The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com, 100 Books

The 100 greatest american novels picked by Jeff O’Neal, Editor-in-Chief & Co-founder of Bookriot.com

This list was originally published in 2013 and was added to this site almost 12 years ago.

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Cover of 'Maggie' by Stephen Crane

Maggie

Cover of 'The Country of the Pointed Firs' by Sarah Orne Jewett

The Country of the Pointed Firs

Sarah Orne Jewett

Cover of 'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin

The Awakening

Cover of 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London

The Call of the Wild

Cover of 'The Golden Bowl' by Henry James

The Golden Bowl

Cover of 'The House of Mirth' by Edith Wharton

The House of Mirth

Cover of 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair

The Jungle

Cover of 'Three Lives' by Gertrude Stein

Three Lives

Cover of 'My Antonia' by Willa Cather

My Antonia

Cover of 'The Magnificent Ambersons' by Booth Tarkington

The Magnificent Ambersons

Booth Tarkington

Cover of 'Winesburg, Ohio' by Sherwood Anderson

Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson

Cover of 'Main Street' by Sinclair Lewis

Main Street

Cover of 'Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man' by James Weldon Johnson

Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

James Weldon Johnson

Cover of 'Cane' by Jean Toomer

Cane

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'An American Tragedy' by Theodore Dreiser

An American Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser

Cover of 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' by Thornton Wilder

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Thornton Wilder

Cover of 'Home to Harlem' by Claude McKay

Home to Harlem

Cover of 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

Cover of 'Look Homeward, Angel' by Thomas Wolfe

Look Homeward, Angel

Cover of 'The Maltese Falcon' by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon

Dashiell Hammett

Cover of 'Flowering Judas and Other Stories' by Katherine Anne Porter

Flowering Judas and Other Stories

Katherine Anne Porter

Cover of 'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck

The Good Earth

Cover of 'Call It Sleep' by Henry Roth

Call It Sleep

Cover of 'Tropic of Cancer' by Henry Miller

Tropic of Cancer

Cover of 'Appointment in Samarra' by John O'Hara

Appointment in Samarra

Cover of 'Gone With the Wind' by Margaret Mitchell

Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

Cover of 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

Cover of 'The Day of the Locust' by Nathanael West

The Day of the Locust

Cover of 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler

The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

Cover of 'Native Son' by Richard Wright

Native Son

Cover of 'The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter' by Carson McCullers

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Carson McCullers

Cover of 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead

Cover of 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Cover of 'All the King's Men' by Robert Penn Warren

All the King's Men

Robert Penn Warren

Cover of 'Tales of the South Pacific' by James A. Michener

Tales of the South Pacific

James A. Michener

Cover of 'The Naked and the Dead' by Norman Mailer

The Naked and the Dead

Cover of 'The Sheltering Sky' by Paul Bowles

The Sheltering Sky

Cover of 'The Lottery and Other Stories' by Shirley Jackson

The Lottery and Other Stories

Shirley Jackson

Cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye

Cover of 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

Cover of 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' by James Baldwin

Go Tell it on the Mountain

Cover of 'The Adventures of Augie March' by Saul Bellow

The Adventures of Augie March

Cover of 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

Cover of 'Andersonville' by MacKinlay Kantor

Andersonville

MacKinlay Kantor

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac

On the Road

Cover of 'Gimpel the Fool' by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Gimpel the Fool

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Cover of 'The Wapshot Chronicle' by John Cheever

The Wapshot Chronicle

Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'The Magic Barrel' by Bernard Malamud

The Magic Barrel

Bernard Malamud

Cover of 'Goodbye, Columbus' by Philip Roth

Goodbye, Columbus

Cover of 'Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs

Naked Lunch

William S. Burroughs

Cover of 'Little Disturbances' by Grace Paley

Little Disturbances

Cover of 'Brown Girl, Brownstones' by Paule Marshall

Brown Girl, Brownstones

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Cover of 'Rabbit, Run' by John Updike

Rabbit, Run

Cover of 'The Sot-Weed Factor' by John Barth

The Sot-Weed Factor

Cover of 'The Moviegoer' by Walker Percy

The Moviegoer

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller

Catch-22

Cover of 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates

Revolutionary Road

Cover of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Cover of 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar

Cover of 'A Sport and a Pastime' by James Salter

A Sport and a Pastime

Cover of 'The Confessions of Nat Turner' by William Styron

The Confessions of Nat Turner

Cover of 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' by Philip K. Dick

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Cover of 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five

Cover of 'House Made of Dawn' by N. Scott Momaday

House Made of Dawn

N. Scott Momaday

Cover of 'Them' by Joyce Carol Oates

Them

Joyce Carol Oates

Cover of 'The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford' by Jean Stafford

The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford

Cover of 'Play It As It Lays' by Joan Didion

Play It As It Lays

Cover of 'The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor' by Flannery O'Connor

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'Mumbo Jumbo' by Ishmael Reed

Mumbo Jumbo

Cover of 'Angle of Repose' by Wallace Stegner

Angle of Repose

Wallace Stegner

Cover of 'Gravity's Rainbow' by Thomas Pynchon

Gravity's Rainbow

Cover of 'Ragtime' by E. L. Doctorow

Ragtime

Cover of 'JR' by William Gaddis

JR

Cover of 'Roots' by Alex Haley

Roots

Cover of 'Ceremony' by Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony

Leslie Marmon Silko

Cover of 'The World According to Garp' by John Irving

The World According to Garp

Cover of 'Airships' by Barry Hannah

Airships

Cover of 'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson

Housekeeping

Marilynne Robinson

Cover of 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole

A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole

Cover of 'The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty' by Eudora Welty

The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

Cover of 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker

The Color Purple

Cover of 'Cathedral' by Raymond Carver

Cathedral

Cover of 'Love Medicine' by Louise Erdrich

Love Medicine

Cover of 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson

Neuromancer

Cover of 'White Noise' by Don DeLillo

White Noise

Cover of 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy

Cover of 'Lonesome Dove' by Larry McMurtry

Lonesome Dove

Cover of 'City of Glass' by Paul Auster

City of Glass

Cover of 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

Beloved

Cover of 'The Joy Luck Club' by Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club

Cover of 'The Shawl' by Cynthia Ozick

The Shawl

Cover of 'The Things They Carried' by Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried

Cover of 'How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents' by Julia Alvarez

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Cover of 'Bastard Out of Carolina' by Dorothy Allison

Bastard Out of Carolina

Dorothy Allison

Cover of 'U.S.A. Trilogy' by John Dos Passos

U.S.A. Trilogy

John Dos Passos