What Are The Greatest American Novels of the Past 100 Years? | New Orleans Book Festival

Go behind the scenes of our ambitious project establishing a list of the most significant novels published in the U.S. over the last hundred years, recognizing those classics that stand the test of time, but also making the case for the overlooked, the unexpected, the unfairly forgotten, and the recently published works that already feel indelible. Clint Smith III, Ellen Cushing, Jane Kim, and Jemele Hill discuss the omissions staff argued over, books that just missed the cut, and the complexity of deciding which contemporary works-published as recently as last-year to include.
Subscribe to The Atlantic on KZbin: bit.ly/subAtlanticYT

[@kiarahnama]

One of the biggest omissions for me was Don Delillo's White Noise, an essential of the 80s, technically revered, and also has stood the test of time as evidence by all the recent adaptations.

[@robertfontaine356]

To Kill a Mockingbird. Hello? These lists are so subjective, and a great exercise in intellectual second-guessing, but ultimately, when you miss such a profoundly important, and socially resonant work, your list loses much credibility. Unfortunate.. Incredible mistake of omission.

[@annewelles23]

I don't know if I missed it but nothing by John Irving? What? Or what about "The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore" by Benjamin Hale? I enjoyed some of the books on the list, but others, no matter how acclaimed, were not fun to read and therefore don't belong on the list.

[@davidmassey9243]

John Irving

[@johnmason3261]

Never ask a committee for anything worthwhile. All you get is a mess. In this list we see far too many omissions, too few lasting touchstones of plot, character, theme, or form. Many of what were chosen seem more like mere tokens toward popular taste, less like the wonders of invention that have or will soon have earned their place in history.

[@richardstevens8839]

Only 2 by William Faulkner, the Sound and the Fury and Absalom Absalom! and you’ve got American Pyscho, please let’s get some perspective. I’m a fan of the Atlantic but this is an attempt to show 100 books over time, those who are readers and understand the history of the novel know that it’s been in steep decline over the last 35-40 years

[@KAZHE63]

This is a list of DEI junk and dies disservice to great literature!