GANC: My Thoughts

Ah yes, the final review. Just when you thought it was over, GANC comes back for one last hurrah. Kind of like all those Freddy and Jason movies. After writing the below commentary, I realized it is rambling, which is unsurprising if you know me. If in my rambling I do not explicitly say, I am so happy that Aaron thought this up, that I took part in it, and found books and authors at times off my beaten path of reading. It is reassuring and encouraging to know that with a little pressure from myself and from the challenge, I can push myself beyond my literary comfort zones and find a few jewels.

I am not sure if this was a subconscious effort on my part or there are more writers here or what, but most of my novels were written by an author from or a book about the South. Having never lived in the North, or really even visited there, I can only assume the North is a dull place with no novel-worthy conflict and a lack of imagination. I kid, I kid! To make a generalization, Southerners are a story-telling people; and slavery, plantations, Civil War, and segregation lend themselves easily to stories and fictional exploration of social constructs. Much of the large societal action in the North occurred in the 1700s and early 1800s, and from what I could find there are not a lot of books from around that time, at least not widely known ones. It is strange, in some ways you can see the shift of the writer concentrate from early America and North to established country and South as you move from the likes of Melville, Hawthorne, James Fennimore Cooper and Poe to Twain, Faulkner, Harper Lee, Capote, and Flannery O'Connor.

The early 2oth century is the place to go for some of the best known and most highly regarded authors. Henry Miller, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Carson McCuller, Capote, Norman Mailer. I have not done much research on this, but I assume part of this is due to FDR's New Deal which encouraged aspiring writers, through the Federal Writer's Project, to document folklore. What is remarkable is the excellence of the books. These authors wrote with purpose, depth and complexity during some of the most difficult days in our nation's history. I wonder how many excellent American books we have lost awareness and knowledge of from before that time, and where all the good books are today. Has America lost its literary creativity for the stable 40-hour work week? Has the creativity been transferred to different forms of written expression (magazines, e-zines, blogs, etc.)? Where are the novels that will transcend generations?

I made a conscious effort to include both female and minority writers. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have read Invisible Man over Their Eyes Were Watching God. Nothing against the latter, but Invisible Man is universally agreed upon as a must-read book. However, I in no way mean to imply that white male authors get all the praise and glory and it was my aim to bring minority and women writers to light. Each of the novels I selected are worthy to stand on their own. While the author's gender, color, and locale all lend themselves to the creative process, each book transcends whatever biases, prejudices and assumptions one may have.

Yes, I did allow myself two indulgences - Lonesome Dove and Giants in the Earth. While in the long run neither will likely be on a "Greatest American Novels" list, they are still worth reading and two I would absolutely consider reading again one day.

To readers who think what I did over 13 months is not possible for them, do not be afraid of challenging texts. Yes, Faulkner has become my literary whipping boy for examples of almost unreadable literature, but that does not mean I am never going to attempt him again one day. Reading some of these authors requires a different cadence, for lack of a better word. This is not John Grisham here; these authors at times used words I needed a dictionary for, paragraphs I had to read over again, and, yes, even a few sly looks at SparkNotes for translation from time to time. Some of these authors need more attention - reading slower, giving yourself more time to read so you can get into the flow of how they write. One of the best things I took away from high school was using a 3x5 note card to write character lists and relationships on for reference. This has saved me lots of time turning back pages trying to figure out if Sam is Susie's father, boyfriend, uncle or estranged brother. It also doubles as a handy dandy bookmark!

These American novels are patriotic, but in a far subtler way than I anticipated. Which probably means they work well as reading for the rest of the world. Probably the one that I felt was most overtly patriotic and stereotypically American was Lonesome Dove, but that could just be my Texan heart beating in time with the cowboys and cattle. East of Eden exhibited this, too, but more in a pride for the land and the bonding of community than "Johnny's gone off to war" sort of pride.

Working through History and English majors in college gave me a broader picture of the periods I was studying. History relays the facts and circumstances while literature shares the mood, society, and sentiment. I now feel like it is hard to have one without the other. Had I gone into The Bell Jar with no knowledge of women's suffrage and the evolving attitude toward women, I may have missed some of the underpinnings of the book. Almost all the books I read these past 13 months are a commentary of the author's view on local, national, and international events. In other words, do not read with blinders on. Supplement literary reading with a quick trip to Wikipedia to read about the author and the book, as usually context is given to the book. And, if it is a history you are reading, take a peek at contemporary authors and see if any books strike your fancy. Follow the bread crumbs and see where they lead.

This was not an easy challenge to complete. Some books I felt would never end as the approach of the 4th came steadily closer. I had to set aside most of my aspirations to read any other book during this time to devote my energies to GANC. Books like carrots dangled temptingly in front of me. In a small way, I can equate it to feel a little like someone on a diet and going out with friends, watching as they eat cheeseburgers, nachos and chocolate cake. Both Aaron and I agreed, after looking at other online book challenges, that we created one of the more time intensive, rule-riddled ones out there. It was the time intensive part that I struggled with more than the rules, though, once I realized there were plenty of great American novels left for me to read.

Challenges are fun! It was always a small competition for me to see Aaron's book before he saw mine each month. And to "beat" him on choices. Only once did we read the same book, and in the same month to boot! (For the curious, it was For Whom the Bell Tolls.) While I need a year off from mandated reading, I would do it again. In fact, Aaron and I already have a running list of ideas for the next challenge. All have easier buy in's, are shorter in length, and are far less constrictive on parameters. Stay tuned!

Thank y'all for reading my reviews. I know it is not everyone's cup of tea, and my posting on food and other things diminished significantly, but I am glad you stuck with me as I stuck with the challenge. Almost as much as finishing the book and posting each month, I looked forward to the discussion in the comments afterward. Finding out who else has read the book, what they thought, and even suggestions on other books I should read. It is nice to know in a time and place where distractions can be found with every keystroke and channel change, that people are still reading books, both old and new. I hope that my voracity for books never weakens and I look back on this past year as a milestone year, always remembering to step outside my boundaries, both with books and in life, and try new things. Sometimes Faulkner happens, but more often than not its Steinbeck and Hemingway.

GANC: The Almost Reads

Now that the reading is over, I can share with you those books that missed the cut. I may have read thirteen books, but there were several that made my GANC list but did not make the cut for reading. A little of this was due to my own reading preferences, but most of it is because of the "two books per decade" rule. By the time I realized my list was absent some big hitters, I had already exhausted a couple key decades, namely 1920-1970. In order to allow these books to be recognized for their merit, below is a list of what I almost read but did not. In some cases, books were recommended to me, and I will note who recommended where appropriate. I also may provide explanation on why I have the book on my list or why I did not read it. In other words, this is my blog and I will do whatever I want to. So there.

1830s
The Book of Mormon - Talk about starting off the list with a bang, huh? It is clear that this book has a large and ever-increasing footprint in America. It is somewhat controversial that it is on my list as a fictional novel. I do not know enough about The Book of Mormon to declare what it is or is not (myth, tall tale, blasphemy, fiction), but I believe it is not a writing inspired or written by God, Jesus, any of His angels, the Holy Spirit, or any of the previous speaking through the mouth and writings of Joseph Smith. It is a work written by a man, from the mind of a man, with no heavenly assistance whatsoever.

1840s
The Deerslayer, by James Fenimore Cooper - Having read The Last of the Mohicans, and wanting to have a book from the early to mid-19th century, this was a natural choice. And I actually started to read it one month for the challenge. However, I found it difficult to get into and not something I was excited to read, so I abandoned it for another book.

1860s
The Marble Faun, by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I love reading Hawthorne, so when I looked his works up to find a book to read for GANC, I found that I had exhausted all of his novels set in America. This one was set in Italy, so it did not rank high on my list of novels to read that could be great American ones.

1880s
The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James

The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain - I had already read his two America-centric books, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, so this one also fell on the list due to it not being set in the US.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain

1890s
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

1920s
Babbit, by Sinclair Lewis - I was supposed to read this book in US History 2, but failed to finish it. Since then I have picked it up from time to time, only to be lured away by a more indulgent novel. This book was a victim of too many good books in one decade.

1930s
Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller - Victim of decade

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck - This too was a victim of decade. Let me put it plainly, I misused the 1930s. Thankfully, Aaron owns this book and I will probably read it before he finishes it.

1940s
Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck - Poor Steinbeck. So many good books over so many decades, and I could not read them all.

Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote - I have only read In Cold Blood and was interested to see how his fiction played out.

The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer - By the time I realized I was missing this author, it was too late. The 1940s were already spoken for.

1950s
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor

The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow - I wanted to read this book so badly, but it simply was not in the cards. Had I not taken half a month to decide not to read Invisible Man, I could have tried to read this. Oh well. I think Aaron has a copy, so I will add it to my pile of books to read.

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

1960s
The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy

V., by Thomas Pynchon

The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - I know! How did I make it through high school and college, while having this book on my list throughout, and still not read it!? I am happy with the two novels I did read from the 60s, so no regrets here. Just another book to keep on my list. Lock me away for a year and I may be able to finish half of this list I have.

1980s
The Executioner's Song, by Norman Mailer - This is a book that has a foot in both non-fiction and fiction, depending on where you look. A little like In Cold Blood - fictionalized account of a true crime

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros

Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy - My uncle Tim recommended this book to me and said it was one of the greatest books of the 20th century. To place some perspective on this, Tim is an English professor at St. Edward's University, so his comment is not without merit.

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving - Suggested to me by a friend. The '80s and beyond is a little too fresh and new for me to feel comfortable declaring a book that could be younger than me as a great American novel. I like a good 30 or 40 year buffer to see what books are flashes in a pan and which are here to stay.

The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan

1990s
The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien

Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis

2000s
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon

Some books that were considered for my "break the rules" month:
Dr. Seuss - various books
Emily Dickinson's poetry
Calvin & Hobbes
Books I have already read. Which brings us to...

Books I have read that I consider great American novels: (in absolutely no order)
The Wizard of Oz- Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
Call of the Wild - Jack London
O. Henry's short stories
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
Washington Irving's short stories
Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
The Hidden Hand - E.D.E.N. Southworth (Never heard of this book? Go ahead and add it to your book list. It is funny, light, adventure-filled, fantastical and melodramatic.)

So there you are. Are there any books I should have had on my list that are glaring omissions? Should I have thrown in some non-fiction to pick from for my break the rules month? How about a book written by a non-American author? Feel free to add your suggestions to my list via comments. I look forward to see what books I missed!

GANC: Good Ol' Charlie Brown

My fondness for Peanuts began at an early age, probably with A Charlie Brown Christmas, then a growing interest in the comics section of the newspaper. However, I became a true and faithful adorer of the gang when my family acquired some of my dad's old Peanuts books. Even more than Calvin and Hobbes, another comic my family likes, Peanuts echoed of my dad's childhood, perhaps I read these at the same age he did as a kid. Over the years I have returned to these books when I want something quick to read before bed, or am stir crazy after a series of days stuck indoors. And each time I marvel more and have a deeper appreciation for Charles M. Schulz's art. Schulz created children characters during and about a time when some say the loss of American innocence began. Much like Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts placed adult ideas, themes, questions and impasses in the minds words, and actions of kids.

Charlie Brown, the protagonist of the strip, is presented as someone who is faithful to his friends through thick and thin. He may be wishy-washy, but never does he fail Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy or the rest of the gang. He does not give up even though he constantly fails. For proof, look no further than him trying to kick that football, fly the kite, or win a baseball game. He is meek, self-conscious and unsure, which strikes a chord with people, making him instantly relateable. Among some of the characters, a highlight or two...

- Lucy has an ever-present desire for control and to be everyone's boss, whether they ask for said help and commentary or not. Charlie Brown and Schroeder are the two main focuses of her efforts.

- Linus has a need for security in the form of a blanket while being so secure in his beliefs, which makes him into one of the speakers of wisdom in the strip.

- Snoopy considers being a stereotypical dog below him which, along with his vivid imagination, leads him into adventures where he is a World War 1 flying ace, Joe Cool, a vulture, among other things.

