In this episode Mona and I discuss some highlights of American literature. She recommends some of her favorite American novels and uses some great vocabulary to describe them. Even if you don’t end up reading them yourself, you’ll learn plenty of useful words and phrases to describe books, movies, etc. ***For English learners! – Detailed vocabulary lesson begins at 20:41*** ***Full transcript available ⁠at https://american-idiom.com/f/003-the-great-american-novels⁠*** Episode Outline: Crossroads (Jonathan Franzen) - (Starts at 1:38) The Marriage Plot (Jeffrey Eugenides) - (Starts at 6:52) American Pastoral (Philip Roth) - (Starts at 12:48) Vocabulary and examples (Starts at 20:41) “to come out” (used at 2:03 and explained at 21:07) "to take place in” (used at 2:32, 2:51, 3:17, 7:23, 11:34, 13:55, 15:15, 15:17, 16:07 and explained at 23:27) “neck of the woods” (used at 2:39 and explained at 25:53) “to set A apart from B” (used at 5:38 and explained at 28:05) “smooth sailing” (used at 9:21 and explained at 30:38) “to believe in (something)” (used at and explained at 32:40)