I want to discover the must-reads and hidden gems of American literature. I’m not just talking about the classics, but also those unique and interesting finds. I’m no expert, but here are some of my picks: ‘Ubik’ by Philip K. Dick, ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ by Thomas Pynchon, ‘Still Life with Woodpecker’ by Tom Robbins, ‘Brief Interviews with Hideous Men’ by David Foster Wallace, ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac, and ‘White Noise’ by Don DeLillo. I’d love to hear your personal favorites, classics or underground and maybe why you love them.
by succo_di_papaya
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John Williams. *Stoner* and *Butcher’s Crossing* are both great.
* ***Cannery Row*** **(1945) by John Steinbeck** – Set in Monterey, California, this novel portrays the lives of the residents of Cannery Row, capturing both the warmth and hardships of their community. This one has a unique relaxing feelgood vibe. There’s something great about the portrayal of these folk.
* ***Wise Blood*** **(1952) by Flannery O’Connor** – This Southern Gothic novel follows the struggles of Hazel Motes, a young man who establishes the Church Without Christ in an attempt to escape sin and corruption. Kinda goofy, endearing, singular.
* ***East of Eden*** **(1952) by John Steinbeck** – A multi-generational saga, this novel explores the intertwined destinies of two families against the backdrop of California’s Salinas Valley. Lives up to the hype.
* ***The Jungle*** **(1906) by Upton Sinclair** – A powerful exposé of the meatpacking industry in Chicago during the early 20th century, this novel led to significant reforms in food safety and labor practices. Sinclair writes straight up fire
Fran Ross’ *Oreo* is a book that got lost in the shuffle for decades, but it was rediscovered in the 90s and writers everywhere have sung it’s praises.
*The Years of Lyndon Johnson* is a book that people can’t stop talking about once they’ve read it, but relatively few people have read it because it’s 3000 pages and unfinished.
CLR James only wrote two literary books, but *Beyond a Boundary* is widely regarded as the greatest book about sports ever written and *The Black Jacobins* is a tremendous literary history.
Somehow people still don’t know about Percival Everett, but he’s got 30 books and they’re all bangers. He’s like the literary Stephen King. *Erasure* and *The Trees* are good places to start.
James M. Cain and Chester Himes don’t get much credit, maybe because they’re both “crime writers. I don’t know or care about “genre,” but they belong in the canon. And somehow *They Shoot Horses, Don’t They* gets classed as a crime novel, but it’s really a masterpiece.
And, of course, poetry. Even with a Nobel prize, no one is reading Louis Glück’s *The Wild Iris*? Tyhemba Jess’ *Olio* is maybe the first masterpiece in poetry this century, unless you prefer Richard Siken’s *Crush.* The works of Elizabeth Bishop can’t be missed, either.
And what about works of translation? The first two volumes of Mary Jo Bang’s *Divine Comedy* are out, and they’re controversial but plenty of fun.
For short stories, got to be Breece Pancake, Claire Vaye Watkins (whose recent *I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness* is also excellent), and of course George Saunders.