Literary Hub » “the Great American Novel”

American Literature’s White Whale: Why the “Great American Novel” is Still Worth Pursuing

American Literature’s White Whale: Why the “Great American Novel” is Still Worth Pursuing

Ed Simon on the Importance of Chasing an Elusive Literary Ideal in an Era of National Decline

By Ed Simon | April 2, 2025

Why Do We Have to Feel Good? On Michael Schur’s Cloying Moral Universe

Why Do We Have to Feel Good? On Michael Schur’s Cloying Moral Universe

Ariella Garmaise Considers the Instagram Infographic Approach to Ethics

By Ariella Garmaise | April 1, 2022

Vision Quest: On Trying to Define the Great American Novel

Vision Quest: On Trying to Define the Great American Novel

Jonathan Evison Considers the Literary Canon and His Latest Work of Historical Fiction

By Jonathan Evison | January 10, 2022

Global Stories That Have Expanded the “Great American” Literary Canon

Global Stories That Have Expanded the “Great American” Literary Canon

A Short Survey of the Last 90 Years

By Sara Nović and Alison Kolesar | October 18, 2019

Ursula K. Le Guin's Best Life Advice

Ursula K. Le Guin's Best Life Advice

America's Greatest Writer Has Died

By Emily Temple | January 24, 2018

Ursula K. Le Guin: Who Cares About the Great American Novel?

Ursula K. Le Guin: Who Cares About the Great American Novel?

Against a Uselessly Competitive, Hopelessly Gendered Concept

By Ursula K. Le Guin | December 6, 2017

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Books of the Week

5 Questions for Granta's Best Young American Novelists

By Literary Hub | April 26, 2017

A Brief Survey of the Great American Novel(s)

By Emily Temple | January 9, 2017

Has Imbolo Mbue Written the Great American Novel?

By Aaron Bady | October 26, 2016

We Were Wrong About Gravity... What Do We Have Wrong Today?

We Were Wrong About Gravity... What Do We Have Wrong Today?

"It’s impossible to understand the world of today until today has become tomorrow."

By Chuck Klosterman | June 7, 2016