Each person has their tiffs with others, likes and dislikes, but in the end they are friends who stick by one another, even if it means Lucy will always pull the football away before Charlie Brown kicks it and the baseball team rarely wins.

As for its influence in America, beyond what I touched on above, it established the way strips were printed in newspapers and was perhaps one of the first comics to have large success through merchandising and, as we all know, television specials. Some of the repeated phrases and key imagery from Peanuts has found its way into our lexicon. Charlie Brown's "Good grief." Mentioning "The Great Pumpkin" when speaking about someone with dogged persistence and belief in the face of logic and, perhaps, reality. The numerous dogs named Snoopy walking around these days. Snoopy as the mascot for MetLife. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons of Charlie Brown chasing that football.

Charlie Brown and the rest of the characters are images now entwined with American culture. When watching football and a kicker misses the ball, Charlie Brown and Lucy are inevitably brought up as examples of failure. It is a testament to the strip and Schulz that 45 years after it debuted, A Charlie Brown Christmas is shown every Christmas season and people gather around to watch with family and friends. I know I will rearrange my schedule or tape it so I can be sure not to miss it. Heck, I own the soundtrack!

Charlie Brown is American as apple pie, a true icon of our nation and the American spirit of the everyman never giving up, despite the odds stacked against him. Good ol' Charlie Brown, how I love him.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936
August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985
September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851
October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940
November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937
December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963
January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960
February 2010: East of Eden - John Steinbeck, publ. 1952
March 2010: The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton, publ. 1920
April 2010: Giants in the Earth - Ole Edvart Rolvaag, publ. 1927
May 2010: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers, publ. 1940
June 2010: Short Stories - Edgar Allan Poe, publ. 1840s

GANC: Invisible Man (but not)

Invisible Man is without a doubt a great American novel. It makes many national and international "Top 100" lists. Which made my decision to include it on my list of novels a simple one. Then I began to read it and simple went out the door. First, this book is long, though not an insurmountable length for a month of reading. Ralph Ellison only wrote this one book, so I guess he got in all his books' worth of material at once. Second, Ellison also explores many ways of writing, telling a story that can go from straight narrative to blues-inspired riffs, which can get a little confusing, wordy and indulgent. Third, and this is to no fault of the book, GANC has left me maxed out on racial strife, and strife in general. Between blacks and whites not getting along, ranchers and Native Americans, Americans and Spaniards, Californians and the earth, sailors and white whales, me and Faulkner - I have had my fill of irreconcilable differences. I did not think I could endure one more tale of the same. So, I decided that Invisible Man would not be my last regular, rule keeping book. I am sure it is good, great even, just not for me right now.

What did I read instead? I decided to bend, but not break, the rules for this one. And, as I am the only person left on this GANC island, I declared myself queen of the challenge and allowed my small amendment to pass unanimously. Instead of reading a novel, I read a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is one of America's more known authors, but aside from The Raven I am fairly certain the American public would be unable to name another of his works. I remember reading a few of his short stories in high school and maybe college, but could not summarize any of the plots with clarity. After a recent adventure to a used book store, I had a collection of his short stories close at hand. Onward, into the dark mind and art of Poe!

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) and The Purloined Letter (1844)- While I read these stories, I had the growing sense I had seen this all before. It quickly became clear that this seems a whole lot like another famous detective, one Sherlock Holmes. Poe's detective, C. Auguste Dupin, is of the same strain as Holmes - detective with narrating sidekick uses logic and the power of observation to solve a crime when the police cannot. Actually, I should say Holmes is of the same strain as Dupin, as Poe's Dupin stories were written about 40 years before Holmes made his first appearance. Personally, I like Holmes more as Dupin's mysteries are too quickly resolved. It lacks the tension of the reader wondering, "Will this be the case Dupin/Sherlock cannot solve?"

The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) - This is Poe. It is dark, sadistic, Gothic, guilt-ridden and conscious of conscience. It follows the narrator as s/he (oh, to write an essay on how this story reads differently if the narrator is male or female!) murders an old man (father, grandfather, guest, servant - who knows!) and then dismembers the body, hiding it under the floorboards. Eventually, the murderer's guilt arises as s/he "hears" the victim's heart still beating, louder and louder, from under the floorboards. It is clear every word Poe uses is chosen with a great deal of thought. The story is tight; each phrase evokes a smell, sound, sight or emotion. What a great story to read on a dark night in a creaking home.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (1845) - This story is something of a exploratory look into mesmerism, known today as hypnotism. In it the narrator, again in the first person, investigates how far mesmerism can go. Specifically, what happens if a person is mesmerized at the point of death? The narrator successfully mesmerizes a man just before he dies, and yet he continues to speak for some time after death, finally begging to be let go so he may die fully. Once the narrator takes him out of the trance, his body disintegrates into an almost liquid form. What is unique about this tale is that Poe did not publish it with a note of is fiction. And, as mesmerism was something of a trend at the time, it is likely people did not immediately recognize it for the tale it is.

The Pit and the Pendulum (1842)- Another great Poe story. Again, first person, which brings the reader into the midst of the story. And what a story to be in the midst of! A man awakens in a dark room after being sentenced to death. He cannot see anything, is unsure where he is, or what is to come for him. Through a series of events, he finds the room he is in has a large pit in the middle that his accusers had hoped he would stumble into. However, he escapes that fate only to be drugged, strapped to a plank, and watch helplessly as a pendulum with a scythe attached inches closer and closer to him. The more into the tale I went, the more it felt like a 19th century version of Saw. The story features a great focus on the senses - what this man heard, smelled, felt and saw - all executed brilliantly. And yes, I shall leave you in suspense as the pendulum draws closer and closer to the belly of the accused.

There were a few others I read, but they are along similar lines as those above, so I will save some space by not rehashing each one. Poe is a write who explored different ways of presenting a story all under this mantle of dark, devious and a little demented. In his tales, something is perpetually out of balance. Deeply flawed characters, fantastical occurrences, and taking sin and misdeeds to extremes. It is not a world I would want to live in, but I am okay visiting it every now and then.

