You might have read a lot of these but here are mine ranked:
1. Beloved by Toni Morrison
2. Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut
3. The Sound of Fury by Faulkner
4. As I Lay Dying by Faulkner
5. No Country for Old Men
A lot of these are actually considered contemporary, but these are some that I love that weren’t taught in class, and I also did not typically teach them as an English teacher.
ArcticLens on
Now, Voyager by Olive Higgins Prouty is kind of amazing and was made into a movie with Bette Davis
Yinzadi on
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Jack-Campin on
Tillie Olsen, *Yonnondio*.
Meridel Lesueur, *The Girl*.
Henry Roth, *Call It Sleep*.
John Fante, *Wait Until Spring, Bandini*.
Ishmael Reed, *The Freelance Pallbearers*.
Sol Yurick, *Fertig*.
Obvious-Band-1149 on
Ask the Dust by John Fante
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
FoghornLegday on
I’m guessing they’re not teaching A Clockwork Orange, but it rocks
ETA: the version he released in America
Key_Piccolo_2187 on
Wallace Stegner. Either Big Rock Candy Mountain or Angle of Repose. He’s mostly forgotten in 2023 but was a total of American literature and probably the best writer about the opening of the American West.
Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe) and his also awesome A Man in Full almost never are taught.
Some more modern recommendations of things I’m reasonably sure are trending to classic status:
I don’t know if it’s made it into curriculum yet or not, but Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is headed for that classic stature.
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will almost certainly be on the list.
Richard Powers’ The Overstory.
A Visit From The Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan) is one day going to be taught, but probably not today.
Janes McBride’s Good Lord Bird needs a few years to hit classic but will.
Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny. In a similar vein, Anton Myrer’s Once An Eagle. The latter *is* taught in two very specific circumstances – it’s required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets.
I don’t think East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath are taught much, as teachers and curriculum choose shorter Steinbeck to explore.
Irving Stone’s wonderful historical fiction (A Lust for Life, focused on Van Gogh and The Agony And The Ecstasy, focused on Michelangelo).
LifeHappenzEvryMomnt on
You’re the only other person I’ve met who’s read Man in Full. It’s a great book but inexcusably racist.
finkdinklestein on
Stoner by John Williams
PashasMom on
* *The Country of the Pointed Firs* by Sarah Orne Jewett
* *Green Centuries* by Caroline Gordon
* *The Financier* by Theodore Dreiser
* *The Street* by Ann Petry
* *The Home-Maker* by Dorothy Canfiield Fisher
* *Like One of the Family* by Alice Childress
* *Joan of Arc* by Mark Twain
* *Portrait of a Marriage* by Pearl S. Buck
* *A Kiss Before Dyin*g by Ira Levin
* *The Mountain Lion* by Jean Stafford
* *November Grass* by Judy Van der Veer
Chay_Charles on
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment and Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Any Stories by Ambrose Bierce
raoulmduke on
Corregidora, written by Gayl Jones and edited by Toni Morrison. Staggeringly powerful, brilliant novel.
No_Collection_6514 on
Manufacturing consent
YoMommaSez on
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn – Betty Smith
The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck
Joyce Carol Oates – anything she has written.
PsychopompousEnigma on
Stoner by John Williams. An English professor’s life story.
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Follows the existential crisis of a young stockbroker in New Orleans.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. Edith Wharton is much discussed but this book is often overshadowed by her other stuff.
smtae on
A Death in the Family by James Agee
The Street by Ann Petry
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
It’s hard to know what to recommend since anything that could be called a classic has definitely been taught in a class at some point. It depends on your education experience whether a classic is new to you or not.
mer9256 on
My high school loved doing non-traditional classics! Some that stand out are Keepers of the House, Their Eyes were Watching God, There are no Children Here, As I Lay Dying, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Non-American ones were Nervous Conditions or Wide Sargasso Sea
BJntheRV on
Anything by Octavia E Butler
JoeSmith1907 on
A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley
Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor
Raymond Chandler’s detective novels are classics of their genre
Thin Red Line by James Jones
If you’re open to Canadian literature try Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
dbshaw92 on
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean.
From its first magnificent sentence, “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing,” to the last, “I am haunted by waters,” A River Runs Through It is an American classic. Based on Norman Maclean’s childhood experiences, A River Runs Through It has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana’s Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart.
Fax_Verstappen on
They’re right on the cusp of the twentieth century, so apologies if they aren’t what you’re looking for, but McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, and The Octopus: A Story of California, both by Frank Norris, I find very few people have read, which is a shame: McTeague has one of my favorite endings, and The Octopus a poetic justice almost unrivaled.
Norris died before he could write much afterwards, so he’s not exactly a well known author, but he’s still a good one.
