Into the Fire

Leave it to Rebecca Luella Miller (aka Becky) to inspire another blog post. Wednesday on her blog (A Christian Worldview of Fiction) she posted some thoughts on writing the “Great American Novel”. That got these squeaky wheels of mental meanderings rolling, and off I went to Wikipedia to get a summation of this familiar yet somewhat elusive reference/term.

This is the explanation given by Wikipedia:

*The “Great American Novel” is the concept of a novel that most perfectly represents the spirit of life in the United States at the time of its publication. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen. It is often considered as the American response to the tradition of the national epic.
The phrase derives from the title of an essay by American Civil War novelist John William DeForest, published in The Nation on January 9, 1868. More broadly, however, it has its origins in American nationalism and the call for American counterparts to the “Great English Writers.” It is an ideological call for American cultural distinctness, and identity.
In modern usage, the term is often figurative and represents a Holy Grail of writing, an ideal to strive towards, and is a source of inspiration. It is, presumably, the greatest American book ever written, or which could ever be written. Thus, “Great American Novel” is a metaphor for identity, a Platonic ideal that is not achieved in any specific texts, but whose aim writers strive to mirror in their work.
An alternate usage is in reference to actual novels. Although the title is not a formal award, it is considered to be a prestigious title for a novel, and is thus seen as a worthwhile goal for writers to attempt to achieve.
Though the term is singular, many novels have been given this title over time. In fact, few will claim there is one single Great American Novel. Two of the earliest contenders for this title are Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Other important and often cited novels include F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy[1], Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.*

Whether or not you agree with the suggested novels listed under the singular title, no doubt you’ve either heard of or read most of them. Even having heard of them says something about their lasting power because none of them are contemporaries of our current time. And that says volumes—forgive the pun.

Since I cover Christian novels on this blog, these are my few suggestions for the Great American Novel(s) of our times:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, and The Oath by Frank Peretti

Now I’ve read some excellent novels in recent times, and it would be easy to divide them by genres to identify some truly great writers, but I’m not sure I can say they would fall into the category of the Great American Novel like I feel these most profound of books do. But then again, to each his own.

I truly loved F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing when I was young. Could not tolerate The Grapes of Wrath. Never have read To Kill A Mockingbird (I heard the collective gasp) or Gone With the Wind (settle down, people) or any of Mark Twain’s work—okay, off the floor you guys. Didn’t read Moby Dick or Slaughterhouse-Five and I remember liking The Catcher in the Rye, although it wasn’t my favorite. (I’ve noticed the young 30-something literary buffs love it.)

So . . . is writing the Great American Novel within your sights? Is it a goal? While all of us would be desirable of having that tag placed on our individual novels, are you writing with that in the back of your mind . . . or the forefront?

Over on Becky’s blog, I commented that I wanted to write novels that would touch readers so deeply in order to inspire them into a closer relationship with the Lord. How ‘bout you? Do you have a specific objective or purpose for your writing?

Father, may my writing please you before and above all others, in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*Please continue to pray for Kristy Dykes.*