The NY Times did a survey of prominent American writers and asked them to identify the best American fiction written in the last 25 years. That's a good question, eh? This discussion about the "contest" brings up all kinds of issues we'd bring up in the Barrs Room lectures: What exactly is "American"? How do you define "best"? What do you mean by "fiction"?
Toni Morrison's Beloved won the contest by a large margin. Morrison is one of only two women who even made the list.
I haven't read any of the other books that made the top ten list, which suggests that I have a lot of reading to do. I've read short stories by a lot of these writers, but not their novels. I think this is partly due to the challenge of assigning full length novels in undergrad lit classes.
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I've read so few of these, it's embarrassing. And I'm a little surprised Jonathan Franzen didn't make the list. Maybe he's not American?
As for that Tim O'Brien book on the list — The Things They Carried — amazing.
I never thought I'd like a book "about" Vietnam. But I related to each story in a way that defies literal war zones. It's beautifully written. Beats "Beloved" hands down, on my list.
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