The Best English-Language Novel of the 20th Century
- Thread starter AM28143
- Start date
K
KoreanHB
Guest
"i hope they serve beer in hell" by tucker max. hahaha
Mickey Finn
Rookie
Some novels that spring to mind: Infinite Jest (Wallace); Ulysses (Joyce); Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald); On the Road (Kerouac); The Secret Agent (Conrad); The Quiet American (Greene); and Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon).
AmericanTemplar
Professional
The Magus, by John Fowles.
chess9
Hall of Fame
"The Age of Innocence", by Edith Wharton. She was the first female writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and won it for that book, though she had already written "Ethan Fromme", another fine book. The movie adaptation of "The Age of Innocence" was very very good and was relatively true to the book.
-Robert
-Robert
Y
yodudedudeyo
Guest
harry potter.
serve/and/volley
Rookie
serve/and/volley
Rookie
"The editors of the Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, polled a panel of 100 authors from 54 countries on what they considered the “best and most central works in world literature.” Among the authors polled were Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing, Seamus Heaney, Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka, John Irving, Nadine Gordimer, and Carlos Fuentes. The list of 100 works appears alphabetically by author. Although the books were not ranked, the editors revealed that Don Quixote received 50% more votes than any other book."
- from http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934958.html
Also check out this article from UK's Guardian: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,711688,00.html
This list forgot to include The Da Vinci Code.
- from http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934958.html
Also check out this article from UK's Guardian: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,711688,00.html
This list forgot to include The Da Vinci Code.
Last edited:
ilovecarlos
Professional
Pillars of the Earth....Ken Follet
Have read it twice....
couldn't believe Oprah gave it away as one of her favorite things last week (the whole audience got autographed copies)...it's not a new book:shock:
Have read it twice....
couldn't believe Oprah gave it away as one of her favorite things last week (the whole audience got autographed copies)...it's not a new book:shock:
That astonishing book also serves as a primer on male-female relationships – and by the end, the danger of lust losing love.
1) Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rand
2) Fountainhead -- Ayn Rand
3) Battlefield Earth -- L Ron Hubbard
Says who? Say this. John Travolta would endorse this list.
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
The thinking goes that Ulysses is the happy medium between Portrait and Finnegan's Wake. You might as well say Finnegan's Wake is your favorite book ever, since most people who would agree with you have never finished it.
2) Fountainhead -- Ayn Rand
3) Battlefield Earth -- L Ron Hubbard
Says who? Say this. John Travolta would endorse this list.
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
The thinking goes that Ulysses is the happy medium between Portrait and Finnegan's Wake. You might as well say Finnegan's Wake is your favorite book ever, since most people who would agree with you have never finished it.
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
Paris Hilton's book was somewhat decent. Its either that or Playboy, says my roommate.
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
But in honesty, I can't recall any books of the 20th century that I've liked or read, besides LOTR.
Last edited:
chess9
Hall of Fame
That list is missing quite a few very fine poets:
BLAKE
YEATS
THOMAS
KEATS
SHELLEY
BYRON
T.S. ELIOT
EZRA POUND
EMILY DICKENSON
SYLVIA PLATH
To name just a FEW.
I can also think of about 20 novelists I think should replace some of their novelists.
I'm not sure I'd give that list much credibility. Maybe we should not rely on authors' recommendations?
-Robert
Mastermind
Rookie
LOTR: FOTR
LOTR: TTT
LOTR: ROTK all by J.R.R. Tolkien
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is really excellent
Anthem by Ayn Rand
LOTR: TTT
LOTR: ROTK all by J.R.R. Tolkien
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is really excellent
Anthem by Ayn Rand
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
AM28143
Semi-Pro
You're probably right. However, for many undergrads like me, 19th century literature can be difficult to appreciate. The writing style, historical context and themes are so different from what I'm accustomed to, I get thrown off. When reading many of the authors listed above I’m able to comprehend the storyline, but unable to comprehend the significance. As a result, I read more 20the century novels, despite their inferiority.
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
Umm...I believe your question was "best" - meaning one.
Not to be picky, but they are the nineteenth century.
AM28143
Semi-Pro
The thread expanded, and everyone started to list a few books, rather than just one. So, I followed the trend. But yes, you're right, I failed to answer my own question directly.Umm...I believe your question was "best" - meaning one.
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
I'm only teasin' you. I actually put some thought into what I felt was the best of the last century - there are certainly many to choose from. (Never take me seriously).
AM28143
Semi-Pro
That was his point. He was listing great 19th century novelist.
![shwetty[tennis]balls](/data/avatars/m/23/23325.jpg?1435130997){kind=avatar}
shwetty[tennis]balls
Rookie
LORD OF THE RINGS and all other Tolkein appendages.
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
It would help if I actually read the post. My bad.
AM28143
Semi-Pro
Its alright, I'm just being an ass because I'm bored and tired.
I'm not sure I'd give that list much credibility. Maybe we should not rely on authors' recommendations?
Or Norwegians.
Don't buy into that rubbish. 20 century literature rocks. Jane Austen can't hold a candle to Fitzgerald or Dreiser.
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
No, you are right - she holds an entire candelabra in comparison.
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
CanadianChic
Hall of Fame
Are you saying that women cannot write Ian?
Ian Paisley
Banned
mocking people critical of women writers...last words, out.
chess9
Hall of Fame
Actually, I like all three, but Jane Austen was possibly the best woman writer of all time, and, IMHO, one of the top 10 writers of all time.
Perhaps the Irish don't appreciate her as much as a very old American does?
Btw, in England at least, Jane Austen is highly revered.
-Robert
Mr. Blond
Professional
I am kind of a skeptic, but I wonder if some you have read all of the books listed here, because some of them are dreadful......or at least unpleasant at best. I get that often when talking about books....people always want to list 'great' books as if they have read them like William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. It is a horrid book with a catchy title, and a twist in the way he delivered the story, but not worth the time to read it, and it still gets top billing at 'book' conversations.
I don't mean to sound accousatory about people's reading likes, I just think it is too hard to pin what the OP is looking for. IMHO one of the best books I have ever read was by an author named Bryce Courtenay called The power of One. It sounds like a self help title, but it is really a memoir and a great one at that.
I don't mean to sound accousatory about people's reading likes, I just think it is too hard to pin what the OP is looking for. IMHO one of the best books I have ever read was by an author named Bryce Courtenay called The power of One. It sounds like a self help title, but it is really a memoir and a great one at that.
chess9
Hall of Fame
Many of the posters here are young, and probably haven't read many books. Being well-read isn't the Gold Standard of an educated man the way it was 50 years ago, and there are so many good books and other sources of entertainment, posing is inevitable.
-Robert
Mr. Blond
Professional
I guess it is really easier to sound well read than to actually be well read. I don't consider myself well read and the reason for that is because I have read very few classics in literature. I like to read, I just find myself reading more current books than classics.
Books are like music though, some of the highest critically acclaimed books are poo, and for the life of me I can't figure out why they get such praise. It is a cooky world I guess.
Books are like music though, some of the highest critically acclaimed books are poo, and for the life of me I can't figure out why they get such praise. It is a cooky world I guess.
Last edited:
D
Dunlopkid
Guest
Other polls list the LOTR as number one.
BabblingPsychopath
Rookie
When these 2 lists came out I decided it was time to read all the books I should have read in High School. I actually read every book - including both lists.
Phil
Hall of Fame
1) Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rand
2) Fountainhead -- Ayn Rand
3) Battlefield Earth -- L Ron Hubbard
Says who? Say this. John Travolta would endorse this list.
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
Yeah, the "Reader's List" is pretty much a joke...7 of the top 10 books are by Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard????!!!! Tom Clancy in the Top 100...I think this list was jointly compiled by Tom Cruise and Joey, the college sophomore. I guess there's no accounting for taste.
