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The Great American Novel (sometimes abbreviated as GAN) is the term for a canonical novel that generally embodies and examines the essence and character of the United States. The term was coined by John William De Forest in an 1868 essay and later shortened to GAN. De Forest noted that the Great American Novel had most likely not been written yet.
Jan 9, 2017 · As A.O. Scott memorably put it, “the Great American Novel, while also a hybrid (crossbred of romance and reportage, high philosophy and low gossip, wishful thinking and hard-nosed skepticism), may be more like the yeti or the Loch Ness monster—or Sasquatch, if we want to keep things homegrown.
Jun 30, 2016 · The Great American Novel: A book that most perfectly imagines the kaleidoscope of our nation, its social fabric and its troubled conscience, its individual voices and strivings, our loves...
The Atlantic's list of "The Great American Novels" was created with the aim of redefining the American literary canon to include a broader, more diverse selection of works published in the last 100 years.
Mar 14, 2024 · Novels. March 14, 2024. In 1868, a little-known writer by the name of John William DeForest proposed a new type of literature, a collective artistic project for a nation just emerging from an ...
Sep 5, 2023 · Complete summary of Philip Roth's The Great American Novel. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Great American Novel.
Nov 19, 2020 · The Great American Novel is, without a whisper of doubt, literature's most elusive (some even say mythical) beast. For 150 years, since the novelist John William De Forest first coined the term, the argument over what constitutes a GAN has rumbled on and on.
Jan 1, 2001 · Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its "sensual, ingenious style" and for its provocative explorations of American identity.
Dec 17, 2017 · Here’s a fun experiment: fire up Facebook and post your pick for the Great American Novel. If history is any indicator, a host of amateur critics will be deriding your taste in no time. Arguing about the great American novel was perfect fodder for periodicals in the late 1800s, and it is catnip for a listicle-obsessed internet. And even ...
The great American novel was, first of all, to be distinctively American. " . . . till we cease to borrow English wings for Amer- ican muses," warned Daniel Pierce Thompson, author of The Green
