Great American novel recommendation

Einhard

Hey,

I'm travelling to te Western seaboard of the US next week and I'm looking for something to read on the plane which will give me a flavour of that part of the world. The thing is, I'm looking for something pretty specific. Ideally the novel would be set at the time of the great Western expansion across the continent, so we're talking about the 19th century. Better still would be a novel actually written in that period. I'm thinking of a novel or story which captures the time and place of the Western expansion in the same way as say, Washington Irvine's short stories capture an earlier time on the eastern seaboard. I know it's a big ask but it's worth the try.

Thanks in advance.

Aenaes

I can't really think of a book that describes what you're looking for. Perhaps you could start with a book about the Lewis and Clark Expedition which was the beginning of the expansion to the West?

Einhard

Thanks for the recommendation. I decided that rather than looking for the Washington Irine of the Western seaboard, I'd go with the actual Washington Irvine and bought the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories.

Ipso

What about Jack London?

Diane Selwyn

My father is a big fan of western novels and loves both Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. They would both have been writing in the twentieth century but setting their stories earlier. I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily as the earlier realist style can be a bit too focussed on description over action sometimes.

I think Mark Twain did some travel writing although it may have been mainly outside the USA. A real contender for Great American Novel that describes a journey west but a bit later on might be Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath'.

If you fancy something a bit different I recently read 'Ceremony' by Leslie Marmon Silko - a Native American writer. It's set around New Mexico after WW2 and is a very distinctive style that may not appeal to everyone but I found it very affecting. Happy trails!

Tombo2001

I would second The Grapes of Wrath. Its a brilliant book. Alternatively Huckleberry Finn.

Two absolute classics. Hucklerberry Finn a bit lighter and shorter. Both giving keen insights into how America became the country it is today.

Why be so prescriptive about what you want, when you can just read one these brilliant books instead.

CaptainAhab

Good recommendations here.. In addition to Grapes of Wrath I would add East of Eden also, set in similar times and based in California.

Also if looking for a book on the Lewis and Clark expedition I highly recommend Stephen Ambroses version, I thought it was fantastic.

Ole Rodrigo

Oil! by Upton Sinclair ? Published in the 1920s but the story straddles the the turn of the 19th and 20th century, the story is along the lines of what you're looking for.

It was adapted for film a few years ago - " There Will Be Blood ", PT Anderson & Daniel Day Lewis.

Duck's hoop

'Travels With Charley: in search of America' (Steinbeck) could be a nice companion. Though not what you've asked for.

But I have to recommend McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' if heading out that way. A western as real and anti heroic as you'll get. Not set on seaboard but borderlands. Just get it anyway.

diveout

Blood Meridian.

Ole Rodrigo

Definitely, Blood Meridian.

But written in the 1980s. Although technically its source material was written by Samuel Chamberlain in the late 19th century.

Duck's hoop

My Confession's last chapters inspired McCarthy to write BM. Hardly same thing.

exiztone

James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales series, a collection of five novels about 18th century colonial North America written in the early 19th century.

Harry Angstrom

For a more contemporary take, you should read Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections".

fisgon

Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry. It's a Western, but really it's an American epic, charting a cattle drive that lasted thousands of miles and took months. Gives a brutal, vibrant, clear picture of life in the 1870s (though it was written in the 1980s).

TwoGallants

True Grit! Great film, even better book. Its short though, you´ll have read it within 2 hours.

Frito

If you're still stuck for ideas then perhaps American Interior by Gruff Rhys.

It may not be quite what you're looking for, the author is a musician who's retracing the steps of his Welsh ancestor. It's quite humorous, with some history gleaned from diaries, maps and public record and a bit of speculation thrown in. This Welsh ancestor went off searching for a legendary lost tribe of Welsh-speaking American Indians and on the way he annexed parts of the West on behalf of the Spanish in the late 1700s, preceding the Lewis and Clarke expedition.
It's a light but enjoyable read.

Davarus Walrus

The great American novel is a trope almost as contrived as the Late Late Show host discussing the sense of 'Irishness' with the guest.

To Kill a Mocking Bird was a really visceral experience upon first reading it. Hemingway made the short story a lovely place to be. Catch-22 will always remain a fraud. I just love being able to read so many great books. Without the burden of translation.

McCarthy writes literature. King writes great horror. The world is the richer for having both of them.

HamsterFace

Would second Blood Meredian.

Would also have to recommend East of Eden. Stunning book, amazing characters, isn't 19th century but few on this thread have been,