While this may not be a great American novel, Poe is most definitely a great American author. His writings can be read many times and each time a new facet is shown. His words, themes and plots have made their way into pop culture so slyly we probably do not even recognize it when it happens. Poe exhibits a different sort of American author, one that exposes the darkness of people unapologetically, but one who also seeks resolution and a moral at the end of his frightening tales. The Puritanical core still is in him, but he, like America, grew from that core to develop his own voice, opinion, and view of himself, America, and humanity.

If you would like to read some of Poe's short stories, check out Project Gutenberg. Enter his name and it should bring up just about all of his stories, poems, and articles.

12 down, 1 to go!

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936
August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985
September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851
October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940
November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937
December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963
January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960
February 2010: East of Eden - John Steinbeck, publ. 1952
March 2010: The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton, publ. 1920
April 2010: Giants in the Earth - Ole Edvart Rolvaag, publ. 1927
May 2010: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers, publ. 1940

GANC: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Hmm. The more I consider The Heart is Lonely Hunter, the more I want to read it again and pick up on more of the small moments, the subtlety of it. And I am not even sure how well I liked the book. So I sit here trying to write a review with a furrowed brow and a cup of tea. I will start off safe with the plot, because that usually helps in analysis. See, all those English classes do come in handy!

The stories of this book revolve, but are not focused on, the life of a a deaf-mute, John Singer. After having lost his best friend, also a deaf mute, he begins to be out in the community more and people begin to talk to him and visit his apartment. Four people from the town get the focus in the narrative- a cafe owner, a young girl, a black doctor, and an alcoholic outsider. Each talk with Singer separately, in time believing he agrees and empathizes with their problems. In a way, Singer becomes their sounding board, their affirmation of cause. Each person, including Singer, wishes to be accepted. The cafe owner, not having children of his own, wants to be accepted as uncle by some of the children in town, including Mick, the young girl who speaks with Singer. Mick, in turn, is figuring out how to be herself, a tomboy, and be accepted by the girls in town who are not interested in climbing to the highest tree and rooftops. The black doctor wishes for whites to accept him and his black brethren as equals, and to not expect black to fit into stereotypes whites make for them. The outsider wants to be heard as he goes about town ranting, at times drunken, about socialism and the cause of justice. He wants people to see him as smart and a leader.

Once again, this book lacks a large, singular plot. Instead, it jumps from one of Singer's "friends" to another, with an occasional overlap of characters. I believe Carson McCullers did this intentionally, so the reader too can feel the isolation of the characters. Even the times when they speak to Singer, Singer cannot respond to what they say, much like the reader cannot. The reader must place themselves in the character of Singer in order to comprehend the frustration he feels of understanding parts of these people's conversations, but not being able to contribute to it any more than smiling or offering something to drink. This isolation also mirrors the time the book is set - 1939 on the cusp of the US involvement in World War II, as the policy of isolationism and nonintervention was lauded. McCullers shows that even these isolated people, isolated events, are inextricably linked and force action and reaction upon one another.

Wow. I did not even see that completely until I sat down and wrote it just now. I am beginning to appreciate this book more and more. Even if I did not enjoy the book, I cannot help but tip my proverbial hat to McCullers ability to meld her weaving of the story with the themes of each of the characters. It shows a purposefulness many authors do not attain or even seek to attain.

The question now is - great American novel or no? Yes, I think so. McCullers was able to write in an honest and quietly resounding way about a time in our history where world war was imminent and segregation was simmering about to boil over. Many critics point out that she was able to write about the black culture and tension in the South elegantly even though she was not herself immersed in it. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a book that, should you read it, you may feel let down at the end. But, as I have found while writing about it, if you allow yourself a moment to ponder and consider the story, it may be found to be richer and more lustrous than you perceived initially.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936
August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985
September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851
October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940
November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937
December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963
January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960
February 2010: East of Eden - John Steinbeck, publ. 1952
March 2010: The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton, publ. 1920
April 2010: Giants in the Earth - Ole Edvart Rolvaag, publ. 1927

GANC: Giants in the Earth

Out of all the books I have read in this challenge, Giants in the Earth is perhaps the most honest story of a group of Americans. It follows a Norwegian family's struggle to make a life for themselves in the Dakota Territories in the late 1800s. There are no great over-arching plots or exciting interludes with bandits, illness, or Native Americans. It is a simple, harsh look at a family who has immigrated from their home in Norway to what they hope to be a new and improved life in America. This is not a book of American idealism or conquerors, but one of realistic struggles that many immigrants and westward expansion sojourners faced. Is the land before them the best, or does better lie over the next hill? Are the wagons in the distance friend or foe? Can I rely on my neighbors when help is needed? How does one balance audaciously breaking ground and buying provisions with the risk that a dry season or locusts could strike and lose it all? There is a simplistic beauty in the harshness of the setting and the plain honesty of these Norwegian-Americans.

What is even more the author, Ole Edvart Rolvaag, is himself a Norwegian immigrant who settled with his uncle in South Dakota in the late 1800s, so it is possible some of the stories in Giants in the Earth are autobiographical. Originally written in Norwegian, this novel was painstakingly translated with Rolvaag's close assistance in order to convey the meanings and intention of each word. In this way, this book is unique - written by a European-born author in a European style, but with a distinctly American setting.

The decision on whether this is a great American novel is difficult because I had not heard of the book until my Dad spoke fondly of reading it, and I feel like a great American novel should be somewhat well-known. But maybe that is faulty thinking. This is a wonderful novel. It is not a book that I became enveloped in, but I was drawn in by the lack of wild adventures. Its beauty lay in its tight focus on the beauty of writing down the struggles of a common man. I do not believe Rolvaag meant this as a way of social commentary, but that does not mean it cannot be. It is refreshing to know that a complex journey with a family in a key moment in America's history can be so misleadingly simply written.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937

December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963

January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960

February 2010: East of Eden - John Steinbeck, publ. 1952

March 2010: the Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton, publ. 1920

GANC: The Age of Innocence

I am not sure by what means I decided to read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for this challenge. Maybe it was on a "Top 100" list I looked over, or I remembered Wharton's name from a literature class I took in college. Maybe the book caught my eye because it won a Pulitzer. For the first 100 pages or so, I was wondering exactly why it made lists and won prizes. But things soon fell together and now I see why it merits the credit it is given.

