The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

A tale of tragedy and irony, F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflects the historical and cultural context of America in the early twentieth century.

On The Road
Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac’s On The Road is a popular course text for university students, which illustrates themes of paramount importance in America, such as freedom and restriction, and the emergence of the beat generation.

Moon Palace
Paul Auster

A more up-to-date version of American culture is presented by Paul Auster in Moon Palace, a theme which is also prevalent in his screenplay Smoke, starring Harvey Keitel.

Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men illustrates the harsh reality of gritty America in the twentieth century.

The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, has achieved canonical status for its portrayal of teenage rebellion.

Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, incorporates magic realism into historical India at the time of independence from a child’ perspective.

The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, narrated by two children, tells the effects of small tragedies in an Indian community.

Burrow
by Manzu Islam

This novel follows the story of Tapan Ali, a young man from Bangladesh who leaves his home to study in England. When his family can no longer afford to support his education, Ali chooses a dangerous life on the run as an illegal immigrant rather than return home. Ali finds himself in a far different world than his previous student life of pot-smoking, politics, and philosophy, when he becomes a resident of the Bangladeshi settlement in East London. There, he must contend with racist violence, poverty, and the threat of betrayal. The character of Ali’s lover, Nilufar Mia, adds a sharp, womanist insight with her story of breaking ties with her strict Muslim family to live out an alternative destiny.

Manzu Islam is a lecturer in literary studies at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. He is the author of The Mapmakers of Spitalfields and The Ethics of Travel.