What are the other two you normally say, brad?
That really varies. It's tough because I'm not just wanting to shovel what's considered the "best" or most distinguished novel (like Moby Dick), and don't want to saddle someone with something too dated ("The Scarlet Letter"). I also want to pass along something that's really reads somehow uniquely American, and I really like the way America is portrayed in "Grapes of Wrath", and by Steinbeck in general. BTW, speaking of Steinbeck, if you want a quick rollick of a read, "Cannery Row" is good fun. Anyway, I always want to say "Huck Finn", but I can just imagine how butchered the translation of "We was powerful afeared of that pack of flatheads, so me and Jim skedaddled and lit out of the river". If they're already got a good handle on English then I might. Faulkner for me is brilliant, but again, unless they're steeped in some notion of the old South, it's likely that a lot of that sweaty perversion will be lost. If they're young, then maybe "On the Road". "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a good all around choice, but honestly lots of folks have already read it (including this Cambodian kid out in the middle of nowhere??). "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is a good one. There's a fantastic collection of narratives put together by ex slaves in the 1930's, but it's hard to find that overseas I should think. When I was a kid I really liked James Webb's (perhaps the next president of the USA) novel "Fields of Fire" about a squad in Vietnam . It's perhaps a bit pithy, but lost of the vets I knew liked it and recommended it.
Mostly though, when I'm on the spot, like now I sort of mumble around as I can't remember. I'd go check my bookshelves, but my Abbott's on my lap.