Jul 18, 2024
The New York Times recently commemorated the first 25 years of this century by releasing a booklist of the ‘100 best books of the Century’. Here we list the top 10 books according to the list and what those books are about.
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‘Gilead’ is an emotional novel written as a letter from John Ames, an elderly preacher, to his young son. Ames, through his letter, looks back on his life, his faith, and the beauty of everyday moments he spent.
Virago
In ‘Never Let Me Go’ Kazuo Ishiguro creates a dystopian world where human clones are raised. The story is told through the eyes of Kathy, a former student at the Hailsham school, as she recalls her childhood, her friends, and their isolation from outside in the school.
Vintage
A rather sad tale about a man who wishes to connect back to his roots is ‘Austerlitz’. It is about Jacques Austerlitz, a man who was sent to Britain and knows nothing about his true identity.
Penguin
Colson Whitehead's ‘The Underground Railroad’ is about Cora, a slave being transported away when she meets Caesar and they hatch a plan to escape ‘underground’.
Doubleday
‘2666’ is a huge novel that has 5 interconnected parts with different characters, settings, and time periods. The central thread that links these stories is the mysterious disappearance of writers and the unsolved murders of women in a fictional city.
Picador
Jonathan Franzen's ‘The Corrections’ is the story of a family and a mother who is trying to put the family together again for ‘one last Christmas together’.
Picador
‘The Known World’ is a historical novel and features the life of Henry, a black farmer, who was earlier a slave. While Henry tries his best to maintain everything well, after his death, things are not really the same.
Amistad
Hilary Mantel's ‘Wolf Hall’ is a historical fiction novel that features Thomas Cromwell, a key person in the court of King Henry VIII. The novel is about Cromwell's rise from humble beginnings to becoming the king's chief minister.
Picador
‘.The Warmth of Other Suns’ is a powerful non-fiction book by Isabel Wilkerson that gives an in-depth account of the ‘Great Migration’ of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North and West
Vintage
The book that ranked number 1. is ‘My Brilliant Friend’. It traces the life and friendship of Elena and Lila, two girls growing up in a poor neighbourhood in Naples. The novel talks about their deep affection at first, which turned into intense rivalry.
Europa-Editions
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