Norman Mailer's 10 Favorite American Novels

The U.S.A. Trilogy is a photographic essay on the United States during the first third of the 20th Century. I call it a photographic essay even though it has no pictures because Dos Passos took snapshots with his prose.

Several different story lines are intertwined through the three volumes. Some of them mesh in surprising ways, others unwind on their own. In addition to the narratives, Dos Passos composed brief biographies of major figures of the day, snapshots really. Also, "the camera eye" segments included impressionistic images from his own life, and the "newsreel" segments presented a montage of snippets from newsreels and newspapers. The work is an abstract expression of his age, a work of complexity and power.

Though the cover says Mark Twain, this book is written by Huck with hilarious results. Huck is not a great writer. His spelling is awful and his grammar not much better. Proof-reading in something he never heard of. He simply writes it as he lives and feels it.

He starts out with the fun and excitement of a boy on a great adventure. But he finds himself betraying what he thinks is right, to be true to what he feels is right. Lying to save Jim. Helping him escape. He finds himself changing, growing up. Trapped and having to consider the consequences of fighting his way out of the trap. It's not all fun and games for anymore. He's very intelligent, but his position makes him vulnerable. He's a child, he's aiding a fugitive, he's a fugitive himself, and he's uneducated.

Throughout the story, Twain makes sure we don't forget that, though we watch him grow before our eyes. One of the funniest, most thought-provoking books I've ever read.

This is both a coming-of-age novel and a social history. Set during the 1920s and 1930s, it follows Studs as he grows through his teen years in Chicago. It shows the influences on urban children, the stresses on families and the American society during that time. The characters and dialogue are captivating.

In its brief first chapter, The Grapes of Wrath mentions dust more than twenty times. In this Great Depression era novel, there is no escaping the Dust Bowl, even as the reader. The power of this story lies in its simplicity: once the bank has repossessed a family's farm, they must pack up and move west or die. Steinbeck's sparse prose only adds to the impression that on this trip there is no room for luxury, only survival. Misfortune follows the Joad family from their farm on, but the novel closes with an image of hope that reads like a sigh of relief.

The Great Gatsby is short, clear, nostalgic, and wistful. You will never forget the green light out on the spit of land on Long Island. It's a story of secrets and lost loves. Oh yes, read this one. Fitzgerald is considered one of the best American writers from the Jazz Age.

The Sun Also Rises is one of my favorite books. I read it when I was a teenager and I cannot forget the characters; Jake Barnes will be in my head forever. The language is simple — perhaps overly simple — but very powerful. The characters are well drawn and the relationships are interesting. It will not take you long to read this book, but you will think about it for a long time... maybe forever.

O'Hara had a great ear for dialogue and a highly attuned perceptiveness on cultural and psychological issues like class prejudices, marital relationships, internal deception and self-aggrandizement.

All of his tremendous skills are used to wonderful effect in this Prohibition-era novel set in a prosperous coal-region Pennsylvania town.

Intellectual without being too lofty. Always interesting and quite often hilarious. This is a great novel.

There's only three things you need to know about this book: first, it's seriously hard-boiled noir. Second, the characters border on reprehensible. Finally, you won't be able to put it down.

Oh my bejeezus, Herman Melville has a great sense of humor.

I put off reading this book 'cause I thought it was slow-going; turns out, I just wasn't catching his dry, witty sense of humor, and once I did, he just kept getting better and more clever!

Ishmael is a truly funny character, in a dark way, which makes me wonder why they haven't made a movie yet (don't get any ideas! Don't ruin it! Just kidding — a little).