[nostalgic]

can anyone give me a list of serious literature written by an american author?

thanks if anyone does.

[ginger]

in no order and with no proper capitalization:

the red badge of courage
moby ____ (the censor won't let me write it, but duh, it rhymes with "lick" and starts with a "d")
the jungle
the great gatsby
catcher in the rye
lolita
grapes of wrath
on the road
the awakening
of mice and men
the bell jar
i know why the caged bird sings
catch 22
invisible man
the sound and the fury
absalom! absalom!
to kill a mockingbird


etc etc etc.

-ginger

[lidomochi]

^ well,she listed most of the ones i thought of,so all i have is:
a lesson before dying
the scarlet letter

my teacher wants us to read an american literature book too.

[Spiffy Girl]

Rebbecca
Pride and Prejudice
Crime and Punishment (not by an american author but i read for my english class in hs)
Doctor Zhivago (same thing)

[ginger]

Rebbecca
Pride and Prejudice
Crime and Punishment (not by an american author but i read for my english class in hs)
Doctor Zhivago (same thing)

(the OP was asking about American authors, which would exclude all but the first book listed)

-ginger

[Sky's Crying]

As I Lay Dying - Faulkner
Long Day's Journey into Night - O'Neil
The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
East of Eden - Steinbeck

I don't know why everyone's immediately going towards classic books...current books can be considered "serious" lit too. But uh, those are some classics that I recommend --especially East of Eden.

[ginger]

As I Lay Dying - Faulkner
Long Day's Journey into Night - O'Neil
The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
East of Eden - Steinbeck

I don't know why everyone's immediately going towards classic books...current books can be considered "serious" lit too. But uh, those are some classics that I recommend --especially East of Eden.

I don't know any English professor that would be comfortable dubbing ANY piece of current fiction as "serious literature." I agree that there are some good contemporary authors, but people in the English lit world know that it takes years and years for a piece to age properly. What may gain raves now may seem boring and trite years down the line.

-ginger

[nostalgic]

never mind; thanks everyone.

[Medea]

Rebbecca
Pride and Prejudice
Crime and Punishment (not by an american author but i read for my english class in hs)
Doctor Zhivago (same thing)

(the OP was asking about American authors, which would exclude all but the first book listed)

-ginger

I'm afraid the first is excluded as well, Rebecca was written by Dame Daphne Du Maurier a brit. Really good book tho.

[ginger]

I'm afraid the first is excluded as well, Rebecca was written by Dame Daphne Du Maurier a brit. Really good book tho.

Haha darn! I thought it might be because of the author's name, but since so much of it took place in America, I wasn't sure. Ah, well. Good book, indeed!

-ginger

[UnknownMelody]

Any work from Jack London.
I.e. call of the wild and how to start a fire.
He is definitely American.

[polaress]

you should check out Joan Didion's works.

[Ax016]

The Age of Innocence - Wharton
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain