So I’ve just gotten back into reading fiction after taking a few decades off. This is what I’ve read since the new year (\~5 weeks):
* 1984 by George Orwell
* The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
* The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
* Animal Farm by George Orwell
* The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
* Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
* Lord of the Flies by William Golding
* Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Next up (already purchased and in the queue) are Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
These books have been wonderful, and I’m grateful to have read them (or to be about to read them), but I now **find myself wanting to read books that have been written in the last 10 or 20 years** that would qualify as “modern classics.”
Any suggestions?
(The last “new” book I read was Normal People by Sally Rooney, and I thought it was astounding, but that was a few years ago, shortly after the release of the television adaptation. Can’t remember the last new book I read before that. Honestly, I’m not even sure I’ve EVER read a recently-released book other than that one 😬)
by pardis
11 Comments
The count of monte cristo – best book I’ve read in my life
I haven’t read it, it’s still on my *To Read* list, but I think Demon Copperhead might be one to try. I’ve heard great reviews and that it is inspired by *David Copperfield* (I saw Dickens mentioned in your post).
Obviously this comes with the provision that I’m recommending on other’s recommendations and maybe suggest you look into it yourself.
I’m trying to think of things that were popular when released that still get mentioned a lot now…..
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey.
Small Island by Andrea Levy.
Atonement by Ian McEwan.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith.
The Road – Cormac McCarthy.
Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro.
People really liked Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall series too.
I’m not a fiction guy at all, but I read “Remembrance of Earth’s past” ( three body problem trilogy) a couple of years ago and struggled to get through any other book for a while after because I missed these books.
Even though it’s translated from Chinese it’s beautifully written. The story is very imaginative and takes you through all possible emotions and all kinds of adventure. I can’t recommend it enough.
It seems too early to name classics after only a few years, but I really enjoyed The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and thought it was a rich text. Some general authors to look into who have written more recently than the authors you listed above: Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, Tommy Orange.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Dystopian following the lives of three friends who grew up in a secluded boarding school.
Atonement by Ian McEwan. Explores the consequences of a young girl’s false accusation.
the Sympathizer by Viet thanh Nguyen,
The Offing by Benjamin Myers,
Remains of the Day,
A Gentleman in Moscow,
Harlem Shuffle,
Cloud Atlas
Empire Falls by Richard Russo won the Pulitzer Prize and is fantastic. Nobody’s Fool, also by Russo, is great, too.
I don’t know if they can be considered “classics” but these are famous books published in the last 20-ish years.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Blindness and Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Pereira Mantains by Antonio Tabucchi
The Neapolitan Novels (starting with My brilliant friend) by Elena Ferrante
The other answers gave great book recommendations, I would have mentioned Atonement and Never let me go too.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Let me start by saying that I really disliked normal people so maybe my comment is useless lol
However I would suggest
American Pastoral by Roth – definitely a modern classic. It is quite dark. It’s the story of a perfect American family and how their life is torn apart when the daughter becomes a political extremist. Roth is a classic modern author so you might want to check him out even if American pastoral is not your vibe. Portnoy’s Complains is also a classic, radically different, It’s a man who’s addicted to sex recounting his life to his therapist. A lot of humor and a lot of explicit sex.
Kafka on the shore by Murakami- also a classic, very specific surreal atmosfere. Not for everyone, it is a widely popular book but either you like it or you don’t
White Noise by Don DeLillo – A bit older. Very very weird book. DeLillo is a more brainy, postmodern author compared to the other two. Worth trying if you’re looking for something more experimental and original. It’s one of my favorite books ever, i can’t think of any other book that kept surprising me page after page like white noise did. Also few books made me laugh as much.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – more recent, not sure if it’s yet a classic but it’s surely getting there. It’s about a Nigerian girl moving to America. It’s a classic coming of age and it deals with how blackness is perceived differently in Africa compared to African American communities. Great book. Half of a Yellow Sun by her is also a masterpiece, a tragic war story about the Biafra war in Nigeria.
Limonov by Emmanuel Carrere- a modern French classic. It’s a mix of fiction and non fiction, the author recounts his encounter with a very extravagant Russian man called Limonov (who is a real Russian writer and politician who died a couple of years ago) in Paris in the 80’s. Interesting look at New york society in the 60’s and at Russian society in the 80’s-90’s. Carrere always intertwines the story of his characters with his own personal opinions and life. If you’re intrigued you might want to check “l ’adversaire” which is much shorter but equally good, just to see if you like his style
My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante – I’m Italian so I guess I had to mention it. Someone else here already did and I think it can be called a classic at this point. It’s a coming of age set in the late 20th century in Naples and it’s mostly a book about friendship. It’s a trilogy, however I got bored after the second book. First one it’s really good.