What novels should I read to learn about contemporary American society?

[Sandra Davies]

Not watching television or films I obtain most of my social cultural information from novels.  Since joining 6S I have an urge to get a better understanding of the cultural
background of my friends in the US (about which I know little) and would very
much welcome suggestions of individual novels which ought to be included in a
reading list of about a dozen.

[Robert Crisman]

Sandra,
I can recommend some novels from the crime side of the ledger because that's pretty much what I read, I suppose because we're a criminal society so, why not? My few tussles with what's loosely termed "literature" in this country led me to the conclusion that the good grey geese who claim authorship, especially in academe, know less than nothing about anything of importance and are perfectly willing to put you to sleep with it forever.
My recommendations are: Any of James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet novels, or his three latest beginning with American Tabloid, which deal with America's "underground history" in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Ellroy's not a realist so much--though many of his characterizations and depictions of situations are hyper-realistic--but rather almost a comic-book artist, especially in his out-size renderings of violence. But just because of that his work strikes at the heart of what has become a nightmare cartoon society.
John Westermann: He write cop novels--he's much better than Wambaugh--about cops who are people in hinky situations that also shine a light on who and what we've become.
Hammet's stuff, especially Red Harvest, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man. They were set in the 20s and 30s but those decades sure helped make us what we are today. Hammet was superb as a chronicler of power relationships and manners. Also, his character Dinah Brand in Red Harvest is as humanly realized a female character as ever I've seen written by a man.
One last note about Hammett: he was always being compared to Hemingway back then, though as a genre writer he was always placed lower on the ladder than the renowned Man of Letters--except in France, where they're a little more sophisticated about these things than are the yokels we hire to guard culture in this country. Today Hemingway reads like a parody of himself. The best of Hammett reads as if it was written last week.
Walter Moseley's a great one to read for a look at racial dynamics.
It's true that if we don't know where we've been, we can't know where we are. Therefore, I recommend an historical novel, Burr by Gore Vidal, which takes a look at the figures and issues surrounding the American Revolution. Burr bathes the founding fathers--perhaps our country's first gang-bangers--in acid. A look through the prism of the past can sometimes bring you right up to date.

[Sandra Davies]

Rob this is tremendous and I am deeply grateful for the depth and breadth of your recommendations - Amazon is going to be taking a big hit in the very near future, because I have read none of these, but do now have a good idea of where to start. Thank you.

[shauna mcclure]

Sandra, this is a more difficult task than you might imagine. What aspects of American culture/society are of interest to you...and are you only interested in novels? This is a great question and I am flummoxed by good answers for now...

[Sandra Davies]

Shauna, I do understand the potential difficulty (imagined myself being asked the same question re the UK) so I wasn't necessarily wanting people to do more than suggest a one or two good, recently read, novels. I have, for example, a few Anita Shreve novels which seem to evoke one particular part of the US but don't have a clue how good/representative they are. I DO prefer novels as an easy way in.
I'd perhaps thought that if six people plumped for the same novel then it would definitely be a good one rather than everyone contributing a long list.
Rob, I am not surprised to see, has been his usual comprehensively helpful self and I'll reply to him when I am more sober ...

[Sandra Davies]

DD my dear man it's precisely because I am learning - via your Kentucky remarks for example - that there is no comparison between Arizona and Georgia that I want to know more, and because I don't have time or money or (being more of a home bird) inclination to see everything I thought novels would give me enough clues to draw up a shortlist of destinations.

[KAWFEEEE!]

The Twain Shall Meet by: j guevara

www.jguevaranovels.com follow the links there to amazon. it's also on amazon UK.

You don't get more American than Mark ?Twain. this novel puts him in contemporary 1986. His commentary is as applicable today as it was 100 yrs ago. Subscribe to my site and you get a free eBook copy.

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQWSh552ILA

pot's on.... KAWFEEE

[Sandra Davies]

Thanks KAWFEE - I checked that out earlier & thoroughly enjoyed the video - I'll add it to my Amazon wishlist

[Robert McEvily]

Hi Sandra - I'll get back to you on this - great question...

[Robert Crisman]

Hey, I just thought of some non-crime authors besides Vidal: Toni Morrison, a master of language like no other (her early stuff's best I think); James Baldwin, essays and novels; David Freeman, who wrote A Hollywood Education. There must be ten million more, but I forgot, at least for now.
Oh yeah, one other crime guy I forgot last time (which blows me away): George V. Higgins, "the Balzac of the Boston underworld," and the dialogue master of all fucking time.

[Toby Tucker Hecht]

Oh Sandra...what a difficult question!!! American society is not homogeneous at all. You are just going to have to read widely to cover a range of societies and even then you will be getting a bias unless you read even more. Please come visit and see for yourself and make up your own mind about life here.

[Sandra Davies]

Toby, this question began with the idea that I might come to visit but before deciding where I know I'd need a better idea of what different parts have to offer - I know full well I haven't the time or the money tosee it all) so novel-reading was to some extent research, since I find guide books a bit of a turn-off.
If you asked me about the UK I'd be struggling a bit, although there are a couple of very graphic novels describing my nearest town ... not at all encouraging.

[Robert Crisman]

Here I am again! Just thought of a couple of non-fiction books which, though about U.S. intelligence malfeasence since WWII and not at all about the society as such, give you a good insight as to what America actually has become, at least insofar as it impacts all other nations in the world:
The Politics of Heroin by University of Wisconsin professor Alfred W. McCoy, which looks in-depth at the various empire-building proxy wars U.S. intelligence agencies have organized and bankrolled from post-war France to Vietnam to Afghanistan, all of which have depended on the international heroin trade for funding.
The Road To 9-11, by Peter Dale Scott, which shows among a myriad other things how Osama bin Laden was in effect the CIA's bouncing baby boy in the Afghan war against the Soviet Union and subsequently in the western attempt to wrest control of Caspian Basin oil and natural gas from Russia's control. It also shows how 9-11 and the current "war on terror" are the logical and inevitable consequences of that original relationship.
Both of these books are documented and footnoted up the ying yang and utilize a vast number of government and investigative sources and well as the logical inferences deriving therefrom. They both paint devastating pictures of U.S. imperial foreign policy, which has to a very great degree shaped us politically, socially, and psychologically inside the U.S.
Lastly, I have to disagree with Toby: while we are a vast and diverse society, it's not true that we are not homogenous at all. There are a great many aspects of American culture that are shared commonly, irrespective of region, ethnicity, class, etc., to the degree that our homogenieity is as basic to us as our diversity. Music comes immediately to mind. Sports. Television. Religion, language, even with all the recent immigration... We have a lot of different religions but just about all of them are found everywhere. We are also being increasingly homogenized by the internet and every other manner of electronic communications known to man. And believe me, in my travels I've seen quite a commonality of attitudes, prejudices, delusions, and wisdom, especially among American men, probably because we're louder. So, yeah, we're diverse, but it's our homogeneity that makes us a nation, as is the case with all nations.