The literary output of the United States of America started growing in terms of international importance and artistic independence around the mid-19th century, and since then, it has become one of the most groundbreaking national literatures on the planet. The debate on what The Great American Novel could possibly be has been around since 1868, bringing up titles of the caliber of Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby. Some of the most prominent candidates for the title, however, actually come from the past 100 years.
From 1926 until the present, several of the greatest English-language books ever written have been published in the United States, further enshrining American literature as one of the most internationally relevant and influential of modern times. From modern speculative fiction epics like Words of Radiance to foundational 20th-century classics like The Catcher in the Rye, the best American books of the last century should all be considered essential for anyone with the ability to read.
10 'Words of Radiance' (2014)
In an age when many fantasy authors have fallen into the bad habit of keeping fans waiting over a decade for the next chapter in a series, Brandon Sanderson is a breath of fresh air, a speculative fiction master that's among the most prolific in the highest tier of 21st-century fantasy and sci-fi. He has penned several fantasy books better than most movies being made today, but there's one in particular that tends to be considered his magnum opus: Words of Radiance, the second installment in the iconic Stormlight Archive series.
It's perhaps the greatest fantasy masterpiece from a century that has thus far delivered fantasy banger after fantasy banger.
Deciding what the best American book of the 21st century thus far could be is a daunting task that could never possibly elicit an answer guaranteed to satisfy everyone, but there's a strong argument to be made in Words of Radiance's favor. Grand and epic in scale yet wonderfully intimate and character-driven in terms of narrative and thematic scope, it's perhaps the greatest fantasy masterpiece from a century that has thus far delivered fantasy banger after fantasy banger.
9 'The Old Man and the Sea' (1952)
There can be no conversation on the importance and tremendous quality of American literature without talking about Ernest Hemingway, a famed modernist so fascinating that he himself has been mythologized almost as much as his exceptional bibliography. People looking for a good gateway to get into Hemingway might as well start with his best book: The Old Man and the Sea, one of the best novellas of all time. It earned Hemingway the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was the only book explicitly mentioned when the author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
Much like the rest of its writer's work, it's definitely not a book for everyone, since its sparse prose and slow-burning style may underwhelm readers looking for something bigger. However, those open to its deep thematic explorations of human resilience, its carefully-constructed yet powerfully dark tone, and the unique cleanliness of Hemingway's prose are bound to have an unforgettable time experiencing The Old Man and the Sea. It's only around 140 pages long, but several of the best American books of the last century are short.
8 'Gravity's Rainbow' (1973)
Thomas Pynchon is another author whose work has to be discussed when talking about the greatest American novels of all time, and Gravity's Rainbow is almost universally regarded as his masterpiece. A strong contender for the title of The Great American Novel, this sci-fi satire was notably controversial upon release (being rejected by the Pulitzer Prize jury for being "turgid" and "obscene), but haven't most books worth reading historically been the subject of controversy? Pynchon is one of the most important literary artists in the history of postmodernism, and Gravity's Rainbow is a must-read for those interested in the movement.
Some may find the book more than a little bit overwritten and disorienting, but that density is essential to the novel's commentary on paranoia, technology, and the dehumanizing effects of modern imperialism. But aside from its thematic work having aged like fine wine, Gravity's Rainbow is a masterpiece for a wide variety of other reasons. Philosophically complex, emotionally layered, and at times intentionally grotesque, it's a boundary-pushing work of genius whose experimental style and delightful satire have all made it absolutely timeless.
7 'Dune' (1965)
Frank Herbert's Dune is one of those sci-fi book masterpieces that became the blueprint for the genre going forward, a masterpiece so immensely impactful and influential that many would still consider it the greatest sci-fi novel ever written. Yet another book that proves why no one does speculative fiction quite like American writers, this space opera won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. As the years have passed, Dune's comments on things like ecology, the intersection of religion and politics, and the dangers of messianic leaders have all remained awfully timely.
It's also a quintessentially American sci-fi masterpiece, deeply rooted in the political and cultural anxieties of the mid-20th-century United States. Few times in history has literature seen world-building this complex and enrapturing, character development this emotionally compelling, or a plot this absorbing and well-paced. Far more than just the greatest American science fiction book ever written, Dune is a subversion of the Hero's Journey archetype that somehow still reads as a uniquely fresh and creative story all these years later.
6 'Stoner' (1965)
During his life, John Williams was a relatively quiet figure in American literature; but today, he's seen as one of the nation's literary giants from his time. Stoner in particular is not only one of the best books of the 1960s, but generally regarded as one of the best American novels of all time. It was after its re-publication in the 2000s that this classic began to garner the praise that it always deserved, and today, many regard it as one of the most important exponents of the campus novel genre.
Both in terms of narrative and style, Stoner is a masterpiece. Regarding the former, the way Williams takes a slice-of-life story about an ordinary university professor and turns it into a universally moving and profound exploration of the human condition is nothing if not admirable. And regarding the latter, the radically restrained and tightly-controlled nature of Williams' prose makes Stoner read as an entirely unique kind of literary experience even after all these decades.
5 'Blood Meridian' (1985)
Cormac McCarthy was another one of the most important and influential American authors in the history of literature, the mind behind masterpieces of the caliber of Blood Meridian. This epic historical novel is regarded by many as the quintessential anti-Western book, a deconstruction of the myths of the American frontier that's as subversive and chaotically nihilistic as it is intelligent. The novel's reception upon release was lukewarm at best, but as the years have passed and analysis of McCarthy and his work has greatly expanded, it has come to be labeled as The Great American Novel by many bookworms and critics.
That challenging nature is not only fully intentional, but also essential to the narrative.
Blood Meridian is, at the very least, one of the most intense books of all time. Formally, McCarthy makes sure that it's a daunting read, using no quotation marks for speech and including things like untranslated Spanish and archaic vocabulary. That challenging nature is not only fully intentional, but also essential to the narrative. By stripping away these stylistic comforts, McCarthy crafted a novel whose study of the myths of the Wild West feels all the more oppressive and relentlessly brutal than it otherwise ever would have.
4 'To Kill a Mockingb