The Great American Novel, then, is (as it has always been) a chimera, a distraction -- a reflection of the wish that literature, that art, may save us, when its real purpose is to reveal our ...

So has there ever been a "Great American Novel"? If you're talking about the way De Forest's words have been interpreted — or misinterpreted — over the last 150 years, the answer is no.

American literature's holy grail: Franzen, DFW and the hunt for the Great American Novel Critics said the Great American Novel was dead. Then David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Franzen burst onto ...

The Great American Novel is, essentially, the idea that a novel can be the definitive expression of its time, capturing a unique American cultural and historical milieu. It’s a hackneyed version of ...

Here are five reasons why The Great Gatsby should rank as The Great American Novel:. 1.It's the most American of stories. Encoded at the very center of our national DNA is admiration for the self ...

American Literature And The 'Mythos Of The Boozing Writer' In her new book, The Trip To Echo Spring, Olivia Laing investigates the role of drinking in the lives of six great American writers ...

Great literature is surprisingly arithmetic. Skip to main content. Scientific American. February 1, 2017. 2 min read. ... Scientific American Mind and Scientific American Earth 3.0.