The Age of Innocence is the story of a young man, Newland Archer, in the late 1800s who lives in the upper New York City society. He is engaged to a society girl, following the traditions, suggestions, and orders of his class as a proper gentleman should. But Archer knows there is more to life, to experience, to love than order and tradition. He just does not know how to escape the confines of his class system. Through his fiancee, he meets a woman, Countess Olenska, who he feels free around. Problem is, she is married, albeit separated. Archer decides to follow social expectations and marries his fiancee, but Olenska is continually in his mind. The plot of the story circles around whether Newland will break from his social class's regulations and seek out a woman that is opinionated, carefree and dangerous to his reputation, or will he stay with his wife May, who though pretty and acceptable, is devoid of opinion, passion or individuality?

The New York aristocracy took some getting used to and sorting out. Everyone is related to everyone else somehow, and there are family clans basically. I am positive all of this made much more sense to those reading when the book was published, but it is not so foreign that it cannot be understood today. With a little stretching of the theme, this story could be anyone of a young person trying to escape the rituals and parameters of his or her parents. Trying to figure out what of your upbringing to keep and what to slough off. In that way, the story does make this book a great American novel. It is a classic story, retold in the context of New York high society.

Time for a tangent! I fell short in reading this book because I did not realize until near the end I was reading it in the wrong fashion. Some books can be devoured like a 7-year-old with Halloween candy - voraciously and heedlessly, without regard to taste or texture. Other books are meant to be savored like a gourmet chocolate truffle (or insert memorable food here) - you let it sit with you, tasting it slowly and thoroughly so that all the notes sing. I began reading The Age of Innocence in a method nearer on the scale to a 7-year-old, and slowly recognized it should have been read more methodically and purposefully. The people in this book tell so much based off of a small nod or the way they greet another, and thus too is the book written. Displeasure is displayed delicately but deliberately; not screamed and echoed from rooftops.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937

December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963

January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960

February 2010: East of Eden - John Steinbeck, publ. 1952

GANC: Coming Soon!

Due to technical difficulties on the home front, this month's Great American Novel book will be a day late... maybe two if I cannot get the review written tomorrow. As a means of distraction, look at the funny little puppy!

GANC: East of Eden

East of Eden is perhaps the most difficult book I have had to write about, and my favorite thus far. Written by John Steinbeck, it is the book he considered one of his most personal. I think the dedication says it best, and yet mysteriously...

Dear Pat,

You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, "Why don't you make something for me."

I asked you what you wanted, and you said, "A box."

"What for?"

"To put things in."

"What things?"

"Whatever you have," you said.

Well, here's your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts - the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.

And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.

And still the box is not full.

The book meanders through the lives of the Hamilton and Trask families as they move west to California and find their successes and failures there. The Trask family eventually becomes the main focus of the story, in particular Adam and his twin sons, Aron and Caleb (Cal). In a key chapter in the book, Adam, his servant Lee, and neighbor Samuel Hamilton sit around and try to decide on names for Adam's boys. (Adam's wife is no longer in the picture after shooting him and running away to become a prostitute. She is a psychopath and, well, just read the book.) They get to discussing the first brothers, Cain and Abel, and Lee, a Chinese servant, says that he has been studying this story and has found something illuminating. Timshel. It is the Hebrew word used in Genesis 4:7 where the Lord, speaking to Cain, says, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Timshel is used in that last phrase for shalt, "and thou shalt rule over him." Timshel means "thou mayest." What does it all mean? It means that a person is neither marked for a happy life nor condemned to one of misery, but that each person has the ability to choice how their life will be. Timshel plays itself out in the lives of Adam's two children, Aron and Cal.

Aron is the angel-face boy whom everyone adores, but wants life to occur only has he has dreamed it in his head - beautiful and perfect. Cal, on the other hand, is secretive, never letting people get close to him. He sees himself as the less-loved child and continually attempts to earn the love of his father and friends. However, he also harbors resentment against Aron and does what he can, with varying success, to collapse the walls of the world Aron has built up.

If you have not figured it out by now, this is a difficult book to give a quick summation to. In part because there is no apex of action; no culminating moment the whole book as led to, at least not in the way most books culminate. It is the story of a new land, a new town, new families. A coming of age for a family, a state, and a country. It is about the relationships between fathers and sons, brothers, mothers and sons. And it is beautiful.

This one is definitely on my list as a great American novel. The stories in it are universal and true for America. I am not sure how the book has impacted American society. Apparently, as I just learned while checking it out on Amazon, that it was an Oprah's Book Club pick, so there is that. I cannot say that it is a story echoed in other novels or movies, because East of Eden itself is a story retold from the Bible. A modern-day Cain and Abel. So maybe all stories since 1952 that reimagine Cain and Abel should also say they reimagined Aron and Cal. In any case, this book is a masterpiece and one Steinbeck had a right to be proud of. I look forward to reading more of his books to see how they measure up.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ.1937

December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963

January 2010: Rabbit, Run - John Updike, publ. 1960

GANC: Rabbit, Run

I am one day late on posting my GANC book, but that is because yesterday I was spending 10+ hours in a car with Aaron driving through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina in our attempt to arrive in Raleigh after visiting him and his mom in Indiana. West Virginia is very curvy, or the roads are at least. On to the book...

This month I read Rabbit, Run by John Updike. The book follows Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom as he struggles with his desire to escape the routine monotony of his life as a salesman with a wife and a son and his felt responsibility to said wife and son. The writing style and flow of the story were simple enough to follow; it was the wanderings of Rabbit that were the difficult part for me. Not giving too much away, after another day selling kitchen gadgets, Rabbit returns home to find his very pregnant wife watching a kid's show and well on her way to being drunk. After realizing how all the minutiae of home life are not paying off as he thought, he decides to leave his town and drive to the Gulf of Mexico. In a roundabout fashion, he lands on the doorstep of his high school basketball coach, who takes him in and introduces him to Ruth, who is a prostitute. Rabbit begins to live with Ruth in somewhat tenuous circumstances, all the while wondering if he made the right decision to leave his wife and child. After all, nothing seems to have changed.

