Most iconic US author or novel?

[737liz]

Please post your top authors or books that you think represents/reflects/explains the US or whichever country is home to you.

Why am I asking? Netflix has taken over my free time and I want to start spending more time reading again.

I'm part of an expat social media group and someone asked members for their quintessential reading from their home country. They cited Dante Alighieri as quintessential reading for Italians. The lists came in and people's definitions of literature varied. It made me try to narrow it down to just one American author and I couldn't. The US is so diverse, that depsite it's young age I can think of a dozen distinct times/areas/flavours of 'quintessential' America. My first thought was Hawthorne, Twain, Steinbeck, Frost. But then I asked myself if Amy Tan, Sandra Cisnero, and more contemporary writers perhaps should be considered. What about nonfiction? Black Like Me, by Griffin was definitely too heavy a book for my 10 year old self to be reading, but was a book I reread 3 more times over the years.

Basically, I 'narrowed' my list down to 20 writers, and could argue effectively for each that they represent the core of what America is.

Would love to hear what others think. And from other countries too.

Sorey for the long meandering thread.

 

[OreoRosies86]

For me it is Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott.

 

[737liz]

For me it is Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott.

Little Women! How could I forget that one? I made my parents call me Jo for months.

 

[marymm]

I love many of James Michener's books and consider him an iconic American author - particular favorites include Hawaii, Centennial, Chesapeake, Tales of the South Pacific, Space...

Pearl S. Buck is another American author I consider iconic and whose works I have read more than once, The Good Earth, Mother, Letter from Peking...

John Steinbeck and William Saroyan and Louisa May Alcott and Ray Bradbury and Raymond Chandler ...

 

[canuk-gal]

I love many of James Michener's books and consider him an iconic American author - particular favorites include Hawaii, Centennial, Chesapeake, Tales of the South Pacific, Space...

Pearl S. Buck is another American author I consider iconic and whose works I have read more than once, The Good Earth, Mother, Letter from Peking...

John Steinbeck and William Saroyan and Louisa May Alcott and Ray Bradbury and Raymond Chandler ...

Good ones. Ray Bradbury blew my little mind.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

L.M Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables (etc). Very "Canadian".

cheers--Sharon

 

[Missy]

Oh this is a tough choice as there are so many amazing authors.

John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway are my two favorite American authors.

But my favorite author of all time is the English author Jane Austen.

 

[lyra]

For me it was Stephen King. Go ahead and judge me, lol. It's just that I found his books when I was just 14, and I've grown old with him. I stopped reading every book a long time ago, but I have good memories.

And yes, I have read my fair share of actual literature. It was all I read for a long time. I do prefer British authors.

 

[Ally T]

I am in the UK so will go with an English author.

It would have to be Thomas Hardy.

Far From The Madding Crowd is a book I've loved since I first read it at 15. I also started to read at that time 'Tess Of The D'Urbevilles' but couldn't get past Chapter 15. I took that book everywhere in my bag, even to New Zealand when I moved there, but i never picked it up again. I finally unfolded the page of Chapter 15 last year & read the book from the beginning. My goodness it was gripping! Obviously my 15 year old self wasn't ready for Tess, but my 44 year old self was.

I also love the Bronte sisters, Pride And Predjudice being a particular favourite.

Also, I absolutely LOVE Dean Koontz. American, obviously, but I have read every book he has ever written. I was unhappy with one of the endings once, in my late 20's, so i wrote to his Publicist. A few weeks later I recieved a reply, explaining the unexplained conclusion. I was still unhappy, so wrote back. Some time after, I recieved a hand written reply from Dean himself. It still didn't solve my quandary, but kudos to him for writing to an argumentative English girl!

 

[Matata]

Toni Morrison. If she isn't considered iconic, she should be.

 

[Polabowla]

To kill a mockingbird by Harper lee.
Read that as a teenager, in my grandmother's home.
Growing up as a sheltered religious girl, it opened my eyes.
As did 12 angry men (well the movie).
For British fiction, I consider Agatha Christie iconic.

 

[GlitterInMyHair]

To me, the most iconic American author is Mark Twain.

 

[Dee*Jay]

For me it was Stephen King. Go ahead and judge me, lol. It's just that I found his books when I was just 14, and I've grown old with him. I stopped reading every book a long time ago, but I have good memories.

And yes, I have read my fair share of actual literature. It was all I read for a long time. I do prefer British authors.

No judgement here -- and I was an English major! I think King is absolutely brilliant. It's not only his stories, but the way he can get inside your head. Gerald's Game is one of my absolute favorites.

To answer the original question though, and in a way that's not redundant, Zora Neale Hurston.

 

[kenny]

Iconic and American? ... ... Steinbeck's, "The Grapes of Wrath".

 

[nala]

The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye and 1984

 

[Karl_K]

Louis L'Amour

 

[kenny]

12 angry men (well the movie).

Which one, 1957 or 1997?


... Oh, and I'm with you on, "To Kill a Mockingbird".

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Anything by Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite American authors. Breakfast of Champions if I could only pick one.

 

[lambskin]

John Irving. ‘Say a Prayer for Owen Meany’ is one of my all time fave novels. I also love Tom Robbins but he is a bit unusual. Love his‘Jitterbug Perfume’ novel. I mostly read nonfiction so these authors provide a great story line.

 

[Polabowla]

Which one, 1957 or 1997?


... Oh, and I'm with you on, "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Idk, I saw it in black & white on tv about 15 years ago & it was just amazing.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Steinbeck and the grapes of wrath
an auther we never read in school

so i thank Bruce Springsteen for recommending me this one

 

[JPie]

My favorite author is Margaret Atwood. I love The Blind Assassin, though perhaps Oryx and Crake hits a little too close to home right now.

Sorry, she’s Canadian, not American like me, but her works speak to me.

 

[kenny]

Idk, I saw it in black & white on tv about 15 years ago & it was just amazing.

SO & I just watched the 1957 B&W original, with Henry Fonda.
It's streaming now "free" included with Amazon Prime.

Excellent film!!!!!

The way most jurors behaved in the deliberation room reminded of how some Hangout posters behave.
Not too pretty.

Thanks so much for the recommendation.

 

[mochiko42]

The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchett. Well-written and evocative of a bygone era in British Columbia. I highly recommend it if you are interested in books about strong women, travelogues, or the history of the Pacific Northwest. It's about her travels as a single mother in a small boat in the 1920s sailing up and down the coast with her young children.

I used to live in the Midlands in the UK and back then I always thought Thomas Hardy's stories, especially The Mayor of Casterbridge, were so quintessentially rural English. I also enjoyed Roald Dahl's autobiographies Boy and Going Solo, and George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London.

As for American writers, not being American I don't have the same cultural affinity for greats like Mark Twain and Steinbeck, etc. I liked F. Scott Fitzgerald's prose, but the American novel that lingers with me is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. When paired with Breakfast at Tiffany's, the dichotomy of American culture never seems more stark...at least to an outsider.

For French, I would say if I'm being fancy, Camus' L'étranger. But in truth it would be Marcel Pagnol's autobiographical novels that speak to my heart. La gloire de mon père, and Le château de mon mère.

 

[Ally T]

The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchett. Well-written and evocative of a bygone era in British Columbia. I highly recommend it if you are interested in books about strong women, travelogues, or the history of the Pacific Northwest. It's about her travels as a single mother in a small boat in the 1920s sailing up and down the coast with her young children.

I used to live in the Midlands in the UK and back then I always thought Thomas Hardy's stories, especially The Mayor of Casterbridge, were so quintessentially rural English. I also enjoyed Roald Dahl's autobiographies Boy and Going Solo, and George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London.

As for American writers, not being American I don't have the same cultural affinity for greats like Mark Twain and Steinbeck, etc. I liked F. Scott Fitzgerald's prose, but the American novel that lingers with me is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. When paired with Breakfast at Tiffany's, the dichotomy of American culture never seems more stark...at least to an outsider.

For French, I would say if I'm being fancy, Camus' L'étranger. But in truth it would be Marcel Pagnol's autobiographical novels that speak to my heart. La gloire de mon père, and Le château de mon mère.

I ordered The Mayor of Casterbridge last night, whilst feeling wistful for the classics & reading this thread. I also ordered Jude The Obscure. I doubt I'll read them quickly as I mostly like horror, but I do like to interject something a little more 'classic' every now & again. Although it's lockdown - I might have read them within a week

 

[alittlelight]

All great choices, but you were right to question this whole premise. No way is any country encapsulated in one book by one voice. What you get are snapshots of places and times.

 

[AGBF]

I was going to say simply: Hemingway.

I do think Mark Twain deserves a mention, however.
We're not talking favorite books here, so no one can vote for To Kill A Mockingbird (which I love, too).
And for the love of Pete, no one should have mentioned Jane Austen! Do you want me discussing Barbara Pym?

 

[AGBF]

I ordered The Mayor of Casterbridge last night, whilst feeling wistful for the classics & reading this thread. I also ordered Jude The Obscure. I doubt I'll read them quickly as I mostly like horror, but I do like to interject something a little more 'classic' every now & again. Although it's lockdown - I might have read them within a week

I couldn't read Jude The Obscure. I was really put off by something early in the book and refused to read anymore. That was probably 40 years ago.

I hope you enjoy it.

 

[737liz]

Wow, so many responses! There are some names here that I have never heard of. Some of these I read in school but hearing them mentioned here makes me want to revisit them.

I've finally given up on my current reading: A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that shaped the Middle East, by James Barr. It is interesting but not a page turner. Having understood less than half of what I've read so far, I think I need to focus on fiction!

 

[Dee*Jay]

My favorite author is Margaret Atwood. I love The Blind Assassin, though perhaps Oryx and Crake hits a little too close to home right now.

Sorry, she’s Canadian, not American like me, but her works speak to me.

I swear, every time I open a granola bar now I think, Oh, I should just eat half of this and save the rest for later!