Greatest living American novelist?

For all of you serious readers out there, I recently finished reading <i>The Time of Our Singing</i> by Richard Powers and, oh man, is it brilliant! I had never even heard of him before picking up this book and if I were to make a list of the 5 greatest novels I have ever read - this would be on it. Wow! A phenomenal work of art.

Has anyone else out there read this? Or any of his other novels? I have already hit a few book stores and I have picked up more of his work. (If you are interested in checking out my mini-review, here it is)

So you can get an inkling of where I might be coming from, my favorite authors include Salman Rushdie, John Barth, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Don DeLillo.

Mark Leyner. Think I'm wrong? Go read "Et Tu, Babe", and try to tell me I am.

Trust me.

Vonnegut's still alive, I'll say him. I'm not really into literary fiction. My favorite author today is James Ellroy. He's not exactly a great artist, he's just a really good storyteller.

Cormac McCarthy

Novelist? John Irving. Without question.

Ernest Gaines, or maybe Toni Morrison.

mister william shakespeare

Americans?
Do Canadians count?
What about Englishmen living in Minnesota?

Tom Robbins.

either rick moody or...

no, it's rick moody

It's a tough decision just picking one but I think I might have to say Paul Auster.

apparently, some people need a clarification of what "living" & "american" mean.
(shakespeare??? )
Jonathan Saffron Foer is amazing but not very prolific yet so i'd have to go with T.C. Boyle

he also wasn't a novelist, D0UCH3R

Just curious, but why did you say Ernest Gaines? I personally find him to be a very good technical writer and a good story teller, but I wouldn't include him on the best living American novelists list.

lynda barry.

James Ellroy

i second vonnegut & give an honorable mention to t.c. boyle.

so, uhmm... has anyone read Richard Powers?

Give me a "V"!

Give me an "O"!

Give me a..."NNEGUT!"

What does that spell?

Also, John Irving kicks ass. It's amazing to see how much Vonnegut and Irving are fans of each other, when Irving's work is so optimistic and Vonnegut's is soooo not.

Fuck the Americans....and the living.....
ITALO CALVINO

OK......living American..
Chuck Palahniuk

God dammit. I was really hoping no one was going to say Palahniuk, and I was all excited until I got to the last comment and coldenginelogic totally fucked it up for me.
Dammit.

Well, my comment was going to read something along the lines of; "The first person to say Palahuniuk is gonna get shot."
But, I guess thats kind of a moot point now. Way to shit on my parade.

Fuck the world.

Read Invisible cities by Calvino--that will cheer you up......and by the way-
thanks.....love the buzzkill you draw on my sidewalk in chalk.....

i love calvino, but i love borges more.. *sniff* (i'm crying because he should be immortal.)

Umm

I'd have to say William Vollman, since he is so fucking multitalented

High Risk Journalist/Avant Lit star/academic