Best 20th Century Works of American Fiction
I was going to do a list of the best novels, but I decided I wanted to be able to add short story collections. I also decided only one work by an author just to make it a bit more difficult.The Top Ten
1 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
A very tough call between this, Gatsby, and Catcher in the Rye. But characters like Scout, Jem, Dill, "Boo" Radley, and, of course, Atticus are still relevant today. And the movie is excellent as well. It was filmed in black-and-white, which I think gives it a more Depression-era feel.
2 East of Eden - John Steinbeck
3 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
To me, it has to be The Great Gatsby. A masterpiece of American literature, brilliantly bittersweet.
4 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
5 The Complete Stories - Flannery O'Connor
6 For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
7 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
8 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
9 As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
10 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
The Contenders
11 Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
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