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What is the best American novel?

By YouPickBest

Dive into a captivating clash of storytelling as timeless classics meet bold, modern voices, each weaving unique narratives that challenge, entertain, and provoke thought. Prepare to explore a spectrum of unforgettable characters and themes that shape the American literary landscape—where will your vote land?

  1. The Great Gatsby — ranked #11
    The Great Gatsby
    Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in the Jazz Age
  2. To Kill a Mockingbird — ranked #22
    To Kill a Mockingbird
    Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about racial injustice
  3. Moby-Dick — ranked #33
    Moby-Dick
    Herman Melville's epic tale of obsession and revenge at sea
  4. The Catcher in the Rye — ranked #44
    The Catcher in the Rye
    J.D. Salinger's classic about teenage alienation and rebellion
  5. The Grapes of Wrath — ranked #55
    The Grapes of Wrath
    John Steinbeck's depiction of the Great Depression and migration
  6. Of Mice and Men — ranked #66
    Of Mice and Men
    Steinbeck's novella about friendship and dreams during the Depression
  7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — ranked #77
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    Mark Twain's seminal work on race and identity in America
  8. The Sound and the Fury — ranked #88
    The Sound and the Fury
    William Faulkner's complex narrative about a Southern family
  9. As I Lay Dying — ranked #99
    As I Lay Dying
    Faulkner's novel exploring family and mortality in the South
  10. Beloved — ranked #1010
    Beloved
    Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about slavery's legacy
  11. Invisible Man — ranked #1111
    Invisible Man
    Ralph Ellison's exploration of African American identity and invisibility
  12. The Scarlet Letter — ranked #1212
    The Scarlet Letter
    Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of sin and redemption in Puritan America
  13. Uncle Tom's Cabin — ranked #1313
    Uncle Tom's Cabin
    Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential anti-slavery novel
  14. The Call of the Wild — ranked #1414
    The Call of the Wild
    Jack London's adventure novel about survival in the Yukon
  15. The Old Man and the Sea — ranked #1515
    The Old Man and the Sea
    Ernest Hemingway's novella about struggle and perseverance
  16. For Whom the Bell Tolls — ranked #1616
    For Whom the Bell Tolls
    Hemingway's novel set during the Spanish Civil War
  17. The Sun Also Rises — ranked #1717
    The Sun Also Rises
    Hemingway's portrayal of the Lost Generation in post-WWI Europe
  18. A Farewell to Arms — ranked #1818
    A Farewell to Arms
    Hemingway's love story set against the backdrop of WWI
  19. Catch-22 — ranked #1919
    Catch-22
    Joseph Heller's satirical novel about the absurdities of war
  20. Slaughterhouse-Five — ranked #2020
    Slaughterhouse-Five
    Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel blending time travel and trauma
  21. The Naked and the Dead — ranked #2121
    The Naked and the Dead
    Norman Mailer's World War II novel exploring soldier experiences
  22. On the Road — ranked #2222
    On the Road
    Jack Kerouac's defining work of the Beat Generation
  23. Lolita — ranked #2323
    Lolita
    Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel about obsession and manipulation
  24. The Age of Innocence — ranked #2424
    The Age of Innocence
    Edith Wharton's exploration of societal norms in Gilded Age New York
  25. Their Eyes Were Watching God — ranked #2525
    Their Eyes Were Watching God
    Zora Neale Hurston's novel about a woman's search for identity
  26. The Color Purple — ranked #2626
    The Color Purple
    Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about African American women
  27. The Road — ranked #2727
    The Road
    Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale of survival and fatherhood
  28. Blood Meridian — ranked #2828
    Blood Meridian
    McCarthy's violent novel about the American West and manifest destiny
  29. American Psycho — ranked #2929
    American Psycho
    Bret Easton Ellis's satirical novel on consumerism and identity
  30. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay — ranked #3030
    The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
    Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer-winning novel about comic book creators
  31. Infinite Jest — ranked #3131
    Infinite Jest
    David Foster Wallace's complex narrative on addiction and entertainment
  32. White Noise — ranked #3232
    White Noise
    Don DeLillo's novel exploring media saturation and existential dread

#usa306#books91

Comments

Four Hemingway novels made this list. Fitzgerald brought one, and it is the one everybody names first: https://youpick.best/articles/hemingway-vs-fitzgerald-ranked

YP
ypb-team·yesterday·
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