{"product_id":"the-dream-of-the-great-american-novel-9780674659896","title":"The Dream of the Great American Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe idea of \"the great American novel\" continues to thrive almost as vigorously as in its nineteenth-century heyday, defying 150 years of attempts to dismiss it as amateurish or obsolete. In this landmark book, the first in many years to take in the whole sweep of national fiction, Lawrence Buell reanimates this supposedly antiquated idea, demonstrating that its history is a key to the dynamics of national literature and national identity itself. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe dream of the G.A.N., as Henry James nicknamed it, crystallized soon after the Civil War. In fresh, in-depth readings of selected contenders from the 1850s onward in conversation with hundreds of other novels, Buell delineates four \"scripts\" for G.A.N. candidates. One, illustrated by \u003ci\u003eThe Scarlet Letter\u003c\/i\u003e, is the adaptation of the novel's story-line by later writers, often in ways that are contrary to the original author's own design. Other aspirants, including \u003ci\u003eThe Great Gatsby\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eInvisible Man, \u003c\/i\u003e engage the American Dream of remarkable transformation from humble origins. A third script, seen in \u003ci\u003eUncle Tom's Cabin\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e, is the family saga that grapples with racial and other social divisions. Finally, mega-novels from \u003ci\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eGravity's Rainbow\u003c\/i\u003e feature assemblages of characters who dramatize in microcosm the promise and pitfalls of democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe canvas of the great American novel is in constant motion, reflecting revolutions in fictional fashion, the changing face of authorship, and the inseparability of high culture from popular. As Buell reveals, the elusive G.A.N. showcases the myth of the United States as a nation perpetually under construction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuell, Lawrence:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Lawrence Buell is Powell M. Cabot Research Professor of American Literature at Harvard University.","brand":"Belknap Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50514297291026,"sku":"9780674659896","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_02e6feb0-6a27-4ec0-9d88-dfbbc1f62157.jpg?v=1730978457","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-dream-of-the-great-american-novel-9780674659896","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}