The Great American Novel

The Great American Novel is the concept of a novel that perfectly represents the spirit of life in the United States of America at the time of its publication. It is presumed to be written by an American (more specifically, an American from the US) author who is knowledgable about the state of the common American citizen. It is considered to be a highly prestigious title for a novel in the US, and is thus seen as a worthwhile goal for writers to attempt to achieve.

Though the term is singular, many novels have been given this title over time. In fact, few will claim there is one single Great American Novel. It is commonly considered that Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the first Great American Novel. Since then, several novels have been given the title. Highly respected novels such as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby have been given the title by many literary scholars. Still, even controversial novels ranging from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye to Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero have sometimes also recieved this title from critics and scholars (though the worthiness of these novels of the title is sometimes debated).

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