Jump to content

US classics


Bel-ami

Recommended Posts

I've realised that my reading of US 'classics' is almost nil, so this year I'm going to try and get through some of the major omissions which focus on the development of US society or moments in history - maybe then I'll understand Americans a bit more!

 

As it stands, I'm going to read / re-read* the following - please feel free to recommend any that you think I should add.

 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer*

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Little Women

The Red Badge of Courage*

The Scarlet Letter

The Age of Innocence

The Grapes of Wrath

Of Mice and Men

The Great Gatsby*

To Kill A Mockingbird

The Catcher In The Rye

Catch 22*

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I loved The Scarlet Letter, I hope you enjoy it!

 

Of the American classics I have read I'd definitely recommend The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. 

 

I also want to say Edgar Allan Poe (I read a really good collection of his short stories last year, published by Heron Books) but I don't think that really fits with your criteria of moments in history.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Hayley - have to admit I had forgotten Last of The Mohicans (which I have indeed read before) - I'll check out the House of Mirth for sure.

 

and thanks Cechak - good call on Huck Finn and I will investigate the others also - that will all keep me very busy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

That’s a great list.  The only one I didn’t like was The Great Gatsby. I found it a bit boring.

I agree with others - The Adventures of  Huckleberry Finn and the Last of the Mochicans are worth reading.....

also:

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Heminway

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

The Call of the Wild - Jack London 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Loretta said:

Is Slaughterhouse Five considered a US classic? I read it in my late teens, and at the time thought it was a masterpiece. Trouble is, I can’t remember much about it all, today. Maybe I should re- read.

 

I read it a few years ago and I can't remember much about it either, so don't go beating yourself up! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/08/2018 at 8:29 AM, poppy said:

The Grapes of Wrath

To Kill a Mockingbird
Gone With the Wind

In Cold Blood

The Great Gatsby

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Color Purple

Black Like Me

 

Absolutely agree with these (well, except the last two, which I haven't yet read).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Don't know if the OP is still reading, but to add to the list of US classics that are worth trying, I'd add the name of Willa Cather.  In particular, I've read both My Antonia and O Pioneers recently, and can thoroughly recommend them - set on the pioneer plains of Nebraska. Also Shirley Ann Grau's The Keepers of the House, set in Alabama and addressing white-black social relationships.  More recent, but maybe heading the way of classic-dom, Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres, a King Lear for the Mid-West.  I was also bowled over by Eowyn Ivey's To The Bright Edge of the Universe, far too recent to be referred to as a classic.  I agree with @muggle not about Steinbeck too!

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...