#American Literature

East of Eden

by John Steinbeck

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

The Elementals

by Michael McDowell

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

Beloved

by Toni Morrison

Set after the American Civil War, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells the haunting story of Sethe, an escaped slave tormented by the ghost of her dead daughter. A devastating exploration of the trauma of slavery and the fierce power of a mother's love.

East of Eden

by John Steinbeck

Spanning from the Civil War to World War I, this multigenerational epic follows the intertwined fates of the Trask and Hamilton families in California's Salinas Valley. A retelling of the Cain and Abel story, it grapples with good and evil, free will, and the human capacity for redemption.

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

An unnamed Black narrator recounts his journey from the South to Harlem, grappling with racial identity and social invisibility in mid-twentieth century America. A landmark of American literature that explores the complexities of race, individuality, and what it means to be truly seen.

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The quintessential American novel. Set in the Jazz Age, it tells the story of the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his obsessive pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, exploring themes of wealth, class, idealism, and the American Dream.

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson

Four seekers arrive at Hill House to investigate its reputation as a place of supernatural activity. Among them is Eleanor Vance, fragile and searching for belonging, who finds herself increasingly drawn into the house's embrace. Widely considered the greatest haunted house novel ever written.

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about racial injustice in the Depression-era South, told through the eyes of young Scout Finch. Her father, attorney Atticus Finch, defends a Black man falsely accused of a crime in a powerful story about courage, compassion, and moral growth.

Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

Set on a small Mediterranean island during World War II, bombardier Yossarian is desperate to survive the insanity of war. The infamous Catch-22 dictates that concern for one's own safety in the face of danger is the process of a rational mind — but anyone rational would fly combat missions, making them insane.

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield, a disaffected teenager expelled from yet another prep school, wanders New York City over a few days, railing against the "phoniness" of the adult world. A defining novel of adolescent alienation that has captivated and divided readers for decades.

The Elementals

by Michael McDowell

After a funeral in rural Alabama, the eccentric Savage and McCray families retreat to their Gulf Coast beach houses, where a third house — slowly being consumed by sand — harbors something ancient and malevolent. A Southern Gothic masterpiece of creeping dread rediscovered by a new generation of horror fans.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

Janie Crawford tells her friend the story of her three marriages and her quest for love, independence, and self-discovery in early twentieth century Florida. Written in rich Southern dialect, Hurston's masterpiece is a celebration of Black womanhood and the courage to live on one's own terms.