The best literary fiction books to read right now

Here we share the most exciting new literary fiction and the best literary fiction of all time. .

9 literary books

2023 was a remarkable year for literature and 2024 looks equally unlikely to disappoint. Here, we round up some of the most exciting new literary fiction of 2023, reflect on the best literary books of 2022 and recommend some of the best literary fiction of all time. 

For even more inspiration, don't miss our edit of the best fiction books.  

The best new literary fiction of 2023

By hernan diaz.

Book cover for Trust

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2023

This literary puzzle about money, power, and intimacy challenges the myths shrouding wealth, and the fictions that often pass for history. Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth — all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune?

by James Hynes

Book cover for Sparrow

This vivid story set at the end of the Roman Empire, follows Sparrow – a boy of no known origin living in a brothel. He spends his days listening to stories told by his beloved ‘mother’ Euterpe, running errands for her lover the cook, and dodging the blows of their brutal overseer. But a hard fate awaits him – one that involves suffering, murder and mayhem. To cope he will create his own identity – Sparrow – who sings without reason and can fly from trouble. This is a book with one of the most powerfully affecting and memorable characters of recent fiction, brought to life through James Hynes' meticulous research and bold imagination. 

‘ Utterly engrossing, vivid, and honest, this coming of age story reaches across millennia to grab us by the throat. ’ Emma Donoghue on Sparrow

Everything's Fine

By cecilia rabess.

Book cover for Everything's Fine

When Jess first meets Josh at their Ivy League college she dislikes him immediately: an entitled guy in chinos, ready to take over the world, unable to accept that life might be easier for him because he's white, while Jess is almost always the only Black woman in their class. But as a tempestuous friendship turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both, Jess begins to question who she is and what she’s really willing to compromise. Can people really ever just agree to disagree? And more to the point, should they? This hugely funny and deeply moving love story offers no easy answers.

Western Lane

By chetna maroo.

Book cover for Western Lane

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023

Exploring themes of grief and sisterhood, this debut coming-of-age story packs a lot of emotion into just 176 pages. Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash for as long as she can remember. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a brutal training regimen. Soon, the game has become her entire world, causing a rift between Gopi and her sisters. But on the court, governed by the rhythms of the sport, she feels alive. This novel beautifully captures the ordinary and annihilates it with beauty as we follow a young athlete's struggle to transcend herself. 

Now I Am Here

By chidi ebere.

Book cover for Now I Am Here

About to make his last stand, a soldier facing certain death at the hands of the enemy writes home to explain how he ended up there, a gentle man gradually transformed into a war criminal, committing acts he wouldn’t have thought himself capable. A profound reflection on how good people can do terrible things, this is a brave, unflinching and thought-provoking debut. 

Five Tuesdays in Winter

By lily king.

Book cover for Five Tuesdays in Winter

With Writers & Lovers , Lily King became one of our most acclaimed writers of contemporary fiction. And now, with Five Tuesdays in Winter , she gathers ten of her best short stories. These intimate literary stories tell of a bookseller who is filled with unspoken love for his employee, an abandoned teenage boy nurtured by a pair of housesitting students and a girl whose loss of innocence brings confident power. Romantic, hopeful, raw and occasionally surreal, these stories riff beautifully on the topic of love and romance.

Roman Stories

By jhumpa lahiri.

Book cover for Roman Stories

Inspired by the city she’s lived in for the past two decades, Jhumpa Lahiri's new work of fiction turns her gaze towards those who call Rome home. Weaving each character’s story around a set of steps they encounter daily, and examining how the city is constantly evolving and changing, Lahiri masterfully  illuminates the joys and tragedies of daily life. From a man mourning the person he once was to a couple coming to terms with loss and a family trying to make a new city home, the rich characters she has created will stay with you long after you finish reading. 

by Ashleigh Nugent

Book cover for Locks

Aeon is a mixed-up and mixed-race teenager from a leafy Liverpool suburb, trying to understand the Black identity foisted upon him by his friends and his community. To his growing shame, the only Black people in his life are his dad and his cousin, who he's decided don't count. Desperate to find his Black roots he travels to Jamaica. Mugged, stabbed and arrested, he's beaten unconscious in a detention centre for being the 'White Boy'. And then things really start to go wrong. 

Stone Blind

By natalie haynes.

Book cover for Stone Blind

As the sole mortal in a family of gods, Medusa begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt, and the only one who lives with an urgency that her family will never know. Then, when the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. Unable to control her new power, she is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest. At last, Medusa's story is told.

Open Throat

By henry hoke.

Book cover for Open Throat

A queer mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. The lion spends their days protecting a nearby homeless encampment, observing hikers complain about their trauma and grappling with the complexities of their own identity. When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city. As they confront a carousel of temptations and threats, the lion takes us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles. Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful,  Open Throat  is a marvel of storytelling that brings the mythic to life.

by Sarah K Jackson

Book cover for Not Alone

Five years ago, a toxic microplastics storm killed most of the population. Now Katie, a young mother, must forage and hunt for meat as she attempts to feed her little boy, Harry. At a time when stepping outside could kill you, Harry is kept indoors at all costs. Then, after years without human contact, Katie and Harry are terrified by the unwelcome arrival of another survivor. Katie realises she must undertake a previously unthinkable journey in search of a new life for her son. Perfect for fans of Room, Station Eleven and dystopian fiction in general, this gripping novel explores just how far a mother will go to save her child. 

An Honourable Exit

By eric vuillard.

Book cover for An Honourable Exit

From the International Booker Prize shortlisted author comes a searing account of a conflict that dealt a fatal blow to French colonialism. 19 October 1950. The war is not going to plan. In Paris, politicians gather to discuss what to do about Indochina. In this gripping and shocking novel, Éric Vuillard exposes the tangled web of politicians, bankers and titans of industry who all had a vested interest in France’s prolonged presence in lands far from Paris. At just 192 pages, what this book lacks in length, it certainly doesn't lack in drama - short, sharp and brutal, An Honourable Exit is a journey behind closed doors to witness how history is really made.

A Time Outside This Time

By amitava kumar.

Book cover for A Time Outside This Time

A writer called Satya visits a high-profile artists' retreat, and soon finds that the pressures of modern life are hard to shed: the US president pours out vitriol, a virus threatens the world, and the relentless news cycle only makes things worse. Satya realises these pressures can inspire him to write, and he begins to channel presidential tweets, memories from an Indian childhood, and his own experiences as an immigrant into his new novel. A fascinating exploration of memory in a post-truth world, Amitava Kumar's A Time Outside This Time is a beautiful and necessary novel.

Maps of our Spectacular Bodies

By maddie mortimer.

Book cover for Maps of our Spectacular Bodies

Something is moving in Lia's body, learning her life with gleeful malevolence and spreading through the rungs of her larynx, the bones of her trachea. When a shock diagnosis forever changes Lia's world, boundaries in her life begin to break down as buried secrets emerge. A voice prowling inside of her takes hold of her story, merging the landscape within her body with the one outside. A coming-of-age at the end of life, Maddie Mortimer's compelling debut novel is both heart-breaking and darkly funny, combining wild lyricism with celebrations of the desire, forgiveness and darkness in our bodies. 

‘ Compelling and uplifting . . . undeniably impressive: Mortimer is clearly a talent to watch ’ The Telegraph on Maps of our Spectacular Bodies

by Sarah May

Book cover for Becky

Vanity Fair meets Succession as Becky Sharp works her way up the journalistic greasy pole in nineties tabloid-era London. Scoop after scoop, Becky's downfall looms as she becomes more and more involved in every scandal her newspaper publishes and cares less and less about the lives she ruins in the process. A sharply intelligent and funny interrogation of how far society has really come since Thackeray's nineteenth-century Becky Sharp, just like the stories broken by The Mercury , everyone will be talking about Becky .

Other Women

By emma flint.

Book cover for Other Women

Based on a real case from the 1920s, Other Women tells the story of Beatrice, one of the thousands of nameless and invisible unmarried women trying to make lives for themselves after the First World War, and Kate, the wife of the man Beatrice has fallen in love with. When fantasy and obsession turns to murder, two women who should never have met are connected forever.

To Paradise

By hanya yanagihara.

Book cover for To Paradise

This amazing new novel from the author of A Little Life begins in the nineteenth century, and spans stories of love, family, loss and promised utopia over the following three centuries. In 1893, New York is part of the Free States, and a gentle young member of a privileged family falls for a charismatic and impoverished music teacher. In 1993 Manhattan is being swept by the AIDS epidemic, and a young Hawaiian man with a wealthy older partner must hide his difficult family background. And in 2093 in a world where plague and totalitarian rule is rife, a young woman tries to solve the mystery of her husband's disappearances. 

by Julia May Jonas

Book cover for Vladimir

The narrator of this provocative and utterly readable novel is a much loved English professor, who finds that her charismatic professor husband is facing a flood of accusations from former students. The couple have long had an understanding about taking lovers, but suddenly life has acquired an uncomfortable edge. And things get even more twisted when the narrator finds herself in the grip of an obsession with Vladimir, a young and feted married novelist who is new to the campus. This explosive, edgy debut traces the tangled contradictions of power and lust.

by Gina Chung

Book cover for Sea Change

Stuck in a rut, Ro faces the challenges of her thirties: a strained relationship with her mother and a boyfriend who left for a Mars mission. Her days are mundane at the aquarium, and her nights involve consuming sharktinis. With her best friend drifting away and Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus, as her sole connection to her vanished marine biologist father, Ro's world unravels when Dolores is sold to a wealthy investor. On the verge of self-destruction, Ro must confront her past, rediscover her purpose, and embrace the evolving world to heal her childhood scars and rebuild her life.

by André Dao

Book cover for Anam

Anam takes us on a poignant journey from 1930s Hanoi to Saigon, Paris, Melbourne, and Cambridge, exploring memory, inheritance, colonialism, and belonging. The narrator, born into a Vietnamese family in Melbourne, grapples with his grandfather's haunting tale of imprisonment in Chi Hoa prison under the Communist government. Straddling his Australian upbringing and Vietnamese heritage, he faces the impact of his grandfather's death and the birth of his daughter on his own life's trajectory. André Dao artfully weaves fiction and essay, theory and personal experience, revealing forgotten aspects of history and family archives. 

Learned by Heart

By emma donoghue.

Book cover for Learned by Heart

In 1805, at a boarding school in York, two fourteen-year-old girls cross paths. Eliza Raine, an orphan with an Indian heritage, feels isolated due to her differences. Anne Lister, a rebellious spirit, defies societal norms for women. Their love story blossoms, creating a profound bond that transcends time and shapes their lives forever. Learned By Heart is the heartbreaking story of the love of two women – Anne Lister, the real-life inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, and her first love, Eliza Raine – from the bestselling author of  Room  and  The Wonder.

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Briefly, a delicious life, by nell stevens.

Book cover for Briefly, A Delicious Life

It's 1838, and Frédéric Chopin, George Sand and her children are en route to a Mallorcan monastery. They are in recovery from life in Paris, seeking a more simple existence. The unexpected witness of their new life is Blanca, a ghost who has been at the monastery for more than three hundred years, her young life having been cut short. And when George Sand arrives, a lovely woman in a man's clothes, Blanca is in love. Meanwhile, the village is looking suspiciously at the new arrivals, as a difficult winter closes in . . . 

by Hannah Kent

Book cover for Devotion

It's 1836 in Prussia, and teenage Hanne is finding the domestic world of womanhood increasingly oppressive. She longs to be out in nature, and finds little companionship with the local girls. Until, that is, she meets kindred spirit Thea. Hanne is from a family of Old Lutherans, whose worship is suppressed and secret. Safe passage to Australia offers liberty from these restrictions. But a long and harsh journey lies ahead, one which will put the girls' close bond to a terrible test.

The House of Fortune

By jessie burton.

Book cover for The House of Fortune

A glorious, sweeping story of fate and ambition, The House of Fortune is the sequel to Jessie Burton’s bestseller  The Miniaturist . Amsterdam, 1705. Thea Brandt is about to turn eighteen and she can't wait to become an adult. Walter, her true love, awaits Thea at the city's theatre. But at home on the Herengracht things are tense. Her father Otto and Aunt Nella bicker incessantly and are selling furniture so the family can eat. And, on her birthday, the day her mother Marin died, secrets from Thea's past threaten to eclipse the present. Nella is feeling a prickling sensation in her neck, which recalls the miniaturist who toyed with her life eighteen years ago.

The best literary fiction to come in 2024

By nathan hill.

Book cover for Wellness

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the 90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, but fast-forward twenty years to married life, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons. Moving from the gritty 90s Chicago art scene to a suburbia of detox diets and home renovation hysteria,  Wellness  is a powerfully affecting novel about how we change, grow and age. It is a story of a marriage, middle age, our tech-obsessed health culture, and the bonds that keep people together. 

How I Won A Nobel Prize

By julius taranto.

Book cover for How I Won A Nobel Prize

Helen, a graduate student on a quest to save the planet, is one of the best minds of her generation. But when her irreplaceable advisor’s student sex scandal is exposed, she must choose whether to give up on her work or accompany him to RIP, a research institute which grants safe harbour to the disgraced. As Helen settles into life at the institute alongside her partner Hew, she develops a crush on an older novelist, while he is drawn to an increasingly violent protest movement. Julius Taranto’s wickedly satirical and refreshingly irreverent debut , examines the price we are willing to pay for progress and what it means to be a good person.

by Kristin Hannah

Book cover for The Women

Frankie McGrath, a nursing student in 1965 California, has her world transformed when she's told "women can be heroes, too." Joining the Army Nurses Corps to follow her brother to Vietnam, Frankie faces the harsh realities of war and its aftermath. Amidst chaos and heartbreak, she finds strength in female friendship and learns the value of sacrifice and commitment. This emotionally charged novel illuminates the often-forgotten stories of women who bravely served their country. With a memorable heroine, searing insights, and lyrical beauty, The Women is a poignant tale of courage. 

Where There Was Fire

By john manuel arias.

Book cover for Where There Was Fire

Set in Costa Rica, 1968, John Manuel Arias’s debut novel  explores the aftermath of a devastating plantation fire that veils a huge scandal and alters Teresa Cepeda Valverde’s family forever. Twenty-seven years later, Teresa and her estranged daughter Lyra are still grappling with the past. Lyra is determined to uncover that night's events, while Teresa is haunted by her lost husband and a resentful spirit. This powerful tale unfolds a mother-daughter journey toward understanding and forgiveness, amid a family mystery rooted in love, betrayal, and greed.

The World and All That It Holds

By aleksandar hemon.

Book cover for The World and All That It Holds

Rafael Pinto spends his days crushing herbs and tablets at the pharmacy he inherited from his father. While it's a far cry from his poetry-filled student days in Vienna, life feels peaceful. That is until a June day in 1914 when the world explodes and soon, finding himself in the trenches of Galicia, Pinto's fantasies fall flat. As war devours, all he has left is the attention of Osman, a fellow soldier who complements Pinto's introspective, poetic soul. Together, Pinto and Osman will escape the trenches and find themselves entangled with spies and Bolsheviks. In this story of love and war, it is Pinto's love for Osman that will truly survive. 

‘ Alexsandar Hemon's new novel is immense. ... It contains almost as much as its title promises. By turns lyrical and sardonic, it is as emotionally compelling as it is clever. I'll be surprised if I enjoy a novel more this year. ’ Guardian

What You Need From The Night

By laurent petitmangin.

Book cover for What You Need From The Night

How can a father and son find common ground when everything seems set to break them apart? A father, forced by tragedy to raise his sons alone, releases they are taking two different paths. One plans for university in Paris. The other joins a far-right group. Initially seeking camaraderie, their activities lead him to a violent confrontation. Tense, sharp and ultimately heartbreaking, Laurent Petitmangin's first novel, What You Need From The Night , asks what acts can truly be forgiven.

The best literary fiction books of 2022

Young mungo, by douglas stuart.

Book cover for Young Mungo

Mungo is a Protestant and James is a Catholic, both inhabiting the hyper-masculine world of two Glasgow housing estates, split violently along sectarian lines. The two should be enemies but, finding sanctuary in the doocot James has created for his racing pigeons, they grow closer and closer. Dreaming of escape and under constant threat of discovery, Mungo and James attempt to navigate a dangerous and uncertain future together.

The story behind the Young Mungo cover

Very cold people, by sarah manguso.

Book cover for Very Cold People

Growing up on the edge of a wealthy but culturally threadbare New England town, Ruth goes under the radar. Nobody pays her attention, but she watches everything – recording with precision the painful unfurling of her youth and enduring difficult and damaging parenting from the mocking, undermining adults in her life. But as the adults of the book fail to grow up, Ruth gracefully arcs towards maturity in a story that grapples with many of life's ugly truths. 

Concerning My Daughter

By kim hye-jin.

Book cover for Concerning My Daughter

A mother lets her thirty-something daughter – Green – move into her apartment, with dreams that she will find a good job and a good husband to start a family with. But Green arrives with her girlfriend Lane, and her mother finds it hard to be civil. She is similarly unaccepting of her daughter's entanglement in a case of unfair dismissal from her university employers, involving gay colleagues. Yet Green's mother finds that she has her own moral battle to fight, defending the right to care of a dementia patient who has chosen an unconventional life and has no family. Translated from Korean by Jamie Chang, this is a universal tale about ageing, prejudice and love.

‘ An admirably nuanced portrait of prejudice . . . one that boldly takes on the daunting task of humanizing someone whose prejudice has made her cruel. ’ The New York Times on Concerning My Daughter

The Passenger

By cormac mccarthy.

Book cover for The Passenger

A sunken jet. Nine passengers. A missing body. The Passenger  is the story of a salvage diver, haunted by loss, afraid of the watery deep, pursued for a conspiracy beyond his understanding, and longing for a death he cannot reconcile with God. The first of two novels published in 2022 by literary great Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger is followed by Stella Maris  –  both are too good to be missed. 

The Women Could Fly

By megan giddings.

Book cover for The Women Could Fly

The Women Could Fly  is a speculative feminist novel for our times, set in a time where magic is reality, and single women are monitored in case they turn out to be witches. Josephine Thomas has heard a plethora of theories about her mother's death: that she was abducted, murdered and that she was a witch. This is a concerning accusation, because women who act strangely – especially Black women – can soon find themselves being tried for witchcraft. Facing the prospect of a State-mandated marriage, Jo decides to honour one last request written in her mother's will.

Kololo Hill

By neema shah.

Book cover for Kololo Hill

Neema Shah’s impressive debut literary novel is set amidst the turmoil of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin. When a devastating decree is announced which says all Ugandan Asians must leave the country in ninety days, Asha and Pran and Pran’s mother Jaya, must leave everything they’ve ever known for a new life in Britain. But as they try to rebuild their lives, a terrible secret hangs over them.

The Lamplighters

By emma stonex.

Book cover for The Lamplighters

Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week. Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on, when they are given the chance to tell their side of the story. Inspired by true events, this enthralling and suspenseful mystery is a beautifully written exploration of love and grief, perception and reality. 

The Exhibitionist

By charlotte mendelson.

Book cover for The Exhibitionist

Meet the Hanrahan family, gathering for a momentous weekend as famous artist and notorious egoist Ray Hanrahan prepares for a new exhibition of his art – the first in many decades – and one he is sure will burnish his reputation for good. His three children will be there: beautiful Leah, sensitive Patrick, and insecure Jess, the youngest, who has a momentous decision to make..And what of Lucia, Ray’s steadfast and selfless wife? She is an artist, too, but has always had to put her roles as wife and mother first. But Lucia is hiding secrets of her own, and as the weekend unfolds and the exhibition approaches, she must finally make a choice. 

‘ It takes the most ferocious intelligence, skill and a deep reservoir of sadness to write a novel as funny as this. I adored it. ’ Meg Mason on The Exhibitionist

Of Women and Salt

By gabriela garcia.

Book cover for Of Women and Salt

A New York Times bestseller, Of Women and Salt tells the story of five generations of fierce Latina women, linked by blood and circumstance. From nineteenth-century cigar factories to present-day detention centres, this novel is a haunting meditation on the choices of mothers and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their truth despite those who wish to silence them. 

The Dance Tree

By kiran millwood hargrave.

Book cover for The Dance Tree

It's 1518 in Strasbourg, and in the intense summer heat a solitary woman starts to dance in the main square. She dances for days without rest, and is joined by hundreds of other women. The city authorities declare a state of emergency, and bring in musicians to play the devil out of the dancing women. Meanwhile pregnant Lisbet, who lives at the edge of the city, is tending to the family's bees. The dancing plague intensifies, as Lisbet is drawn into a net of secret passions and deceptions. Inspired by true events, this is a compelling story of superstition, transformative change and women pushed to their limits.

Disorientation

By elaine hsieh chou.

Book cover for Disorientation

This raucous and heartwarming satire asks – who gets to tell our stories? And can we change the narrative if we get to write it ourselves?  PhD student Ingrid Yang can't wait to finish her dissertation on major poet Xiao-Wen Chou so she never has to read about ‘Chinese-y’ things again. Then she finds an enigmatic note in the Chou archive, which leads to an explosive discovery and a roller coaster of misadventures. Ingrid's gentle fiancé doesn't look quite the same in the aftermath, as she confronts her troubled relationship with white men and their institutions and, more importantly, herself . . .

by Keith Ridgway

Book cover for A Shock

This prize-winning novel centres around loosely connected characters on the edges of London life, who appear and disappear from the narrative as they cling to sanity and solvency. In a high-wire space between realism and fantasy, Ridgway achieves a miracle of dramatic, pin-sharp writing.

Sea of Tranquillity

By emily st. john mandel.

Book cover for Sea of Tranquillity

It's 1912, and eighteen-year-old Edwin St. Andrew is on a journey across the Atlantic, having been exiled from society in England. Arriving in British Columbia, he enters a forest, mesmerised by the Canadian wilderness. All is silent, before the notes of a violin reverberate through the air. Two centuries later, and acclaimed author Olive Llewelyn is travelling over the earth, on a break from her home in the second moon colony. At the heart of her bestselling novel, a man plays a violin for spare change in the corridor of an airship terminal, as a forest rises around him. This compelling novel immerses the reader in parallel worlds, and multiple possibilities.

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Our wives under the sea, by julia armfield.

Book cover for Our Wives Under The Sea

Leah is back from a perilous and troubling deep sea mission, and Miri is delighted to have her wife home. But Leah has carried the undersea trauma into the couple's domestic life, and it is causing a rupture in their relationship. The debut novel from the author of acclaimed short story collection salt slow , Our Wives Under The Sea is a rich meditation on love, loss and the mysteries of the ocean.

by Raven Leilani

Book cover for Luster

Raven Leilani is a funny and original new voice in literary fiction. Her razor-sharp yet surprisingly tender debut is an essential novel about what it means to be young now. Edie is messing up her life, and no one seems to care. Then she meets Eric, who is white, middle-aged and comes with a wife who has sort-of-agreed to an open marriage and an adopted black daughter who doesn’t have a single person in her life who can show her how to do her hair. And as if life wasn’t hard enough, Edie finds herself falling head-first into Eric’s family. 

‘ In this cutting, hot-blooded book, the entanglements that unfold are as complicated as they are heartbreaking. ’ New Statesman on Luster

The best literary fiction of all time

White noise, by don delillo.

Book cover for White Noise

Possibly DeLillo’s funniest book,  White Noise  introduced his work to a wider audience than ever before and established his reputation as a master of postmodern fiction. Jack Gladney is the creator and chairman of Hitler studies at the College-on-the-Hill. The novel is a story about his absurd life; a life that is going well enough, until a chemical spill from a rail car releases an 'Airborne Toxic Event' and Jack is forced to confront his biggest fear – his own mortality. DeLillo's bestselling story effortlessly combines social satire and metaphysical dilemma, exposing our rampant consumerism, media saturation and novelty intellectualism.

Shuggie Bain

Book cover for Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart’s blistering, Booker Prize-winning debut is a heartbreaking story that lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty and the limits of love. Set in a poverty-stricken Glasgow in the early 1980s, Agnes Bain has always dreamed of greater things. But when her husband abandons her she finds herself trapped in a decimated mining town and descends deeper and deeper into drink. Her son Shuggie tries to help her long after her other children have fled, but he too must abandon her to save himself. Shuggie is different and he is picked on by the local children and condemned by adults as 'no’ right’. But he believes that if he tries his hardest he can be like other boys and escape this hopeless place.

Blood Meridian

Book cover for Blood Meridian

Written in 1985, Blood Meridian is set in the anarchic world opened up by America’s westward expansion. Through the hostile landscape of the Texas–Mexico border wanders the Kid, a fourteen year-old Tennessean who is quickly swept up in the relentless tide of blood. But the apparent chaos is not without its order: while Americans hunt Indians – collecting scalps as their bloody trophies – they too are stalked as prey. Powerful, mesmerizing and savagely beautiful, Blood Meridian is considered one of the most important works in American fiction of the last century.

The Line of Beauty

By alan hollinghurst.

Book cover for The Line of Beauty

The Line of Beauty  is Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning masterpiece. In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the wealthy Feddens: Gerald, an ambitious Tory MP, his wife Rachel and their children Toby and Catherine. Innocent of politics and money, Nick is swept up into the Feddens’ world and an era of endless possibility, all the while pursuing his own private obsession with beauty. This is a novel that defines a decade, exploring with peerless style a young man's collision with his own desires, and with a world he can never truly belong to. 

Middle Passage

By charles johnson.

Book cover for Middle Passage

Rutherford Calhoun, a puckish rogue and newly freed slave, spends his days around the docks of New Orleans, dodging debt collectors, gangsters, and a woman who seeks to marry him. When the heat from his pursuers overwhelms him, he cons his way onto the next ship leaving the dock: the Republic. Upon boarding, he discovers that he is on an illegal slave ship, looking to capture members of the legendary Allmuseri tribe. The Captain also has a secondary objective: securing a mysterious cargo that possesses an otherworldly power. A blend of allegory, black comedy, naval adventure and supernatural horror,   Middle Passage  is a true modern classic.

A House for Mr Biswas

By v. s. naipaul.

Book cover for A House for Mr Biswas

Written in 1961 and set in post-colonial Trinidad, this is the story of Mr Biswas, a man born into misfortune, and his quest to find a worthy home of his own. A House for Mr Biswas is a multi-faceted read that is all-at-once satisfying, lyrical and humorous.

by Jamaica Kincaid

Book cover for Annie John

Much loved only child Annie has always had a tranquil life. She and her beautiful mother are intertwined and inseparable. But when Annie turns twelve, her life shifts. She questions authority, makes rebel friends and wonders about the culture assumptions of her island world. And the unconditional love between Annie and her mother takes an adversarial turn. A coming of age classic, narrated with wonderfully candid complexity.

A Little Life

Book cover for A Little Life

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and celebrated as ‘the great gay novel’ , Hanya Yanagihara’s immensely powerful story of brotherly love and the limits of human endurance has had a visceral impact on many a reader. Willem, Jude, Malcolm and JB meet at college in Massachusetts and form a firm friendship, moving to New York upon graduation. Over the years their friendships deepen and darken as they celebrate successes and face failures, but their greatest challenge is Jude himself – an increasingly broken man scarred by an unspeakable childhood. This is a book that will stay with you long after the last page.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

By toshikazu kawaguchi.

Book cover for Before the Coffee Gets Cold

First released in Japan in 2015, this bestseller has since been translated for English audiences. The story takes place in a small basement café in Japan, home to a very special urban legend: visitors can travel back in time. There are strict rules, however; you can only travel back to speak to people who have visited the café itself, you cannot leave your seat while in the past, nothing you do will change the present, and you must return before your coffee gets cold. Each character comes to the café with a new reason to time travel. As many of the patrons discover, you can’t change the present, but you can change yourself.

Breasts and Eggs

By mieko kawakami.

Book cover for Breasts and Eggs

This literary debut, which Haruki Murakami called ‘breathtaking’, is a must-read for fans of contemporary literary fiction. Mieko Kawakami paints a radical picture of contemporary working-class womanhood in Japan as she recounts the heartbreaking stories of three women who must survive in a society where the odds are stacked against them.

