Overlooked classics of American literature: The Feud by Thomas BergerIn the first instalment of our new series, Tom Cox reconsiders a tale of small-town rivalry that nearly escalates into all-out war
If Thomas Berger is known at all in the UK it's for his 1964 novel Little Big Man, in which a 121-year-old caucasian looks back over his life in the old west, where he was raised by Indians. The book was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman six years later, which is one reason why – despite being far from Berger's best novel – it remains his most famous.
There is perhaps no better introduction to Berger's fiction than 1983's The Feud. The novel was nominated for a Pulitzer but has long been unavailable in Britain's bookshops.
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