Melanie Jones of The Columbia Spectator is writing a weekly review on Thursdays called the 50 States of Literature. She is giving “a list of 50 books that we think capture the essence of each state, all while telling a great story along the way.” So far she’s written about books for twelve states (click on the title for her review):
- Alabama – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Alaska – The Man Who Swam With Beavers by Nancy Lord
- Arizona – The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
- Colorado – Plainsong by Kent Haruf
- Georgia – Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
- Hawaii – Heads by Harry by Lois-ann Yamanaka
- Louisiana – Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
- Maryland – A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
- Michigan - The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
- North Dakota – Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
- Vermont – The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- West Virginia Strange as This Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake
What do you think of her choices so far? Of those listed, I think To Kill a Mockingbird and Peace Like a River are perfect. I didn’t care at all for Plainsong, but I could have been biased because the setting of the book is in northeastern Colorado where I grew up. I liked a few aspects of the book, but overall was underwhelmed.
Is there a particular book you think embodies the essence of your state?
For more ideas for each state, another good resource is Bonnie’s Book around the States.
Great list! I haven’t read any of those but I did want to get to The Virgin Suicides someday.
I’m glad you found Jones’ series, too! I’ve been following it and then suggesting my own selection for each of the states. I think she may be done for a while since the school year is over, so I’ve continued what she started on my own blog — I would love to hear other ideas, too!
Here is the link to my 50 states, 50 books series: http://bookclubclassics.com/Blog/category/50-states-50-books/
I loved Peace Like A River. It was a very interesting read for me. I haven’t read a lot of the other books that were listed.
I totally disagree with the LA pick, but that’s just me. I also know she can spend a lifetime trying to choose a Mississippi book. Faulkner, Welty, and Wright are just a few…
I’m doing the first of 5 contests for the autographed Mudbound books. Go here if you would like to play.
Not being American I couldn’t say anything about the appropriacy of her choices, but what a wonderful idea and especially for an outside like myself to get an idea of the idiosyncrasies of your country (albeit, they are just one person’s view). is there anyway I can link to her column and pick up the rest of the recommendations as they come in?
I’m with Maggie; I think The Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a terrible choice for Louisiana. But, I also think it would be awfully difficult to choose just one piece of literature that defines a state. If I had to choose a book for Hawaii, it would be A Hawaiian Reader, edited by Day and Stroven — not one author, but a set of authors wrote the entries in two separate volumes. I’ve only read one of the two volumes, but the writings give an excellent sense of Hawaii past and present.
This is such an interesting idea . . . I wish I knew which state I’d pick as “mine.” I haven’t read Patchwork Planet for Maryland where I live now, but I would be curious to see what comes up for Virginia or North Carolina, my other homes. . . something by Jefferson for VA, maybe? And I have no idea for NC. Great idea though. . .
What a great post.
Of those I’ve read, I agree with To Kill a Mockingbird and Plainsong. I, too, disagree with the Ya-Yas choice. Not a Kingsolver fan, so not objective there. And I had no idea (or I forgot) that The Virgin Suicides and The Secret History were set in those states…so if they weren’t that memorable, I guess I’m not agreeing with the choice.
For California, I’m going to suggest The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. I’m sure people would consider it an off the wall choice, but California is known for being a little out there, right?
I love this idea to review a book that represents each state. It seems like such a fun idea. I don’t know enough about that states she has picked so far to be able to judge. I did read the Bean Trees in high school and really enjoyed it. I have been thinking about re-reading it.
For my home state of Texas, I’d love to see Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” as the choice since it is probably my favorite novel of them all anyway.
I’ve given it some thought and I think Larry Brown’s book Billy Ray’s Farm is a good one for Mississippi. There are so many, though, that narrowing down to one kind of boggles my mind. I’d lean toward collections of writings, rather than a single novel.
Wow, I was operating under the mistaken delusion that Plainsong was set in Nebraska…how did I get that idea?
I’m eager to see what her Missouri and Oklahoma and Texas picks will be since I’ve lived in those states.
Lonesome Dove over The Last Picture Show for Texas????
I’m in California and I’ll admit we tend to be a bit full of ourselves out here, but I think we need three books for the three main regions. I pick: Tales of the City for Northern California, The Human Comedy for the Central Valley and The Day of the Locust for Southern California.
C.B., “The Last Picture Show” is another of my favorites and it was hard to choose “Lonesome Dove” over that one…but both by McMurtry, so it seems OK.