Through five Pulitzer winning novels, this series looks at how authors have depicted the striving to better oneself and achieve the American dream – and how, despite our efforts, we often end of up unfulfilled or clashing with other elements of society. A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan Egan’s series of linked short stories — featuring overlapping characters and events — follow a group of musicians and music executives as life sends them in directions none could have anticipated. Humboldt’s Gift Saul Bellow Two writers and friends experience different very different pathways through life in the 20th century, […]
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Egan’s series of linked short stories — featuring overlapping characters and events — follow a group of musicians and music executives as life sends them in directions none could have anticipated.
Humboldt’s Gift
Two writers and friends experience different very different pathways through life in the 20th century, reflecting America’s changing relationship to art, commerce, and life.
American Pastoral
Roth’s protagonist Swede Levov lives a blessed existence in postwar New Jersey, reflecting all the prosperity of the period. Until, that is, his family has to contend with the changing social and political landscape of the 1960s.
Interpreter of Maladies
These short stories look at the challenges of Indian-Americans in adapting to life in America while staying true to the culture and traditions of previous generations.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Dominican-American Oscar Wao’s nerdy fantasies provide a springboard for Diaz to interrogate the multi-generational experiences of one immigrant family.
