- Most people, indeed smart, literate and nice ones, will tell you that “Huckleberry Finn” is the great American novel. Remain aloof! Be polite, of course, but adopt a knowing look. Smile. Tell them, “Well, [pause] if that’s your kind of thing.” Quote Abraham Lincoln, who read “Moby-Dick” but not “Huckleberry Finn” (through no fault of his own, dying as he did 19 years before it was published): “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” (He wrote that in a book review — not of “Moby-Dick.”)
It may be interesting to compare and contrast the whaling depicted in "Moby Dick" with that described in "Jamrach's Menagerie", as both are set in the era when commercial whaling for oil was being supplanted by petroleum oil drilling.
As for the "Greatest American Novel", I like your call of Slaughterhouse-Five and would add to it A Farewell to Arms. Though, I might point out that while both of these picks have American Protagonists, they take place largely outside of the US (and partially on the planet of Tralfamadore) which makes it difficult to call them an "American Novel" in the same way one might coin Huck-Finn as such.
I liked Huck Finn a lot, I think I'll put that on my re-read list also (although I very rarely re-read books) - I last read that when I was a teenager, that would have been in the late 70's.
Just thought of another book that I would consider a 'greatest American novel' candidate - "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving - such a powerful book.
aside: I used to always confuse John Irving with John Updike until I actually read John Updike. In my opinion, they couldn't be much different in their styles and subject matter. I started reading Updikes "rabbit" series and never got passed Rabbit is Rich.
So, I'll try again later, when I get a full version from the library. Just wanted to say that I did like it, more than I remembered. Still, it is a little bit difficult to follow at times - he uses terms and historical references that are no longer in common use.
I try to read just one book at a time and I've been dedicating that slot to the quintology of books (currently on 3 of 5) on the brazilian dictatorship, which lasted 20 years, so there's a lot to read about.
- I figured you may have since it's written in Portuguese.
It's funny you should say that, because I recently began The Lusiads precisely because it's considered the greatest literary achievement in the portuguese language. It's a nice feeling to know I'm reading a book that's considered the Odyssey of your language. Makes me feel kinda proud.
I'm sure there are a lot of great writers from Norway to Iran or any other country I don't know about because their culture is so distant from mine. There must be millions of Saramagos or Melvilles or Machados de Assis around the world.
Some of my favorite reads have been books that were not originally written in English. I would count among these, 100 Years of Solitude, Crime and Punishment and The Stranger
Enjoy the epic poem!
I have a "literary dog" of my own. Pictured here on the right is my dog named "Hemingway". On the left is my musical dog named "Harrison".
The book is one-of-a-kind, and IMHO it explores so much of what it is to be a immortal conscience in a mortal shell. It's about how diving into the world is diving into oneself.