisher

• The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand by Jim Harrison

• Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris by A. J. Liebling 

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Thrillers

FIVE FAVE THRILLERS

I always like a good thriller, my escapist genre of choice.  Thrillers I distinguish from mysteries in a fuzzy, overlapping sort of way.  Thrillers involve chasing a known bad guy, not figuring out who committed a crime.  Thrillers move faster and are usually more exciting than a mystery.  But I could make the argument that any of the books on this list could be called a mystery rather than a thriller, by my guidelines or any others.

My list includes only one by a particular author, so I can't say these are my all-time top thrillers, just five that I really liked.

• Cathedral by Nelson DeMille (I really do think this is the best of the genre)

• The Killing Floor by Lee Child (this is his first and still my favorite)

• Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (I screamed when I read the book)

• State of Fear by Micheal Crichton (or a couple of his others)

• The Pelican Brief by John Grisham (I preferred this to The Firm)

What are some of your favorite thrillers?

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Big Yarns

FIVE FAVE BIG YARNS

Summer is a great time to fall into a "Big Yarn" kind of book, which I define as an absorbing story with a strong, coherent plot, fully-developed characters, drama, a reasonable tempo, and at least a few thought-provoking ideas. To me, Big Yarns offer more plot then philosophy and don't get experimental with structure or language.

My general definition excludes genre novels, like thrillers, which can be absorbing page-turners, but (with exceptions) tend to lack fully-developed characters and thought-provoking ideas. I also think of books that appeal to readers of both sexes and most ages. In my mind, The Count of Monte Cristo is the grand daddy of all Big Yarns. Most Dickens books and many other 19th Century novels also qualify.

What are some of your favorite Big Yarns? A short list of my favorites include:

• Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (reviewed here)

• What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies (reviewed here)

• The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (reviewed here)

• Empire Falls by Richard Russo (reviewed here)

• Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (reviewed here)

In making this list, I realized just how much I enjoy Big Yarns, because I reviewed all of them.

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Venice Books

FIVE FAVE VENICE BOOKS

It is Carnival in Venice this week, so here is a short list of my favorite Venice books:

• The World of Venice by Jan Morris (the history and vibe of Venice -- my all time favorite)
• Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (a classic of Venice-induced lust)
• Serenissima by Erica Jong (before there was Sex and the City, there was Erica Jong; reviewed here)
• Alibi by Joseph Kanon (post-WWII Venice spy stuff) 
• About Face by Donna Leon (or any of her Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries) 

I keep a list of books set in or about Venice. Any suggestions? What are your favorites?

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along.  Use today's theme or come up with your own.  If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment.  If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Five Faves: Campus Novels

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along.  Use today's theme or come up with your own.  If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment.  If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

 

FIVE FAVE CAMPUS NOVELS

 

Ivory Tower novels are big favorites of mine.  I don't think I could name five absolute favorites, but here is a list of five I really liked.  There are many other possibilities on my Campus Novel list.

• Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis 

• The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy (reviewed here)

•  Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

• The Human Stain by Philip Roth (reviewed here)

• The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (reviewed here)

Five Faves: Midwest Books

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along.  Use today's theme or come up with your own.  If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment.  If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

FIVE FAVE MIDWEST BOOKS

My roots are in Nebraska and as the holidays roll around -- Thanksgiving especially -- nostalgia waxes for the flatlands of my childhood.

Any suggestion? What stories of the heartland tug on your heartstrings?

Here are five of my favorite books set in a celebrating the American Midwest.  You can tell from my list that my idea of "the Midwest" doesn't extend further east than about Davenport, Iowa.

• O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.  This very readable classic about prairie settlers is on the Radcliffe list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century -- the rival to the Modern Library's list. 

• The Road Home by Jim Harrison.  Harrison's inter-generational family story picks up where his earlier novel, Dalva, left off.  It has a permanent place on my personal Top 10 list and is probably my favorite American novel.

• The Echo Maker by Richard Powers.  Brain science and sand-hill cranes, no wonder it won the National Book Award.

• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (reviewed here).  Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for this uplifting and entertaining epistolary novel.

• A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.  It may be a little overwrought, but this Midwest Gothic deserves its Pulitzer Prize.  It also won the National Book Critics Circle Award and made it onto Erica Jong's list of Top 100 20th Century Novels by Women.

Five Faves: Non-Fiction Francophile Books

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along.  Use today's theme or come up with your own.  If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment.  If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

FIVE FAVE NONFICTION FRANCOPHILE BOOKS

For this, my inaugural Five Fave post, I have five of my favorite nonfiction books about France. This is a mix of classic food writing, contemporary advice, history, and memoir by non-natives who enjoy France.

What are your favorite nonfiction books celebrating France or all things French? I keep a French Connections list and am always looking for additions!

Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris by A.J. Liebling

Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier (reviewed here)

The Food of France by Waverley Root (reviewed here)

My Life in France by Julia Child (reviewed here)

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle