Hi all, long time reader, first time poster. To cut a long story short, I am currently writing a novel which is entirely based on a character and his battle to accept his own place in a class-driven fictional society. I suppose my greatest inspiration is James Joyce. I find both Ulysses and The wake' enticing reads and suppose my novel is loosely based on the 'exploration of the self' style which Joyce does so well. (if that is the right turn of phrase?) What I am after is some suggestions of modern novels which are driven mostly by the protagonist and their struggle to accept themselves in their own social hierarchies. further to this (and I know it is a polar opposite), I am also interested in 1920's American gangster culture. I have recently watched a John Dillinger biographical programme on tv - so if anybody could suggest any novels set in this period it would be fantastic. Thanks in advanced
Re: Novels of the 20s, there's obviously The Great Gatsby. If you're interested in writing about the 20s, I'd suggest reading some non-fiction books about that time period -- Page Smith's Redeeming the Time is great. Also some biographies of Charles Lindbergh and of FDR deal significantly with the 1920s. You could also look for books about the Black Sox scandal and Arnold Rothstein. The nonfiction book Boardwalk Empire, upon which the HBO series is based also deals with that time period and the gangster element. Obviously if you want 20s gangster info, you could also look for anything on Al Capone or on prohibition in general.
You might want to check out the work of Sinclair Lewis. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Most of his major works were written in the 20s and dealt with American characters dealing with their places in 1920s America.
