Best Novels of the Last 20 Years

[brianedwards]

And why not?

Here's a few to get us started, in no particular order:

Underworld by Don Delillo
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Atonement by Ian McEwan
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginides
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran-Foer
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The March by EL Doctorow

You'll notice my bookshelf is predominantly N. American and quite masculine. I'm hoping to have my mind (and my wallet) opened . . .

B.

[Suzanne]

Wonderful thread! I will be taking notes and filling my amazon shopping cart. Great idea, Brian.

Suzanne

[brianedwards]

I hope you share your favourites too Suzanne . . .

[Suzanne]

lol! you assume I can read!

Lol.

[Sharra]

My favourite book of the last few years is the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Others I've enjoyed:

Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Small Island - Andrea Levy
the Other Hand - Chris Cleave

I'm sure there's more, I need to look at my shelves.

And the book that's been most unputdownable for me - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Sharra
x

[brianedwards]

My favourite book of the last few years is the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Others I've enjoyed:

Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Small Island - Andrea Levy
the Other Hand - Chris Cleave

I'm sure there's more, I need to look at my shelves.

And the book that's been most unputdownable for me - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Sharra
x

That Coupland book has been on my list for years, thanks for the reminder.

Although a big fan, I wasn't impressed with that particular McEwan . . . but then, I don't live by the beach . . .

I'm going to tactfully ignore the last one . . .

B.

[Ros]

We-el, despite reading those books thrust upon me by my friends, I rarely seem to like 'modern literature' of the Booker or Orange-award winning type stuff. I've come to the conclusion it's because I like my stories to have a plot, rather than just being About Relationships. So, a random look at the bookshelves:

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
The Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold
Halting State - Charles Stross - written entirely in the 2nd person, but it works
Century Rain - Alastair Reynolds - noir SF
Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson - or any of the others by him - let's face it they're all the same story. But you have to read at least one of them.
The Eyre Affair - Jasper fforde - not perfect, but mostly brilliantly done
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson. Gotta love a main character called Hero Protagonist.

Ros

[k-j]

I'm a huge fan of Underworld - possibly DeLillo's last hurrah? - although I'm not sure it quite lives up to its empyrean aspirations. The grasp of geography and time is impressive, the home-run arc of history is exhilirating, and the dialogue is brilliant. The only thing I thought was iffy was the "waste" trope, which seemed worthy but overwrought, i.e. while interesting, I don't think waste tells us as much about America as DeLillo thinks it does. It's certainly a strong contender for Great American Novel (tm) status.

I like squalor and misery as much as the next man but A Fine Balance was too much of a good thing.

There is a hell of a lot I haven't read from the last 20 years. Here are a few I thought were excellent:

- The Unconsoled (1995) Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Tunnel (1995) William Gass
- The Savage Detectives (1998) Roberto Bolaño
- Lanark (1981) Alasdair Gray

These are "great novels", i.e. long and liable to infuriate, but they worked for me.

- Days Between Stations (1985) Steve Erickson
- Riddley Walker (1980) Russell Hoban
- Perfect Tense (2001) Paul Bracewell
- The Queue (1983) Ivan Sorokin

These are not so long, and with the exception of Riddley, not so well known, but I think they're perfect.

[brianedwards]

I'm a huge fan of Underworld - possibly DeLillo's last hurrah? - although I'm not sure it quite lives up to its empyrean aspirations. The grasp of geography and time is impressive, the home-run arc of history is exhilirating, and the dialogue is brilliant. The only thing I thought was iffy was the "waste" trope, which seemed worthy but overwrought, i.e. while interesting, I don't think waste tells us as much about America as DeLillo thinks it does. It's certainly a strong contender for Great American Novel (tm) status.

I like squalor and misery as much as the next man but A Fine Balance was too much of a good thing.

There is a hell of a lot I haven't read from the last 20 years. Here are a few I thought were excellent:

- The Unconsoled (1995) Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Tunnel (1995) William Gass
- The Savage Detectives (1998) Roberto Bolaño
- Lanark (1981) Alasdair Gray

These are "great novels", i.e. long and liable to infuriate, but they worked for me.

- Days Between Stations (1985) Steve Erickson
- Riddley Walker (1980) Russell Hoban
- Perfect Tense (2001) Paul Bracewell
- The Queue (1983) Ivan Sorokin

These are not so long, and with the exception of Riddley, not so well known, but I think they're perfect.

Ahhh! The big fish I secretly hoped this worm would catch. Your post is perfect in all but its Maths . . . the last TWENTY years dude . . .

I'll be back to engage with thee more when I have time.

