The Wombat File Is Yours to Keep

I suppose American Psycho doesn't qualify, unless the media attention for Less Than Zero counts as "strong critical acclaim.

How about The Alienist?

It's funny, when the Lil Mister and I first saw the list, we immediately said to each other: "Well, the Wombat's going to have something to say about THIS!" I'm actually surprised to see you so beefless about the results. Personally I think it's insane to have so many repeat authors on the list... I mean, really, how much Updike does a person need? Was Underworld really that great? Predictably I'll go to my grave screaming and kicking that Infinite Jest wasn't there, and Mike rightfully points out that Doctorow probably should've had some representation, and/or mayhap Barbara Kingsolver. I'd'a knocked off some Cormac McCarthy in favor of a less punctilious choice, like, say Letham.

I was also surprised at the lack of diversity on the list - either of the authors themselves, or of literary styles. Not that I would've necessarily agreed with the selection, but you could make the case for some, say Ursula K. LaGuin (she IS American, isn't she?) I'm surprised that the NYTimes didn't claim Ha Jin as one of the best American writers... obviously he's Chinese, but the canon-deciders are forever claiming immigrants as Best American Somethings as their own (to wit, Denis Johnson), and his acheivements are right up their alley, right?

On the other hand, I hadn't realized until I saw this list how FEW American writers I really enjoy anymore. All my favorites non-Wallacian writers are Brits, Aussies, or Canadians, non-fictionists, or dead Americans.

At least there wasn't any Douglas Copeland up there!

Worst novel? This violates your "author folks have heard of" restriction (and I, for one, say thank god for that), but absolutely, without question, Norris Church Mailer's Windchill Summer. (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0375503196&itm=2) Honestly: back when I was freelancing for your fair corporation, this was the only title I ever declined to review. I just couldn't think of anything to say about it that would be palatable on a page that's actually attempting to persuade people to buy the book. I now realize, of course, that I should have used ellipses liberally, and left the rest to the imagination. See the quote from the Denver Post: "Windchill Summer has all the elements.... A little mystery, some humor, [and] a dash of charm." I can see the rest before me: Windchill Summer has all the elements of a novel, and yet it utterly fails to be one. A little mystery, some humor, a dash of charm, no matter how well-stirred will simply not bake up into cupcakes.

Okay, but a response that actually adheres to the terms of the question, and from one who actually did think that Underworld was all that: Cosmopolis. Good gravy, but that was a crappy, crappy novel.

No surprise that you get a lot of repeate authors, if you leave it up to votes. I'm one of those who thinks you can't have too many Cormac McCarthy novels on the list. And I'd have every Jack Womack novel -- I'll bet he's not on the list -- before I'd have one by Jonathan Lethem, the most overrated, gimmicky, and trivial Village Voice darling of his generation.

LeGuin is an American, though most folks think she did her strongest work more than 25 years ago. They could have included Tehana, I suppose, but that one's contaminated not only by being fantasy but by being the capstone to a children's series (I'll bet they didn't include any children's books).

I don't look at lists like this -- as you can probably tell -- because they can be counted on to ignore almost anything with the stink of genre on it, except perhaps a few authors that manage to get Trend attention. (Did William Gibson make the list? Oh, he's Canadian anyway.) Gene Wolfe wrote some of the best American fiction of the century, but no way he makes it onto a list like this. Maybe John Crowley makes it, since he got the Harold Bloom seal of approval several years ago.