The story weaves in and out of Rabbit almost going home, going home but not seeing any family, and going to his house and staying there, only to leave again. The book is best described as tragic. At times, I wanted to say out loud, "Rabbit, what are you doing?!" Here is a man who found adulthood not as the still-famous basketball star of the town, but as another face in a crowd, nothing special. He believes that if he could start over it would all be different. He would be something better, greater, though he knows not what nor where to begin. So, instead Rabbit circles the same issues again and again - leave the familiar, wallow in the not quite familiar, return to the familiar and run away again. Even at the end, after true and painful tragedy has struck, Rabbit runs.

I am unsure the impact this book has had on American culture, but it clearly speaks to many young professionals who find middle class life to be a shadow of the dream they had for it in high school or college. A person who may not be able to see all the good about his life and instead focuses on how the closet door cannot open all the way because it will hit the television. In other words, the small little annoyances get the attention and are the call to action instead of the people around you who care and are calling you to action.

Rabbit's escape is a sentiment most people, I imagine, have felt at one time or another. And, in some ways, the reader can live out that escape through him and see just how far or near it can take a person. I do not think desiring an escape is a bad thing, it is why vacation time exists in jobs, but it must be done responsibly, unlike how Rabbit went about it. He wished to escape from his whole existence, his day to day everything, or at least so he thought.

I believe this is a great American novel. Certainly not of the type I thought I would be saying. It is not grand or redemptive, there is no hero, no person to cheer for. But it is honest and true to more of America than we may want to suppose.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937

December 2009: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, publ. 1963

GANC: The Bell Jar

This is not the book I set out reading for December's challenge. I may revisit the one I set aside again, but it was a little too much for me given the length of the book and the time I had available to read. And yes, maybe I was being a little lazy, not trying hard enough to get into book X. Such is life and such is reading.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath was not all that I expected it to be. First off, complete shock on my part that I was able to go through at least two feminist-focused English classes and not even glance at this book. Second, knowing how Plath herself mimicked this book off chapters from her own life, I expected more angst and darkness given how she came to her own end.

Perhaps the most jarring thing about Esther Greenwood and her path to depression and thoughts of suicide was how easily I related to her. There she was, living an enviable summer internship in New York working at a magazine hundreds of girls long for, and she felt entirely out of place. She bought the clothes to fit in, had the right friends to fit in, a social calendar that placed her well to meet the well-to-do and attractive, and yet she felt she was just playing a part. Upon her return home, now without the distractions of the city, she could not quiet the thoughts that had been stirring about all summer. It seemed every place she went, she contemplated how to end her life there. After a failed suicide attempt, she stayed at an institution where it is never clear if Greenwood got better or found a new part to play in order to fit in.

I could not agree more with the introduction to my book: this is most definitely confessional literature. At times I felt like I was eavesdropping with no method of escape. And though it has been over a decade since I read it, I also agree with many who have drawn a string from J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye to The Bell Jar. They are in some ways twins, companion pieces.

I think the confessional aspect of this book is necessary to its success, but it is also what moves it a step or two away from being a top pick for the Great American novel. However, the fact that it is indulgent and has the feel of voyeurism shines a light all too bright on American culture presently. This book is all about Esther Greenwood and what people have done to her. And largely that is what America is right now - the constant whine of what people have done to me and how I deserve better, bigger, more, faster. So maybe that knocks it back up a peg or two toward Great American Novel. I think the question is whether Plath was being self-indulgent in writing this, or if she did have a larger message regarding American culture. If the former, this book is a closer relative to books such as The Devil Wears Prada or Sex and the City. If the latter, it fits right in with other great American novels.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

November 2009: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston, publ. 1937

GANC: Their Eyes Were Watching God

I am not sure about this book. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a decent book, but I did not grasp its importance in American history. Written in 1937 by an African American woman, this book went in and out of print and the American conscience until the late 60s when largely female African American professors unearthed it and began teaching and writing about it. Is this a case where the book's greatness prompted the teaching and focus, or did the teaching and focus prompt this book's greatness?

As most of you know, I am not an African American female, nor have I read and researched much in African American literature, so there is an obvious gap in my knowledge. Perhaps I am making an unfair parallel, but if this book were written by a white female about poor white people, I am unconvinced it would have the standing it does today. However, I am not here to compare a mythical book to this one, I am here to talk about the book I read.

Beautifully descriptive passages. This is the most superb part of the book, Hurston's elegant and unique way of expressing the time and place of action. In the opening of the book, this:

"Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty. A mood come alive. Words walking without masters, walking altogether like harmony in a song."

This plays in stark contrast to the rural Southern dialect the characters speak. "At dat she ain't so ole as some of y'all dat's talking," for instance. It is so jolting to the eye that once you encounter the eloquent words, you hope they go on for pages. And then, when the dialect erupts, you change your rhythm and cadence and almost speak the writing yourself to understand it. Hurston grew up with this dialect, so to read these contrasting words echoes of how she must feel - history of rural, life now of sweet eloquence.

Perhaps this book fell short for me because of what I read about it before chapter one. I read the forward, which is usually a smart thing to do should a book have one. But in this case, I feel the forward puffed the book up in a way that as I dug into it, my grand picture of what the book was to be fell short. It was like hearing all your friends talk about how awesome a movie is and then seeing it yourself and it not being as great because it had been so talked up for you. Disappointing.

This is an excellent novel of a side and voice of America not often placed center stage. It is stark and beautiful, simple and pained. A woman rising above history, stereotype, men, fortune, and family in order to find her happiness. Is it the great American novel? No. Is it a great African American/woman's perspective novel? I think so.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:

July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

August 209: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

October 2009: For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, publ. 1940

GANC: For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway surprised me. I had heard horror stories of high school friends reading The Old Man and the Sea, so I suspected an even longer book by Hemingway would prove somewhat painful. It was no easy road, but it was, dare I say, enjoyable to read. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a hard book to put your finger on. Set during the Spanish Civil War, it follows an American as he bands together with a group of Republican guerrilla fighters as he sets in motion a plan to blow up a Fascist-controlled bridge. The majority of the book is the three days leading up to the bridge explosion.

