# The Great American Novel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-american-novel/410683 "2007-07-06T02:31:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-american-novel/410683/1 "2007-07-06T02:31:56Z")
A two part survey: 1. What are the criteria for “The Great American Novel” 2. What are some contenders for the title? (I don’t believe there is a single Great American Novel myself). (part 3 optional, what books published in the last 20 years might be contenders). ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-american-novel/410683/2 "2007-07-06T03:05:30Z")
Would this be different from [The Greatest American Novel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=426651&highlight=great+american) (the recent thread)? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-american-novel/410683/3 "2007-07-06T03:09:10Z")
Didn’t we just do this? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-american-novel/410683/4 "2007-07-06T03:42:19Z")
Sorry, didn’t see it last time.