The Atlantic just launched their list of the The Great American Novels. The list is the result of a project that looks at the most influential novels in America for the past 100 years (roughly from 1924-2023). The 136 novels on the list were chosen by The Atlantic’s editors, who were in conversation with scholars, critics, and novelists outside of the publication. Of the 136 on the list, 45 are debut novels, three are children’s books, nine won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and around 60 have been banned in libraries or schools.
In constructing the list, Atlantic editors framed the definition of the Great American novel around the one that writer John William DeForest established in 1868 — which described a new kind of literature that painted “the American soul” — but expanded on it, saying “In 2024, our definition of literary greatness is wider, deeper, and weirder than DeForest likely could have imagined.”
They continued, “At the same time, the novel is also under threat, as the forces of anti-intellectualism and authoritarianism seek to ban books and curtail freedom of expression. The American canon is more capacious, more fluid, and more fragile than perhaps ever before.”
Below are a few of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels:
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Passing by Nella Larsen
The Street by Ann Petry
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Oreo by Fran Ross
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
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Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
There There by Tommy Orange
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Erasure by Percival Everett
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
For a the full list and more information on the endeavor, visit The Atlantic.
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