Perhaps I should back up a little. The book opens with part of a poem by John Donne, from which the title of the book acquires its name.

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
(Italics Hemingway's)

The theme of this book draws largely from the sentiment of no man being an island. Hemingway shows how even a small group of people from disparate backgrounds and motives, need one another in order to advance their goal. Throughout the novel, there is an ebb and flow of coming together and breaking apart. Sometimes it is simple, as when Robert Jordan, the Ingles, leaves his lover Maria to scout out the bridge. Other times it is more far-reaching, as when Pablo steals some of the weaponry and disappears, leaving the group short ammunition, men, and horses. It is beautifully detailed and simply written. A slow progression of Jordan's movement from idealist to something else, something more tangible and true.

However, none of that is about the great American novel-ness of the book (or not). Robert Jordan is a symbol of a young ideal American. He sees a problem in Spain, wants to help and so he goes, not giving thought to what or who he is fighting for. He signed up for a cause and, after he met the people, the cause became blurred. It stopped being good against evil. As America, we look though ideal lenses out on the world, seeing where we can fix things, where people need our help. And we go, to create for ourselves an even more ideal place abroad, to bring our idealism to the masses. When we arrive, after the luster has faded, we see how much we have to learn, how small we really are, and that what we came to do may not be what we should do. It is a sentiment I have not seen often in books by American authors.

Despite that, I am not convinced this is the great American novel. It is a superb novel, but there is not a lot of outright American to it. I have no doubt that Hemingway is a great American author, and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future, but For Whom the Bell Tolls does not meet my expectations of being a novel to raise up as a great American one. I hesitate to write that because it is excellent, excellently written and excellently executed. What is funny is if you were to change this from Spanish Revolution to American Revolution or Civil War, even Vietnam, I think I would bump it closer toward the ideal great American novel. Perhaps it falters because I know as much about this war as I have learned from this book and Pan's Labyrinth - not a whole lot.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936
August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985
September 2009: Moby Dick - Herman Melville, publ. 1851

GANC: Moby Dick

Moby Dick by Herman Melville was not what I expected. Perhaps I ran into a case where I am so familiar with the climax, the focus of the tale, that at every turn of the page I expected a siting of the White Whale and a Moby Dick. vs. Ahab fight to the death. It took over four-fifths of the book for the whaling vessel Pequod to even see the whale. So, if the book is not about a fight between a whale and a man, what is it about?

This is the point, early on, that things begin to fall apart for me. This book is so thick with meaning, layering and heft, and I was unable to devote the time and intensity necessary to understand even half of it. Where's Mrs. Jackson, my high school English teacher, when you need her? But I will try to piece together what little I did get about and from the story.

In a way, the two main character, Ahab (the captain) and Ishmael (the narrator and crew member) counter balance one another elegantly. Ahab seeks Moby Dick in order to conquer it, to know it in its death. Ishmael, on the other hand, seems to want an adventure and to know the ins and outs of whales in general. Many chapters are devoted to Ishmael discussing types of whales, bones of whales, intellect of whales, whales in literature, whales in art, uses of whale parts, the benevolence or malevolence of different whales. One man desires to know one whale to its soul. Another to know all whales' in their parts, possibly in hopes of explaining to himself, and thus the reader, Ahab's passionate pursuit of Moby Dick.

In addition to this ongoing discussion of knowledge and knowing, Melville incorporates a discussion of fate and prophesy throughout the book. This one was harder for me to track since it did not typically consist of a chapter-long aside, as did Ishmael's discussion on whales. From seemingly insane men prophesying doom to the very name of the ship, Pequod, a Native American tribe that did not last long after white men arrived, this permeating sense of doom weaves its tendrils throughout the book. The reader senses the tragic outcome before many of the characters do.

As for how Moby Dick relates and interacts with American culture, I posit that this is the quintessential tale of man versus nature as well as single-minded pursuit. To extrapolate to our culture, this theme touches on conquering the unconquerable and ambitiously pursuing a goal at all costs, things that define what has come to be the American stereotype. That relentless pursuit sometimes yields great progress and light, and sometimes it yields a person's own White Whale. If one were ask the average American for literary examples of these ideals, most would not name Moby Dick, but it is there in the background, just under the surface below visibility.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936
August 2009: Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry, publ. 1985

GANC: Lonesome Dove

What a refreshing book to read after last month's literary aerobics. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry is my second book in The Great American Novel Challenge. This book may never be on many lists as one of the great novels in American history, but I fear that is only because it is not steeped in heavy prose and a dictionary of multi-syllabic vocabulary. Instead it is built in an unpretentious style that welcomes the reader in as a fellow traveler. Lonesome Dove exemplifies everything I feel a great American novel should contain. It has action, adventure, exploration, romance, murder, tall tales, moral dilemmas, humor, strong characters (I dare you to find a weakly written character in the whole bunch). At times I question the true success or value of list-topping items or award winners, but this novel definitely deserves its 1986 Pulitzer Prize.

At its most basic, this is a book about a cattle drive from south Texas north to Montana. It follows a crew of men (and a woman) - a mix of Texas Rangers, greenhorns, and immigrants - as they go north, encounter old friends and enemies, make new ones on both counts and try to survive all nature throws at them. This novel sets the cowboy stereotype on its head. The former Texas Rangers steal horses and cattle, the Mexicans in the outfit are hard-working and wise, and the women are more than a person who cries and waves good-bye when their men leave for the cattle drive. Every hero is flawed, the good guys die sometimes, the reader cares about the bad guys and, above all, there is heart. There is a refreshing transparency to many of the characters - they speak their minds and never once does McMurtry write one of them expressing him or herself in a manner out of character. Even the in the most guarded or hardened of people, those small cracks are written in their story such that humanity shines through.

