

Great American Novel
Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt
Few literary terms are more hotly debated, discounted, or derided than the "Great American Novel." But while critics routinely dismiss the phrase as at best hype and as at worst exclusionary, the belief that a national literature commensurate with both the scope and the contradictions of being American persists. In this podcast Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt examine totemic works such as Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Toni Morrison's Beloved that have been labeled GANs, exploring their themes, forms, and reception histories, asking why, when, and how they entered the literary canon. Readers beware: there be spoilers here, and other hijinks ensue...
Top mentioned books
Here are the most frequently recommended books on the Great American Novel podcast:

#1 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Moby Dick

#2 Mentioned in 1 episodes
The scarlet letter
#3 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Mother Country, Britain, the Welfare State and Nuclear Pollution
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#4 Mentioned in 1 episodes
The Handmaid's Tale

#5 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Lying awake

#6 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Invisible Man

#7 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Agatha of Little Neon

#8 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Housekeeping

#9 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Gilead

#10 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Purpose Driven Life
#11 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Killing Mockingbird
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#12 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Lolita
#13 Mentioned in 1 episodes
Mariette in Ecstasy
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