The Dream of the Great American Novel Author: Lawrence Buell | Language: English | ISBN:
B00I2WO0ZY | Format: EPUB
The Dream of the Great American Novel Description
The first book in many years to take in the full sweep of national fiction, The Dream of the Great American Novel explains why this supposedly antiquated idea continues to thrive. It shows that four G.A.N. "scripts" are keys to the dynamics of American literature and identity--and to the myth of a nation perpetually under construction.
- File Size: 1199 KB
- Print Length: 582 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0674051157
- Publisher: Harvard University Press (February 25, 2014)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00I2WO0ZY
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,216 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Figuratively speaking, Lawrence Buell is juggling a lot of balls in the air in his fine book The Dream of the Great American Novel. He is a skilled juggler. He doesn’t drop any of the many balls he is juggling. In addition, he sings and dances along as he juggles his many balls. He’s a one-man show – a delightful showman.
I have not read all of the American novels or all of the literary criticism that he has. But he explains himself with admirable lucidity about each novel – and about everything else he discusses.
Had he been performing his juggling act in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he would have won the gold medal because of his style and artistry and because of his technical execution in his muscular intellectual athleticism.
Buell candidly says that “the GAN idea itself is and has always been more a demotic than an academic enthusiasm” (page 387). But he is obviously an academic, and he conspicuously draws on the thought of other academics about the various American novels that he discusses. He is enthusiastic in his own scholarly way about certain American novels, and at times, he even seems mildly enthusiastic about the idea of certain American novels being worthy candidates for the Great American Novel.
To establish a sense of order for his undertaking, he works with four scripts, as he styles them, for how certain novels might become candidates for being considered the Great American Novel. However, the American novels that he singles out for extended discussion in connection with one of the four scripts are usually referred to in numerous other places throughout the book.
If you are interested in American novels, you will almost certainly find his book rewarding to read. Buell discusses a wealth of topics regarding American culture.
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