Love how you list 3 contenders for the 'Great American Novel' then follow it with the speech about how HORRIBLE the whole idea is. Grrrr.. I tend to agree though it certainly is a fun topic to talk about . I am just thankful you didn't take this topic to bash my Cormac!

The word fart now has a whole new resonance for me.

In CanLit we first tried to create a national literature by writing very bad epic poetry...no one really talks about the concept of there being a great Canadian novel, which makes sense as CanLit tends to be either globally or regionally focused.

Lonesome Dove

So much to comment on! There is an old saying, He who thinks he knows does not know. He who thinks he does not know, knows. I view writing to be a process that relies a great deal on instinct. I've read many books that met the criteria of technical correctness. But, the books failed for me as a reader because the technical correctness came at the expense of what, for me, is the cornerstone of great literature: a sense of honest, deep felt humanity. There is a much heralded institution called the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Many popular authors are connected to that institution: John Cheever, Jane Smiley, Philip Roth. Every piece of literature I have read from authors that have been connected to the Iowa Writers' Workshop, I have vehemently disliked. The writing is cold, mechanical and the human element is absent. Keep in mind that this is a purely subjective opinion on my part. I come from North Carolina. Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have given the world such wonderful authors: Reynolds Price, Thomas Wolfe, Anne Tyler, Lee Smith. Although Smith did not attend either school, she taught at North Carolina State University and resides in North Carolina. It is so easy to recognize the works of the authors that have been influenced by the university system in NC. The sense of place is so key to this literature. The inhabitants of the books are treated with a reality tinged with an almost magical quality. And, the simple humanity displayed is honest and respectful without being blind to the characters' faults. I feel that all of literature has been badly served by the weak sister cultural movement called Postmodernism. I do not consider incoherent writing to be a hallmark of great talent. I see it as the hallmark of gimmickry. As lauded as Pynchon is for his novels, every time I pick one up to read, I get a visual image of the wizard in the Wizard of Oz asking that no attention be paid to the man behind the curtain as he surrounds himself with smoke and mirrors. The emperor has no clothes. The simplicity, the human element of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby gives me goosebumps. I realize most people see this novel as pessimistic. But, the crowning achievement of the book is found in the last words of the novel: "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." There is no artifice here. There is no attempt to impress through the vehicle of ego. In these words are found the purpose behind the novel. It's a simple message. Man often fails. But success can only come through repeated tries to grab whatever the green light means for you. We will run faster tomorrow. We will stretch out our arms further in the hopes of achieving our goals. And, when that green light recedes from our grasp, we will continue on like boats beating against the current. These words move me so deeply. There are no stylistic machinations here. Here the reader finds a partner in what makes life difficult for us all. And, that partner offers support through a simple message that is not cloaked in intellectualism. It is not cloaked in gimmickry. It's humanity is there for all to see if they will just look. And, this is why, for me, a book like The Great Gatsby is also the Great American Novel.

Bonfire of the Vanities still struck me as timely and prescient when I read it 2 or 3 years ago. It would get my vote.

I wonder whether this is a misguided comment, but I think it's possible that this idea came about because, unlike other countries that have hundreds or thousands of years of history and many of which have their national epics--such as the Mahabharata in India, the Iliad and the Oydssey in Greece, the Shahnameh in Persia, etc.--the U.S. is a young country with no old epic to fall back on. Thus, individual authors have tried time and again to write a national epic for the U.S., so that it can have that great epic to fall back on. Perhaps that's the reason why this idea came about in the U.S. but not other countries?

The Great American Novel is like the great white whale, elusive... interesting to see you putting forward Lonesome Dove as a contender as we are now in June on the Range...

My fav Steve videos.

Damn, Steve! Plenty of roasts sent my way! I'm glad that my video caused you to make this all the same, because I thoroughly enjoyed your video on what makes a book a classic. Having another video in the same vein is a pleasure. Just to slightly defend my honor, I did say to look back at other civilizations throughout history to find the great works of their specific country of origin - I was thinking specifically in that moment of "The Idiad" and "The Odyssey" in relation to Greece, and there are other examples that Luukashist Books mentioned on my video. That being said, I will be more aware of saying such broad generalizations like "who knows where this comes from" because most likely, someone like you DOES know. It's moments like this that cement certain pieces of information in your brain for life, and I will surely recite the fun fact of the origin of The Great American Novel for Thanksgivings to come. F.A.R.T. will also aid me in classics discussions in the foreseeable future. I was happy to hear your mention of "The Recognitions" in here, because it was one novel that I almost thought about commenting on during the classics video because of its influence on many other great writers, and therefore I've been calling it a classic since I've finished it, but your qualifications of a classic make a lot of sense and the novel does suffer from the lack of all four qualifications, but is an immensely great work regardless. All in all, thanks for the corrections, and thanks for your response. I need to step up my game!

Both constructions "People have always..." and "We have never before..." really grind my gears. Gah!

All the kings men is my all time favorite book

I agree that there are many 'great American novels" but I very much doubt there can ever be The Great American Novel because it would require that every literate American would feel the exact same way about the book, which I can't see ever happening with such a diverse reading public.

Dos Passos is nauseating dated - ironic because of how hard Dos Passos tried to take a feather from the "future." Wallace, blegh! The Great American Novel is an incredible sign of America's (or rather a certain sect of America's) nationalistic ego and isecurity in a strange play. They aren't unique in trying to uphold a national work of literature but the trick comes in how they can't decide on which one it is and - the best part - "it could be by *you*!" - says Uncle Sam. Now that I've got my unentitled opinions out of the way thank you for that harangue towards this pernicious idea as it does diminish potentially great minds in numerous ways including isolating influences from other countries' literature. Though that certain sect ain't likely to hear it.

I liked the fart joke. Sub.

If I may say something: I'm not American and love Dos Passos. Maybe Wallace was looking for his own Max Perkins? 😎

Look at you with your acronyms! Was there someone in your neighborhood thinking about writing a great American novel because I couldn't help to hear an ambulance approaching to help them with getting the idea out of their head?

Calling Infinite Jest a piece of crap is pretty hilarious since you’d never be able to write at that level... I agree there are many better books if one looks far enough back but in the past three decades it stands near the tippy top.