In a greater sense, though, this is a book about self-discovery. Men and women seeking out what they have longed for, whether it be a lost relationship, a new start in life, respect among peers, closure, reconciliation. It must be difficult to fit so many personal discoveries into a book, but McMurtry accomplishes it with seamless fluidity. Nothing is pressured or jumps out as out of context or character. Nor does self revelation upon self revelation stack atop one another. It, much like the rivers theses men cross, meanders and roams, bending one way then another, cutting a new path with a sudden flood. I by no means imply that this is a book where, to borrow a Western film stereotype, the black hats lose and the white hats win every time. As I mentioned earlier, the good guys die in the book - due to past mistakes, wrong allegiances, stubbornness, and the natural dangers of the frontier. However, for the most part, each is allowed his own closure, though it may not be of the kind he wanted for himself.

To me though, that is what made the epic story all the more personal, even beyond sympathizing in the loss of comrades or the joy of reunion. When a sandstorm kicks up on the cattle drive, you as the reader feels the stinging grains on your cheek and the glass shard particles in your eyes. When some of the outfit must decide whether to hang one of their own for murder, you agonize over the decision with them. When frontier surgeries are performed, you are right there with them wincing and feeling queasy. And so, in your own way, as a reader you too are on a journey of self-discovery.

If I have left any doubt, let me state it clearly here - this is most assuredly and positively one of the greatest American novels I have had the joy to read. I would place it on the shelf with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Women and others as a book I would relish escaping with time and time again and point to as an excellent window in to superb, if fictional, Americans.

Great American Novel Challenge Booklist:
July 2009: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner, publ. 1936

GANC: Absalom, Absalom!

Absalom, Absalom! is not the great American novel. Or, if it is, it is a great American novel for someone who has time in the day to read for an hour or more at a time. Because that is the only way I was able comprehend this book - grab a glass of iced tea, hunker down and read. This is not to say the story of William Faulkner's book is uninteresting, because I find it quite intriguing. The events of the book surround the rise and fall of a Southern plantation owner Thomas Sutpen before, during and after the Civil War. There is love, murder, betrayal, all the things that can make a story excellent.

However, Faulkner's writing style for me was extremely hard to get past. His sentences and paragraphs can ramble and weave on for pages with no end in sight and he changes speakers with no warning or indication. Suddenly an aunt becomes someone's sister and I was left wondering if I had been placing the wrong character with the pronouns. The first chapter where I felt I had a grasp on what was going on was chapter 5, wherein Quentin, a young man learning of his family's history, listens to Rosa detailing an assortment of tragedies that befell the Sutpen family after Thomas Sutpen's son Henry kills his sister Judith's fiancee. This fiancee, we learn, was the Elder Sutpen's bastard child and thus, Judith's half brother. But he was not killed for that; he was killed because Henry found out he had a mistress/wife in New Orleans. Confused yet? So was I.

Why did I select this novel? I knew Faulkner to be an author often employed on the "Great Novels of the 20th century/American literature/Southern writers" lists. I had not read anything by him save an excerpt here and there in college. I chose this particular novel because it was a slice of time in American history where one order, Southern slave holding plantation owners, was ending and another order, Northern industrialists, was beginning. To me, a great American novel has to include a piece about man against nature or a corporation - some sort of formidable foe that takes courage, gumption and will to topple. What better than a man who walks into town with nothing save wild slaves and makes an empire from a swampland? This had all the hopes, the pieces of the puzzle, but for me was done in with the writing style.

It is that very writing style, though, that I feel has most greatly influenced American literature and culture. Faulkner was considered by many one of the leaders of the modernist movement. This stream of consciousness writing he started in the early 1900s has now become an established way of expressing oneself. Rambling rock songs, slam poetry, indie and not-so-indie movies, the 60s - all boast some form of stream of consciousness use that began with Faulkner and his contemporaries. Perhaps Faulkner is like Shakespeare's writing in a way - hard to crack, but a wealth of rich history, mood and meaning once the reader breaks the barrier.

What's a Great American Novel?

Before endeavoring on the Great American Novel Challenge (GANC), I thought it a wise idea to contemplate what I feel contributes to making a novel a great American one. Some of these concepts I drew from American novels I have read and things I feel typify an American ideal. Not all the novels will meet these criteria, and I believe that is the point, and American in its own way.

1. The novel is set in the United States, areas that will eventually become the United States, or if abroad have its main characters be American.

2. The novel is patriotic. No, I am not talking waving the red, white and blue and such. Maybe a better term would be pro-American. I have read a book or two by American authors who shun their roots and cast America in a bad light. While I do not expect the places and characters of the books I read to be put on a pedestal as an American archetype to live up to, a great American novel should not bash the U.S. or be harsh to it.

3. Some set of characters in each novel should have an independent, can-do attitude. I feel this is one of the great American stereotypes that we tend to be happy to live up to. And usually to accomplish this can-do plan...

4. Theme of man against a force larger than self. To be independent means to not rely on something other people do - the city, the boss, inheritance, etc. And sometimes people must fight to be rid of that dependence. Fight against, nature, expectations, culture, industry. Tame something, if you will.

5. In that fighting against a force (not the Force, mind you), one must explore...something. It could be the vast plains of the West, an Indian tribe as new settlers, a new idea or way of living, or maybe a internal exploration of self.

6. Maybe it is the Texan in me, but I think a great American novel should have some essence of grandiosity and vastness. Whether it is a big sky, a big tract of land or a big hope and aim, at some point I want awe.

7. The culture of the book, whatever it is, wherever its set, has to be true and rich and deep. The author should write beyond the stereotype, whether to disprove it or to display why it exists and if it should be lauded. Surely not all Texans ride horses and not all New England Italians are in the mafia.

8. True to life. Harry Potter may be a good book, but I doubt Great Britain is like Hogwarts. The events and people have to something I could reasonably imagine in the time and place they find themselves in the story.

9. However, part of America is its tall tales - Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Johnny Appleseed - so maybe a stretcher or two is okay. People like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone were people whose fame stretched beyond reality, but in a way that only heightened the "American-ness" of them. Purposeful fantasy, if you will.

All of these qualities may not exist in every novel I read, but I certainly hope that a majority of them are present in some sense. I know that in reading these thirteen books, my opinion of what makes a great American novel will change, and I anticipate the revelations, both from my own reading and the reviews of the other GANC participants. It should be an exciting and exploratory thirteen months.