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luluem's "A-Level English Literature Reading List"

This list was given to me at school and consequently the inclusion of them in this list is subjective, and does not necessarily reflect my opinion. This is supposed to be a background reading list for those studying American literature at a Sixth Form level. The following categories were given to attempt to gain a broad understanding of America, and recommended books as an exploration of each. Obviously, there may be some overlap, but the main concept was to read at least one book from each section to gain a full picture of America.

20th Century American Prose: 1-4
War: 5-11
Civil Rights: 12-19
Setting the Western Frontier: 20-24
Feminism: 25-30
Cities: 31-37
The World/Historical Perspectives: 38-44
1. A Farewell To Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
  
2. The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
  
3. Go Down Moses (Modern Library)
by William Faulkner
  
4. Ragtime: A Novel
by E.L. Doctorow
  
5. Chickenhawk
by Robert Mason
  
6. A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library)
by John Irving
  
7. Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
  
8. For Whom the Bell Tolls (War Promo)
by Ernest Hemingway
  
9. Cold Mountain
by Charles Frazier
  
10. Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
  
11.
?
 A Treasury of Damon Runyon
by Damon Runyon
  
12. I know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Blooms Guides) (Bloom's Guides)  
13. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Mildred D. Taylor
  
14. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Complete Text With Introduction, Historical Contexts, Critical Essays (New Riverside Editions)
by Mark Twain
  
15. Beloved
by Toni Morrison
  
16. Another Country (Penguin Modern Classics)
by James Baldwin
  
17.
?
 Roots. The Saga Of An American Family
by Alex Haley
  
18. The Bonfire of the Vanities
by Tom Wolfe
  
19. The Complete Stories
by Zora Neale Hurston
  
20. Hannah's Gift
by Maria Housden
  
21. St.Agnes' Stand
by Thomas Eidson
  
22.
?
 All-true Travels and Adventures of Lydie Newton - Jane Smiley  
23. Shane
by Jack Schaefer
  
24. My Antonia
by Willa Cather
  
25. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Writings
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  
26. Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose (Norton Critical Editions)
by Adrienne Rich
  
27. Bell Jar (P.S.)
by Sylvia Plath
  
28. Blonde
by Joyce Carol Oates
  
29.
?
 We were the Mulvaneys
by Joyce Carol Oates
  
30. Black Water (Contemporary Fiction, Plume)
by Joyce Carol Oates
  
31. Less Than Zero (Picador Books)
by Bret Easton Ellis
  
32. Brighton Beach
by Mark D. Girshin
  
33. Tales of the City: A Novel (P.S.)
by Armistead Maupin
  
34. Slaves of New York
by Tama Janowitz
  
35. Bright lights, big city
by Jay McInerney
  
36. New York Trilogy (Green Integer)
by Paul Auster
  
37. The Thin Man
by Dashiell Hammett
  
38. American Pastoral
by Philip Roth
  
39. The Crucible (Penguin Classics)
by Arthur Miller
  
40.
?
 A View from the Bridge
by Arthur Miller
  
41. The Jungle (Enriched Classics)
by Upton Sinclair
  
42. The Dark Side of Camelot
by Seymour M. Hersh
  
43. Daisy Miller
by Henry James
  
44. The Age of Innocence (Barnes & Noble Classics)
by Edith Wharton
  
This is luluem's list. Only luluem can edit it. You can make your own version of this list.
Created by luluem on Aug 20, 2007.