(And yes, Underworld is No1, of course . . . )

B.

[David]

Balls. I replied to k-j, but my reply has disappeared into the ether. I'll try again.

[k-j]

Ahhh! The big fish I secretly hoped this worm would catch. Your post is perfect in all but its Maths . . . the last TWENTY years dude . . .

Duh. Obviously I'm stuck irremediably in the twentieth century.

[David]

Lanark and Riddley Walker are on my list too.

I have high hopes of one I've got for my summer holiday - Infinite Jest. Any thoughts? No spoilers!

Me Cheeta: An Autobiography is surprisingly good! And funny and moving etc.

Underworld is a great novel, but is it too much of a Great Novel? Perhaps. The beginning is terrific, of course, but apart from that I can only remember that the end is a mess and not much else in between.

That winter, Alice Toklas, Picasso, and myself took a villa in the south of France. I was then working on what I felt was a major American novel but the print was too small and I couldn't get through it. (Woody Allen)

On a much smaller scale, but possibly no less ambitious, The Master by Colm Tóibín is very good - which reminds me that I'd promised myself I'd read Brooklyn.

Netherland is also very good - old-fashioned, almost cloyingly well-written but a great satisfying read. I read an article by Zadie Smith in which she was very sniffy about it, contrasting it unfavourably with the very modern (or post-modern, I have no idea) Remainder. I hated Remainder.

[David]

Balls again. I think I fell foul of Brian's 20 year rule as well. But only in part.

[John G]

David, reading Infinite Jest right now - truly excellent - a massive humorous work – can’t recommend it highly enough,

KJ- Lanark is great

But off the top of my head:

Concur 100% with Underworld.

Donna Tartt – Secret History and The Little Friend – both brilliant

Brett Easton Ellis – American Psycho and Galmorama

James Ellroy – The Underworld USA Trilogy (American Tabloid / Cold Six Thousand / Bloods a Rover ) – a massive piece of work – written like a jazz musician be-bopping over the pages.

The History of Glue – once I picked this up I couldn’t put it down.

Peter Carey – True History of Kelly Gang,

And yes, it’s outside the 20years window but probably my best read of all time, “Confederacy of Dunces”

[camus]

Well looking through, I feel I've most definitely missed out on "Underworld," next on my list. I also agree with "Girlfriend in a Coma" and “Confederacy of Dunces”

Here is what I've been reading from the last 20 years in no particular order:

Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
A million Little Pieces by James Frey
Great Apes by Will self
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Empire of the Ants - Bernard Werber
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre

[John G]

Camus, Totally forgot about Vernon God Little, yeah that was a good read. Didn't thing much of the follow up though. A bit poo it was.

Atomised is brillant,potent and brutal and Platform is just as good. And in the same vein SuperCannes by JG Ballard is equally as good.

And Book of Dave by Will Self.

And just finished Infinite Jest. Can not recommend it highly enough.

[k-j]

Just finished True History of the Kelly Gang, I first read it about eight year ago I think. Truly brilliant novel.

Murakami anyone? I loved Hard-Boiled Wonderland... and Wind-up Bird was great until the end. Didn't think much of Kafka on the Shore or the short stories though. But he's definitely entertaining.

[David]

And just finished Infinite Jest. Can not recommend it highly enough.

John, I'm going to need some positive reinforcement. I can see that DFW was a very good writer - touched by genius at times, perhaps - but the result here seems to be, for long stretches, a brilliantly boring book. I'm 120 pages in, and not at all sure I can continue.

[bodkin]

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson. Gotta love a main character called Hero Protagonist.

Hiro Protagonist, it is...

So it's a pun as well!

[brianedwards]

Just finished True History of the Kelly Gang, I first read it about eight year ago I think. Truly brilliant novel.

Murakami anyone? I loved Hard-Boiled Wonderland... and Wind-up Bird was great until the end. Didn't think much of Kafka on the Shore or the short stories though. But he's definitely entertaining.

I enjoyed the short stories, what was it? Elephant Vanishing? Yeah, that was quite good I seem to recall. Hated Kafka on the Bog, bloody awful.

B.

[Marc]

As always a little late to the party.

Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy anyone? Especially All the Pretty Horses though maybe I preferred The Crossing where they take a hobbled wolf high up into the mountains to release it ...and stuff ensues of course.
Just beautiful writing. As Brian claims to have predominantly N American bookshelf I'm sure these must be included.

And at the risk of sounding too low brow Richard n Judy to you learned folk- The Kite Runer was a great read that stayed in my mind for a while.


Marc