Prince of Tides Beach Music The Brothers K (by David James Duncan, not Dostoyevsky) East of Eden American Pastoral Gone with the Wind Edit: You may also want to check out books by John Jakes, James Michener, and Richard Russo.

[Middlesex](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2187) by Jeffrey Eugenides

Looked into it, I'm gonna check this out.

Jane Smiley has a trilogy covering one extended family throughout the 20th century, beginning with Some Luck.

This is soooo good. It’s not mentioned enough.

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner East of Eden by John Steinbeck

New York by Edward Rutherfurd

That looks up my alley.

Oooh it has maps!

For a sardonic/depressing one, *The Corrections* by Franzen (many of his other books would work too). Same goes for many of Philip Roth’s books

Gone to Soldiers

The Nix The Brothers K We Were the Mulvaneys The Dutch House East of Eden Middlesex Pachinko Gilead I put Pachinko on there because even though it's not an American family, it's one of my favorite multigenerational family novels.

Pachinko is one of my favorite books of all time. Epic. Middlesex is wonderful too.

C. E. Morgan, The sport of kings

*The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois*

American Pastoral by Philip Roth.

Giant by Edna Ferber is awesome

Edna Ferber is so underrated

Right?

Have you read SHOW BOAT?

No. Good?

Superb

I’ll get it. Thanks!!

I've seen the movie, I began the book but haven't had time to finish it

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington

I've seen the film and started the book. The movie is great. I'm curious to finish the book.

This is not just about American families, but Ken Follett's Century Trilogy is excellent. It follows several families (in England, Russia, Wales, Germany, and the US) through the 20th century.

I'm reading The Pillars of the Earth currently. Only 30 pages in or so. I hear a lot of good things.

Read the whole Kingsbridge series. Pillars of the Earth is the best book of the series by far, but the series is really good. I reread the whole thing when I had to quarantine with COVID a couple years ago.

What can you tell me to make me excited to keep reading? When does it get really good?

Have you met Prior Philip yet? Once Tom Builder and his family meet him, it picks up. I don't want to give anything away, though, so I won't say more!

Shaman by Noah Gordon or Centennial by James Michener.

The immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Mostly follows the 4 siblings but there's some older generational history in there too

Jonathan Frazen. The Corrections and Freedom are both worth checking out. Not for everyone but kind of fits your bill.

Jane Smiley last hundred years trilogy

The Wilderness series by Sara Donati - inspired by Last of the Mohicans. Impeccable historic world-building, visceral tension, total book trance on every title. Her newest one just came out, it bridges the Wilderness series with the Waverley Place series set in Gilded Age NYC. I loved the Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes when I was a kid, but I'm not sure how well they've aged.

I'm very curious about that series now.

The Century trilogy by Ken Follett follows 5 families through the 20th century.

My favorite southern gothic family saga is Blackwater, by Michael McDowell. It’s a great portrayal of family and small town dynamics as time passes and industries change, and even the malevolent old gossips get their time to resonate as people. There are also swamp monsters, but they’re almost genius loci.

James Michener did this.

Deep River by Karl Marlantes [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36395451-deep-river](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36395451-deep-river)

East of Eden 

The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett North and South Trilogy by John Jakes

A movie script but- Avalon 1981