The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of fate, tragedy, and the meaning of the human condition. More
The Corrections
Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
The Monkey Wrench Gang
Classic, irreverent novel that helped spark the modern movement of environmental activism. More
Our Town
Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” More
V.
Winner of the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best debut novel in 1963. More
The Crying of Lot 49
This highly original satire is a classic of postmodern literature. More
The Sheltering Sky
Bowles’s landmark literary novel, a classic work of psychological terror. More
American Gods
An instant classic and winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. More
Nostromo
A sweeping masterpiece considered by many to be Conrad’s greatest novel. More
The 42nd Parallel
The first volume of the “brilliantly original” (Alfred Kazan) U.S.A. trilogy, a landmark of modernism. More
The White Tiger
Winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
Under the Volcano
A landmark of modernism, hailed as “one of the towering novels of this century” (New York Times). More
Michael Chabon
The first writer that I really fell in love with was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in particular his Sherlock Holmes stories, and the first story that I ever wrote was a Sherlock Holmes story. More
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Thompson’s highly subjective blend of fact and fiction that popularized what has become known as gonzo journalism. More
Lionel Shriver
Why I write: To find out what I think. More
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving’s beloved coming-of-age tale that ranks among the most cherished of American classics. More