Can we get Denis Johnson in here and recognize Angels as one of the great American novels? It has landscape, individualism (for a few characters), prose that hit so many styles and levels, and it settles into the space that Gatsby and Tartt avoid: the down and out strugglers in America trying to realize a dream only for it to turn into multiple nightmares. The other people I thought of were Cather and McCarthy.
It isn't all that recent now, but my pick for Greatest American Novel published in my (Millennial) lifetime has long been "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay." I first read it when I was in college and then turned to it for comfort after the 2016 election.
For a contender from the last 10 years, I think "Demon Copperhead" deserves to be in the conversation! As a story about a Millennial boy written by a female author from an older generation, I must admit I prefer it to "The Goldfinch."
Can we get Denis Johnson in here and recognize Angels as one of the great American novels? It has landscape, individualism (for a few characters), prose that hit so many styles and levels, and it settles into the space that Gatsby and Tartt avoid: the down and out strugglers in America trying to realize a dream only for it to turn into multiple nightmares. The other people I thought of were Cather and McCarthy.
Love these suggestions love Denis Johnson but haven't read Angels yet, picking up a copy now.
It isn't all that recent now, but my pick for Greatest American Novel published in my (Millennial) lifetime has long been "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay." I first read it when I was in college and then turned to it for comfort after the 2016 election.
For a contender from the last 10 years, I think "Demon Copperhead" deserves to be in the conversation! As a story about a Millennial boy written by a female author from an older generation, I must admit I prefer it to "The Goldfinch."