I nominate
The Dollmaker by Harriette Simpson Arnow (1954, 690 pp.). I first read this book more than 30 years ago; I reread it several times and it is one of my all-time favorites, though I haven't revisited it in many years.
I suspect I'm wasting a nomination and it won't get much support for quite valid reasons (expensive everywhere but the UK, with a jaw-dropping price in Canada; quite long; no audiobook), but it's a great book nevertheless.
Quote:
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The Dollmaker was originally published in 1954 to immediate success and critical acclaim. In unadorned and powerful prose, Harriette Arnow tells the unforgettable and heartbreaking story of the Nevels family and their quest to preserve their deep-rooted values amidst the turmoil of war and industrialization. When Gertie Nevels, a strong and self-reliant matriarch, follows her husband to Detroit from their countryside home in Kentucky, she learns she will have to fight desperately to keep her family together. A sprawling book full of vividly drawn characters and masterful scenes, The Dollmaker is a passionate tribute to a woman's love for her children and the land.
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Quote:
"The depth and power and stature of this enormous book are rare indeed in modern fiction." -- The New York Times
"The Dollmaker has vividness and terrific reality. It is a book to make one think...a story of the strength of the human heart against bitter odds....Deeply sincere and moving." -- Chicago Tribune
"A masterwork...A superb book of unforgettable strength and glowing richness." -- The New York Times
"The Dollmaker's depiction of family life -- the entangled bonds between parents and children, brothers and sisters -- is unparalleled in modern fiction." -- The Georgia Review
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It is in Overdrive--and I just noticed that Scribd has it too.
Amazon U.S., $15.99