On American Fiction

A brief, powerful analysis of three major twentieth-century writers: Dos Passos, Nabokov, and Faulkner. Iconic French novelist, playwright, and essayist Jean-Paul Sartre is widely recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, and his work has remained relevant and thought-provoking through the decades.

The Seagull Sartre Library now presents some of his most incisive philosophical, cultural, and literary critical essays in twelve newly designed and affordable editions.   Sartre’s engagement with the literature of his day extended well beyond the works of his French contemporaries.

This short volume testifies to his astonishing grasp of the nuances of American fiction, as he analyzes three of the most important twentieth-century writers: John Dos Passos, Vladimir Nabokov, and William Faulkner, whose “humanism,” writes Sartre, “is the only acceptable sort.”