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Late Twentieth Century



What was the best novel, written by a US based author in English in the years 1980 to 2000, the final fifth of the 20th century? 

 Someone asked me that question recently on an online forum and I came up with three quite offhand, but I'm open to suggestions:

 My off-the-cuff three: Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire (1981). Updike, Memories of the Ford Administration (1992). Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full (1998). 
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  1. Simran ShahSeptember 28, 2018 at 5:59 AM

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  2. HenrySeptember 29, 2018 at 8:10 AM

    Updike is the only one of the three who, along with Philip Roth, was considered Nobel Prize material and whose novels are likely to enter the canon. I’ve read none of the three you name, but I’ve read most of Roth’s and suspect that several are better than the three you name.

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    1. HenrySeptember 29, 2018 at 8:40 AM

      I was considering only novels. Perhaps some of Wolfe’s non-fiction, especially The Right Stuff (which I haven’t read) will enter the canon.

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    2. ChristopherOctober 1, 2018 at 4:24 PM

      I was a little surprised at myself, for thinking of Updike's MEMORIES before ROGER'S VERSION (1986), which would also have fit into the period I was asked about. On reflection, I think ROGER's VERSION is more appropriate for those of us who are willing to have ideas debated within a novel, but recognizable characters rather than allegorical cut-outs. Many readers get impatient with that sort of thing quickly (some even skip past the Ivan-versus Alyosha debate in KARAMAZOV). And I must have been thinking of them when I reacted as I did, with MEMORIES, which requires much less by way of readerly patience.

      As for Roth, I've read three of his novels. One of them, PORTNOY, comes (no pun intended, though given the gist of the book it could have been ) too early for the period under discussion. The other two, AMERICAN PASTORAL and THE HUMAN STAIN are very fine. But I do get the sense from Roth's admirers that I must yet be missing out on his best.

      Delete
  3. ChristopherOctober 1, 2018 at 4:26 PM

    "although by recognizable characters..." etc. is what I meant.

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