Constant-Lake8006 on
The world according to garp
qualquiercosa82 on
“The sheltering sky” by Paul Bowles. While we’re at it, “two serious ladies,” by Jane Bowles!
27 Comments
giovanni’s room by james baldwin
You might have read a lot of these but here are mine ranked:
1. Beloved by Toni Morrison
2. Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut
3. The Sound of Fury by Faulkner
4. As I Lay Dying by Faulkner
5. No Country for Old Men
A lot of these are actually considered contemporary, but these are some that I love that weren’t taught in class, and I also did not typically teach them as an English teacher.
Now, Voyager by Olive Higgins Prouty is kind of amazing and was made into a movie with Bette Davis
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Tillie Olsen, *Yonnondio*.
Meridel Lesueur, *The Girl*.
Henry Roth, *Call It Sleep*.
John Fante, *Wait Until Spring, Bandini*.
Ishmael Reed, *The Freelance Pallbearers*.
Sol Yurick, *Fertig*.
Ask the Dust by John Fante
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
I’m guessing they’re not teaching A Clockwork Orange, but it rocks
ETA: the version he released in America
Wallace Stegner. Either Big Rock Candy Mountain or Angle of Repose. He’s mostly forgotten in 2023 but was a total of American literature and probably the best writer about the opening of the American West.
Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe) and his also awesome A Man in Full almost never are taught.
Some more modern recommendations of things I’m reasonably sure are trending to classic status:
I don’t know if it’s made it into curriculum yet or not, but Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is headed for that classic stature.
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will almost certainly be on the list.
Richard Powers’ The Overstory.
A Visit From The Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan) is one day going to be taught, but probably not today.
Janes McBride’s Good Lord Bird needs a few years to hit classic but will.
Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny. In a similar vein, Anton Myrer’s Once An Eagle. The latter *is* taught in two very specific circumstances – it’s required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets.
I don’t think East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath are taught much, as teachers and curriculum choose shorter Steinbeck to explore.
Irving Stone’s wonderful historical fiction (A Lust for Life, focused on Van Gogh and The Agony And The Ecstasy, focused on Michelangelo).
You’re the only other person I’ve met who’s read Man in Full. It’s a great book but inexcusably racist.
Stoner by John Williams
* *The Country of the Pointed Firs* by Sarah Orne Jewett
* *Green Centuries* by Caroline Gordon
* *The Financier* by Theodore Dreiser
* *The Street* by Ann Petry
* *The Home-Maker* by Dorothy Canfiield Fisher
* *Like One of the Family* by Alice Childress
* *Joan of Arc* by Mark Twain
* *Portrait of a Marriage* by Pearl S. Buck
* *A Kiss Before Dyin*g by Ira Levin
* *The Mountain Lion* by Jean Stafford
* *November Grass* by Judy Van der Veer
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment and Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Any Stories by Ambrose Bierce
Corregidora, written by Gayl Jones and edited by Toni Morrison. Staggeringly powerful, brilliant novel.
Manufacturing consent
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn – Betty Smith
The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck
Joyce Carol Oates – anything she has written.
Stoner by John Williams. An English professor’s life story.
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Follows the existential crisis of a young stockbroker in New Orleans.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. Edith Wharton is much discussed but this book is often overshadowed by her other stuff.
A Death in the Family by James Agee
The Street by Ann Petry
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
It’s hard to know what to recommend since anything that could be called a classic has definitely been taught in a class at some point. It depends on your education experience whether a classic is new to you or not.
My high school loved doing non-traditional classics! Some that stand out are Keepers of the House, Their Eyes were Watching God, There are no Children Here, As I Lay Dying, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Non-American ones were Nervous Conditions or Wide Sargasso Sea
Anything by Octavia E Butler
A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley
Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor
Raymond Chandler’s detective novels are classics of their genre
Thin Red Line by James Jones
If you’re open to Canadian literature try Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean.
From its first magnificent sentence, “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing,” to the last, “I am haunted by waters,” A River Runs Through It is an American classic. Based on Norman Maclean’s childhood experiences, A River Runs Through It has established itself as one of the most moving stories of our time; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana’s Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart.
They’re right on the cusp of the twentieth century, so apologies if they aren’t what you’re looking for, but McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, and The Octopus: A Story of California, both by Frank Norris, I find very few people have read, which is a shame: McTeague has one of my favorite endings, and The Octopus a poetic justice almost unrivaled.
Norris died before he could write much afterwards, so he’s not exactly a well known author, but he’s still a good one.
The world according to garp
“The sheltering sky” by Paul Bowles. While we’re at it, “two serious ladies,” by Jane Bowles!
The Yellow Wallpaper is a good shorter read.
My Antonia by Cather
Song of Solomon by Morrison
Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier