The 1960s marked a development in the culture and people's mindset all over the world (for example, the Hippie movement), especially in the United States; however, various countries were affected by this change.
The tension of the era brought an evolution to the 1960s literature, which means that most of the texts published in that time were related to what America was going through on political and social levels. Just like the younger generation did through music, the authors tried to express themselves through writing to criticize the war of Vietnam. They talked about gender, race, homosexuality, feminism, and other topics that reflected their thoughts about the war and the consequences that had.
Now I am going to talk about some of the books that marked the 1960s. The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" written by Harper Lee was one of the most important books of the decade. Published in 1960, it became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize (an award given to people who had an exceptional work in journalism, literature, or music composition) the following year. It sold over 30 million copies all over the world and was the third highest-selling American romance in the 20 century. Besides that, Joseph Heller with "Catch-22" and “A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle” were books that also made huge amounts of success in that decade.
To finish, I am going to leave you with a quote by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie written in The Guardian about the novel by Harper Lee:
“The best novels are those that are important without being like medicine; they have something to say, are expansive and intelligent but never forget to be entertaining and to have character and emotion at their center. Harper Lee’s triumph is one of those"
This quote shows us the enduring importance and influence of this novel and the impact of the 60s on the authors.
"To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee
Francisco Anjo