i'm looking for a book that was written in the 21st century that has the potential to become a classic, that has depth in it
a question I have as well is that most classics were written a long time ago, so will it be less common in this era for books to have the depth of a classic? have all the good topics been written about already?
by Little-Function5095
13 Comments
The River by Peter Heller
Fifth Season by NK Jemisin —though I don’t think the follow up books in the trilogy are as strong
War & War (First published in 1999, I think, but close enough.)
I genuinely think Hanya Yanagihara’s *A Little Life* is a strong contender for being a classic one day
It’s more complicated than that. I think books have become more democratized and accessible then ever, which means a singular book can’t hold the spotlight in terms of popularity for long.
City of Thieves by David Benioff comes to mind. It’s a fairly recent book (as in the last 20 years), and I could easily see it being taught in schools if it’s not already. It’s GOOD and very punchy but also extremely accessible. I enjoyed truly every second I spent reading it.
I would put my money on The Covenant of Water and Homegoing
Demon Copperhead, James, The Poisonwood Bible, Bel Canto, Paradise, Beloved, The Color Purple, The Parable of the Sower, The Parable of the Talents, The Things They Carried, The Great Believers, A Thousand Acres.
Demon Copperhead, The Song of Achilles.
Junot Díaz’s Oscar Wao and Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer, for better or for worse.
Julia. It takes a classic and looks at it from another perspective
I mean probably Cormac McCarthy is were talking classic classic, I enjoyed the Road personally and I’ve heard good things about all his other books.
Now if we want to get Genre specific
Sci-Fi – Children of Time, an absolute banger about interstellar travel and humanity and how what we are effects how we view the world and the choices we make
Fantasy- i haven’t read it personally but you cant swing a dead car without hitting a post about Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Horror – I’d say its probably going to be House of Leaves. I’ve tried reading it a few times but its not a normal book so its difficult to get into but its well loved and supposed to be excellent
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
The Silent Patient, The Goldfinch, and Middlesex all have staying power.