‘ I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami’s novella Breasts and Eggs . . . breathtaking . . . Mieko Kawakami is always ceaselessly growing and evolving. ’ Haruki Murakami on Breasts and Eggs

Burial Rites

Book cover for Burial Rites

In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of her lover. Agnes is sent to wait out her final months on the farm of district officer Jón Jónsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderer in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed Agnes’s spiritual guardian, is compelled to try to understand her. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side, Agnes’s story begins to emerge and with it the family’s terrible realization that all is not as they had assumed.

In this episode of Book Break Emma shares her recommendations for the best new literary fiction. 

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Book Reviews

Literary fiction dominates maureen corrigan's 2021 best books list.

Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan picks the best books of 2021.

This was a spectacular year for literary fiction, so my "Best Books" list is exclusively composed of novels and short story collections — and I wish I could triple its length, but I'll keep it to 10.

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun takes pride of place in this list. As he did in his 2005 novel Never Let Me Go , Kazuo Ishiguro here explores what it means to be human through the perspective of a being who's regarded as merely "humanlike." Ishiguro is the master of slowly deepening our awareness of fragility and the inevitability of death — all that, even as he deepens our awareness of what temporary magic it is to be alive in the first place.

Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land

by Anthony Doerr

Of all our contemporary literary fiction writers, Anthony Doerr is the one whose novels seem to be the most full-hearted response to the primal request, "Tell me a story." Doerr's latest, Cloud Cuckoo Land , spans eight centuries and dramatizes how an ancient tale gives light and hope to five young people, each living in dangerous times, with correspondences to our own.

Light Perpetual, by Francis Spufford

Light Perpetual

by Francis Spufford

Francis Spufford's historical novel, Light Perpetual , is a miracle not only of art, but of empathy. It opens with a real-life incident: the dropping of a V-2 rocket on a Woolworths in London one Saturday in 1944. What follows is a narrative that unsentimentally imagines the lives that five of the victims, all children, might have lived. Light Perpetual is a resonant novel about chance, as well as a God's-eye meditation on mutability and loss.

Matrix, by Lauren Groff

by Lauren Groff

Don't be misled by the title, Lauren Groff 's historical novel Matrix is no dystopian thriller, but rather a radiant novel about the 12 th -century poet and mystic Marie de France, about whose life we know almost nothing. No matter. Groff richly imagines Marie's decades of exile in a royal convent, which she eventually leads. A charged novel about female ambition, Matrix also dramatizes Marie's canny political insight that: "most souls upon the earth are not at ease unless they find themselves safe in the hands of a force far greater than themselves."

Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle

by Colson Whitehead

I'm beginning to think that any year Colson Whitehead brings out a new novel I should just reserve a spot on my "Best Books" list for it. Harlem Shuffle is a crime story in the sardonic style of Chester Himes ' classic Cotton Comes to Harlem, crossed with every film noir ever made about a good man caught up in a bad situation. Ray Carney, a family man, sells used furniture in the New York of the late 1950s and early '60s: You can smell the dust on the blond wood console radios he's trying to unload as TV sets are taking over. When Ray's cousin lures him into a heist at the Hotel Theresa — the so-called "Waldorf of Harlem" — Ray's hard-won respectability threatens to crumble.

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

Afterparties

by Anthony Veasna So

Afterparties , by the late Anthony Veasna So, was one of the big buzz books this year and it exceeded and upended my expectations. So, who died at the age of 28 before the book came out, was a queer first-generation Cambodian American who wrote smart, flip, rude, funny, sexually explicit and compassionate stories about the Cambodian refugee community in Stockton, Calif.

My Monticello, by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

My Monticello

by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

The title novella of Jocelyn Nicole Johnson 's collection, My Monticello , is set in the near future when a group of mostly African American characters takes a last stand against the forces of racism high atop the "little mountain" that gives Thomas Jefferson's plantation its name. That novella is a rich, eerie riff on American mythology.

Skinship, by Yoon Choi

by Yoon Choi

The eight stories in Yoon Choi's collection, Skinship , splinter out to touch on decades of family history shaped, sometimes warped, by immigration. Choi takes that familiar topic and makes her characters' predicaments vivid and nuanced.

Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout

Oh William!

by Elizabeth Strout

In Oh William! Elizabeth Strout returns to her writer character, Lucy Barton, who, with her ex-husband, goes on a road trip that carries them deep into the wilderness of their failed marriage and personal pasts. That summary sounds grim, but if you know Strout you know that she compresses into the most ordinary conversations epiphanies about love, parenting and the untold ways we humans mess up.

We Run the Tides, by Vedela Vida

We Run the Tides

by Vendela Vida

Finally, I want to give one last plug to a novel that I don't think has yet gotten all the recognition it deserves: Vendela Vida 's We Run the Tides . Set in the mid-1980s in the Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco that's perched on the very edge of the Pacific, the novel follows a squad of four 13-year-old girls also perched on the very edge of things. Haunted, tough and exquisite, this sliver of a novel summons up a world of female adolescence that I, for one, wanted to remain lost in — and yet also felt relieved to have outgrown.

Check Out NPR's 2021 Book We Love!

9 literary books

NPR's Book We Love returns with 360+ new books handpicked by NPR staff and critics — including recommendations from Maureen Corrigan and Fresh Air staffer Molly Seavy-Nesper. Click to find your next great read. NPR hide caption

NPR's Book We Love returns with 360+ new books handpicked by NPR staff and critics — including recommendations from Maureen Corrigan and Fresh Air staffer Molly Seavy-Nesper. Click to find your next great read.

The Greatest Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books in literature. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 194 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed literary works. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details about the selection process can be found on the rankings page .

List Calculation Details

If you're interested in downloading this list as a CSV file for use in a spreadsheet application, you can easily do so by clicking the button below. Please note that to ensure a manageable file size and faster download, the CSV will include details for only the first 500 books.

1. Ulysses by James Joyce

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Set in Dublin, the novel follows a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, an advertising salesman, as he navigates the city. The narrative, heavily influenced by Homer's Odyssey, explores themes of identity, heroism, and the complexities of everyday life. It is renowned for its stream-of-consciousness style and complex structure, making it a challenging but rewarding read.

2. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Cover of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This novel is a multi-generational saga that focuses on the Buendía family, who founded the fictional town of Macondo. It explores themes of love, loss, family, and the cyclical nature of history. The story is filled with magical realism, blending the supernatural with the ordinary, as it chronicles the family's experiences, including civil war, marriages, births, and deaths. The book is renowned for its narrative style and its exploration of solitude, fate, and the inevitability of repetition in history.

3. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

Cover of 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust

This renowned novel is a sweeping exploration of memory, love, art, and the passage of time, told through the narrator's recollections of his childhood and experiences into adulthood in the late 19th and early 20th century aristocratic France. The narrative is notable for its lengthy and intricate involuntary memory episodes, the most famous being the "madeleine episode". It explores the themes of time, space and memory, but also raises questions about the nature of art and literature, and the complex relationships between love, sexuality, and possession.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Set in the summer of 1922, the novel follows the life of a young and mysterious millionaire, his extravagant lifestyle in Long Island, and his obsessive love for a beautiful former debutante. As the story unfolds, the millionaire's dark secrets and the corrupt reality of the American dream during the Jazz Age are revealed. The narrative is a critique of the hedonistic excess and moral decay of the era, ultimately leading to tragic consequences.

5. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes

This classic novel follows the adventures of a man who, driven mad by reading too many chivalric romances, decides to become a knight-errant and roam the world righting wrongs under the name Don Quixote. Accompanied by his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, he battles windmills he believes to be giants and champions the virtuous lady Dulcinea, who is in reality a simple peasant girl. The book is a richly layered critique of the popular literature of Cervantes' time and a profound exploration of reality and illusion, madness and sanity.

6. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Cover of 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville

The novel is a detailed narrative of a vengeful sea captain's obsessive quest to hunt down a giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg. The captain's relentless pursuit, despite the warnings and concerns of his crew, leads them on a dangerous journey across the seas. The story is a complex exploration of good and evil, obsession, and the nature of reality, filled with rich descriptions of whaling and the sea.

7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy

Set in the backdrop of the Napoleonic era, the novel presents a panorama of Russian society and its descent into the chaos of war. It follows the interconnected lives of five aristocratic families, their struggles, romances, and personal journeys through the tumultuous period of history. The narrative explores themes of love, war, and the meaning of life, as it weaves together historical events with the personal stories of its characters.

8. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger

The novel follows the story of a teenager named Holden Caulfield, who has just been expelled from his prep school. The narrative unfolds over the course of three days, during which Holden experiences various forms of alienation and his mental state continues to unravel. He criticizes the adult world as "phony" and struggles with his own transition into adulthood. The book is a profound exploration of teenage rebellion, alienation, and the loss of innocence.

9. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

A young, impoverished former student in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker to redistribute her wealth among the needy. However, after carrying out the act, he is consumed by guilt and paranoia, leading to a psychological battle within himself. As he grapples with his actions, he also navigates complex relationships with a variety of characters, including a virtuous prostitute, his sister, and a relentless detective. The narrative explores themes of morality, redemption, and the psychological impacts of crime.

10. Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell

Cover of 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by George Orwell

Set in a dystopian future, the novel presents a society under the total control of a totalitarian regime, led by the omnipresent Big Brother. The protagonist, a low-ranking member of 'the Party', begins to question the regime and falls in love with a woman, an act of rebellion in a world where independent thought, dissent, and love are prohibited. The novel explores themes of surveillance, censorship, and the manipulation of truth.

11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Cover of 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen

Set in early 19th-century England, this classic novel revolves around the lives of the Bennet family, particularly the five unmarried daughters. The narrative explores themes of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage within the society of the landed gentry. It follows the romantic entanglements of Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest daughter, who is intelligent, lively, and quick-witted, and her tumultuous relationship with the proud, wealthy, and seemingly aloof Mr. Darcy. Their story unfolds as they navigate societal expectations, personal misunderstandings, and their own pride and prejudice.

12. The Bible by Christian Church

Cover of 'The Bible' by Christian Church

This religious text is a compilation of 66 books divided into the Old and New Testaments, forming the central narrative for Christianity. It encompasses a variety of genres, including historical accounts, poetry, prophecy, and teaching, telling the story of God's relationship with humanity, from creation to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the early Christian church. It is considered by believers to be divinely inspired and serves as a guide for faith and practice.

13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë

This classic novel is a tale of love, revenge and social class set in the Yorkshire moors. It revolves around the intense, complex relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, an orphan adopted by Catherine's father. Despite their deep affection for each other, Catherine marries Edgar Linton, a wealthy neighbor, leading Heathcliff to seek revenge on the two families. The story unfolds over two generations, reflecting the consequences of their choices and the destructive power of obsessive love.

14. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll

This novel follows the story of a young girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastical world full of peculiar creatures and bizarre experiences. As she navigates through this strange land, she encounters a series of nonsensical events, including a tea party with a Mad Hatter, a pool of tears, and a trial over stolen tarts. The book is renowned for its playful use of language, logic, and its exploration of the boundaries of reality.

15. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov

The novel tells the story of Humbert Humbert, a man with a disturbing obsession for young girls, or "nymphets" as he calls them. His obsession leads him to engage in a manipulative and destructive relationship with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Lolita. The narrative is a controversial exploration of manipulation, obsession, and unreliable narration, as Humbert attempts to justify his actions and feelings throughout the story.

16. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Cover of 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri

In this epic poem, the protagonist embarks on an extraordinary journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso). Guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil and his beloved Beatrice, he encounters various historical and mythological figures in each realm, witnessing the eternal consequences of earthly sins and virtues. The journey serves as an allegory for the soul's progression towards God, offering profound insights into the nature of good and evil, free will, and divine justice.

17. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Cover of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain

The novel follows the journey of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn and a runaway slave named Jim as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. Set in the American South before the Civil War, the story explores themes of friendship, freedom, and the hypocrisy of society. Through various adventures and encounters with a host of colorful characters, Huck grapples with his personal values, often clashing with the societal norms of the time.

18. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

This classic novel explores the complex, passionate, and troubled relationship between four brothers and their father in 19th century Russia. The narrative delves into the themes of faith, doubt, morality, and redemption, as each brother grapples with personal dilemmas and family conflicts. The story culminates in a dramatic trial following a murder, which serves as a microcosm of the moral and philosophical struggles faced by each character, and by extension, humanity itself.

19. The Odyssey by Homer

Cover of 'The Odyssey' by Homer

This epic poem follows the Greek hero Odysseus on his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. Along the way, he encounters many obstacles including mythical creatures, divine beings, and natural disasters. Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus fend off suitors vying for Penelope's hand in marriage, believing Odysseus to be dead. The story concludes with Odysseus's return, his slaughter of the suitors, and his reunion with his family.

20. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

Set in the racially charged South during the Depression, the novel follows a young girl and her older brother as they navigate their small town's societal norms and prejudices. Their father, a lawyer, is appointed to defend a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, forcing the children to confront the harsh realities of racism and injustice. The story explores themes of morality, innocence, and the loss of innocence through the eyes of the young protagonists.

21. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy

Set in 19th-century Russia, this novel revolves around the life of Anna Karenina, a high-society woman who, dissatisfied with her loveless marriage, embarks on a passionate affair with a charming officer named Count Vronsky. This scandalous affair leads to her social downfall, while parallel to this, the novel also explores the rural life and struggles of Levin, a landowner who seeks the meaning of life and true happiness. The book explores themes such as love, marriage, fidelity, societal norms, and the human quest for happiness.

22. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Cover of 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad

This classic novel follows the journey of a seaman who travels up the Congo River into the African interior to meet a mysterious ivory trader. Throughout his journey, he encounters the harsh realities of imperialism, the brutal treatment of native Africans, and the depths of human cruelty and madness. The protagonist's journey into the 'heart of darkness' serves as both a physical exploration of the African continent and a metaphorical exploration into the depths of human nature.

23. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary is a tragic novel about a young woman, Emma Bovary, who is married to a dull, but kind-hearted doctor. Dissatisfied with her life, she embarks on a series of extramarital affairs and indulges in a luxurious lifestyle in an attempt to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Her desire for passion and excitement leads her down a path of financial ruin and despair, ultimately resulting in a tragic end.

24. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller

The book is a satirical critique of military bureaucracy and the illogical nature of war, set during World War II. The story follows a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier stationed in Italy, who is trying to maintain his sanity while fulfilling his service requirements so that he can go home. The novel explores the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of the protagonist, who discovers that a bureaucratic rule, the "Catch-22", makes it impossible for him to escape his dangerous situation. The more he tries to avoid his military assignments, the deeper he gets sucked into the irrational world of military rule.

25. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner

The novel is a complex exploration of the tragic Compson family from the American South. Told from four distinct perspectives, the story unfolds through stream of consciousness narratives, each revealing their own understanding of the family's decline. The characters grapple with post-Civil War societal changes, personal loss, and their own mental instability. The narrative is marked by themes of time, innocence, and the burdens of the past.

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The 100 Best Classic Books to Read

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Blog – Posted on Wednesday, Oct 13

The 100 best classic books to read.

The 100 Best Classic Books to Read

Ever been caught up in a conversation about books and felt yourself cringe over your literary blind spots? Classic literature can be intimidating, but getting acquainted with the canon isn't just a form of torture cooked up by your high school English teacher: instead, an appreciation for the classics will help you see everything that's come since in a different light, and pick up on allusions that you'll begin to notice everywhere. Above all, they're just great reads — they've stood the test of time for a reason!

If you've always wanted to tackle the classics but never knew quite where to begin, we've got you covered. We've hand-selected 100 classic books to read, written by authors spanning continents and millennia. From love stories to murder mysteries, nonfiction to fantasy, there's something for everybody.

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

This milestone Spanish novel may as well be titled 100 Years on Everyone’s Must-Read List — it’s just a titan in the world literature canon. We could go on about its remarkable narrative technique, beguiling voice, and sprawling cast of characters spanning seven generations. Its famous first line may be all that’s needed to win you over: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”

2. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Newland Archer, one of 1900s New York’s most eligible bachelors, has been looking for a traditional wife, and May Welland seems just the girl — that is until Newland meets entirely unsuitable Ellen Olenska. He must now choose between the two women — and between old money prestige and a value that runs deeper than social etiquette.

3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This allegorical tale, often recommended as a self-help book , follows young shepherd Santiago as he journeys to Egypt searching for a hidden treasure. A parable telling readers that the universe can help them realize their dreams if they only focus their energy on them, Coelho’s short novel has endured the test of time and remains a bestseller today.

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4 . All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Erich Maria Remarque’s wartime classic broke ground with its unflinching look at the human cost of war through the eyes of German soldiers in the Great War. With a lauded 1930 film adaptation (only the third to win Best Picture at the Oscars), All Quiet on the Western Front remains as powerful and relevant as ever.

5 . American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings by Zitkála-Šá

Zitkála-Šá’s stories invite readers into the world of Sioux settlement, sharing childhood memories, legends, and folktales, and a memoir account of the Native American author ’s transition into Western culture when she left home. Told in beautiful, fluid language, this is a must-read book.

The World's Bestselling Mystery \'Ten . . .\' Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious \'U.N. Owen.\' \'Nine . . .\' At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead. \'Eight . . .\' Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . one by one they begin to die. \'Seven . . .\' Who among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

6 . And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

First, there were ten who arrived on the island. Strangers to one another, they shared one similarity: they had all murdered in the past. And when people begin dropping like flies, they realize that they are the ones being murdered now. An example of a mystery novel done right, this timeless classic was penned by none other than the Queen of Mystery herself .

7 . Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s celebrated novel narrates the whirlwind tale of Anna Karenina. She’s married to dull civil servant Alexei Karenin when she meets Count Vronsky, a man who changes her life forever. But an affair doesn’t come without a moral cost, and Anna’s life is soon anything but blissful.

8 . The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath’s only novel follows the young, ambitious Esther Greenwood, who falls into a depression after a directionless summer, culminating in a suicide attempt. But even as Esther survives and receives treatment, she continues wondering about her purpose and role in society — leading to much larger questions about existential fulfillment. Poetically written and stunningly authentic, The Bell Jar continues to resonate with countless readers today.

9. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Many books are said to have helped shape the world — but only a few can really stake that claim. Toni Morrison’s Beloved is one of them. One of the great literary luminaries of our time, her best-known novel is the searingly powerful story of Sethe, who was born a slave in Kentucky. Though she’s since escaped to Ohio, she is haunted by her dead baby, whose tombstone is engraved with one word: Beloved .

10 . The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Before the recent fad of feminist retellings of fairy tales, there was The Bloody Chamber . But Angela Carter’s retold tales, including twisted versions of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, are more than just feminist: they’re original, darkly irreverent, and fiercely independent. This classic book is exactly what you’d expect from the author who inspired contemporary masters like Neil Gaiman, Sarah Waters, and Margaret Atwood.

11. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Though the title evokes Audrey Hepburn, this novella came first — and the literary Holly Golightly is a very different creature from the 'good-time girl' who falls for George Peppard. Clever and chameleonic, she crafts her persona to fit others’ expectations, chasing her own American Dream while letting men think they can have it with her… only to slip through their fingers. A fascinating character study and a triumph of Capote’s wit and humanity.

12. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Set in the opulent inter-war era in England, Brideshead Revisited chronicles the increasingly complex relationship between Oxford student Charles Ryder, his university chum Sebastian, whose noble family they visit at their grand seat of Brideshead. A lush, nostalgic, and passionate rendering of a bygone era of English aristocracy.

13. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Welcome to Theoretical Physics 101. If it sounds daunting, you aren’t alone, and Stephen Hawking does a beautiful job guiding layperson readers through complex subjects. If you’re keen to learn more about such enigmas as black holes, relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and time itself, this is a perfect first taste.

14. The Call of the Wild (Reader's Library Classics) by Jack London

London's American classic is the bildungsroman of Buck: a St. Bernard/Scotch Collie mix who must adapt to life as a sled dog after a domesticated upbringing. Thrown into a harsh new reality, he must trust his instincts to survive. When he falls into the hands of a wise, experienced outdoorsman, will he become loyal to his new master or finally answer the call of the wild?

15. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Salinger’s angsty coming-of-age tale is an English class cornerstone for a good reason. The story follows Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy fed up with prep school “phonies.” Escaping to New York in search of authenticity, he soon discovers that the city is a microcosm of the society he hates. Relentlessly cynical yet profoundly moving, The Catcher in the Rye will strike a chord not just with Holden’s fellow teens but with earnest thinkers of all ages.

16. A Christmas Carol (Bantam Classics) by Charles Dickens

If you’re not acquainted with Dickens , then his evergreen Christmastime classic is the perfect introduction. Not only is it one of his best-loved works, but it’s also a slim 104 pages — a true yuletide miracle from an author with a tendency towards the tome! This short length means it’s the perfect book with which to cozy up in winter, just when you want to feel that warm holiday glow.

17. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

En route to his wedding, merchant sailor Edmond Dantès is shockingly accused of treason and thrown in prison without cause. There, he learns the secret location of a great fortune — knowledge that incites him to escape his grim fortress and take revenge on his accusers. With peerlessly propulsive prose, Dumas spins an epic tale of retribution, jealousy, and suffering that deserves every page he gives it.

18. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A masterclass in character development , the very title of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is essentially an idiom for 'epic literature.' It centers around Raskolnikov, an unremarkable man who randomly murders someone after convincing himself that his motives are lofty enough to justify his actions. It turns out that it’s never that simple, and his conscience begins to call to him more and more.

19. Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

The inspiration for the seminal 90s teen drama Cruel Intentions , Laclos's epistolary classic is a heady pre-revolutionary cocktail of sex and scandal that paints a damning portrait of high society. Laclos expertly plays with form and structure, composing a riveting narrative of letters passed between the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont — aristocratic former lovers who get in over their heads when they start playing with people's hearts. 

20. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes

In this highly atmospheric book, Fuentes draws the reader in with hypnotic, visceral descriptions of the final hours of its title character: a multifaceted tycoon, revolutionary, lover, and politician. As with many classic books, death here symbolizes corruption — yet it’s also impossible to ignore as a physical reality. As well as being a powerful statement on mortality, it's a moving history of the Mexican Revolution and a landmark in Latin-American literature .

21. Diary of a Madman, and other stories by Lu Xun

This collection is a modern Chinese classic containing chilling, satirical stories illustrating a time of great social upheaval. With tales that ask questions about what constitutes an individual's life, ordinary citizens' everyday experiences blend with enduring feudal values, ghosts, death, and even a touch of cannibalism.

22. Samuel Pepys The Diaries by Samuel Pepys

Best known for his recording the Great Fire of London, Samuel Pepys was a man whose writings have provided modern historians with one of the greatest insights into 17th-century living. The greatest hits of his diary include eyewitness accounts of the restoration of the monarchy and the Great Plague. The timelessness of this book, however, is owed to the richness of Pepys's day-to-day drama, which he records in unsparing, lively detail.

23 . A Doll's House and Other Plays (Penguin Classics) by Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a powerful play starring the seemingly frivolous housewife Nora. Her husband, Torvald, considers her to be a silly “bird” of a companion, but in reality, she’s got a much firmer grasp on the hard facts of their domestic life than he does. Readers will celebrate as she finds the voice to speak her true thoughts.

24. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Entranced by tales of chivalry, a minor nobleman reinvents himself as a knight. He travels the land jousting giants and delivering justice — though, in reality, he’s tilting at windmills and fighting friars. And while Don Quixote lives out a fantasy in his head, an imposter puts it to the page, further blurring the line between fiction and reality. Considered by many to be the first modern novel, Don Quixote is undoubtedly the work of a master storyteller.

25. The Dream of The Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin

A treasured classic of Chinese literature, Dream of the Red Chamber is a rich, sprawling text that explores the darkest corners of high society during the Qing Dynasty. Focusing on two branches of a fading aristocratic clan, it details the lives of almost forty major characters, including Jia Baoyu, the heir apparent whose romantic notions may threaten the family's future.

26. Dune by Frank Herbert

A dazzling epic science fiction classic, Dune created a now-immortalized interstellar society featuring a conflict between various noble families. On the desert planet of Arrakis, House Atreides controls the production of a high-demand drug known as "the spice". As political conflicts mount and spice-related revelations occur, young heir Paul Atreides must push himself to the absolute limit to save his planet and his loved ones.

27. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy became the blueprint for countless fantasy series , and this first installment is its epic start. In The Fellowship of the Ring, we meet Frodo Baggins and his troupe of loyal friends, all of whom embark on a fateful mission: to destroy the One Ring and its awful powers forever.

28. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan’s disruptive feminist text sheds light on the midcentury dissatisfaction of homemakers across America. Her case studies of unhappy women relegated to the domestic sphere, striving for careers and identities beyond the home, cut deep even now — and in retrospect, were a clear catalyst for second-wave feminism in the United States.

29. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Shelley’s hugely influential classic recounts the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein: a scientist who mistakenly engineers a violent monster. When Victor abandons his creation, the monster escapes and threatens to kill Victor’s family — unless he’s given a mate. Facing tremendous moral pressure, Victor must choose: foster a new race to possibly destroy humanity, or be responsible for the deaths of everyone he’s ever loved?

30. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

A defining entry in the LGBTQ+ canon , Giovanni’s Room relates one man’s struggle with his sexuality, as well as the broader consequences of the toxic patriarchy. After David, our narrator, has traveled to France to find himself, he begins a relationship with messy, magnetic Giovanni — the perfect foil to David’s safe, dull girlfriend. As more trouble arises, David agonizes over who he is, what he wants, and whether it is even possible to obtain it in this world.

31. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

This inventive meta novel is the first of Lessing’s “inner space” works, dealing with ideas of mental and societal breakdown. It revolves around writer Anna Wulf, who hopes to combine the notebooks about her life into one grand narrative. But despite her creative strides, Anna has irreparably fragmented herself — and working to re-synthesize her different sides eventually drives her mad.

32. Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves

Few people possess enough raw material to pen a memoir at the age of 34. Robert Graves — having already lived through the First World War and the seismic shifts it sparked in English society and sensibilities — peppers his sober account of social and personal turmoil with moments of surprising levity. Graves would later go on to write I, Claudius, a novel of the Roman Empire that is considered one of the greatest books ever written.

33. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Following one Oklahoma family’s journey out of the Dust Bowl in search of a better life in California, Steinbeck’s classic is a vivid snapshot of Depression-era America, and about as devastating as it gets. Both tragic and awe-inspiring, The Grapes of Wrath is widely considered to be Steinbeck's best book and a front-runner for the title of The Great American Novel.

34. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

When talking of the Great American Novel, you cannot help but mention this work by F. Scott Fitzgerald. More than just a champagne-soaked story of love, betrayal, and murder, The Great Gatsby has a lot to say about class, identity, and belonging if you scratch its surface. You probably read this classic book in high school, but a return visit to West Egg is more than justified.

35. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Meet John Singer, a deaf and nonverbal man who sits in the same café every day. Here, in the deep American South of the 1930s, John meets an assortment of people and acts as the silent, kind keeper of their stories — right up until an unforgettable ending that will blow you away. It’s hard to believe McCullers was only 23 when she penned this Southern gothic classic.

36. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

An epic work that befits its lengthy title, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chronicles thirteen centuries of Roman rule. It chronicles its leaders, conflicts, and the events that led to its collapse— an outcome that Gibbon lays at the feet of Christianity. This work is an ambitious feat at over six volumes, though one that Gibbon pulls off with great panache.

37. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Arthur Dent is an Englishman, an enjoyer of tea — and the only person to survive the destruction of the Earth. Accompanied by an alien author, Dent must now venture into the intergalactic bypass to figure out what’s going on. Though by no means the first comedic genre book, Douglas Adams’s masterpiece certainly popularized the idea that science fiction doesn't have to be earnest and straight-faced.

38. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle’s world-famous detective needs no introduction. Mythologized in film and television many times over by now, this mystery of a diabolical hound roaming the moors in Devon is perhaps Sherlock Holmes’s most famous adventure.

39. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Few first-time novelists have had the kind of impact and success enjoyed by Isabel Allende with her triumphant debut. Found at the top of pretty much every list of ‘best sweeping family sagas,’ The House of the Spirits chronicles the tumultuous history of the Trueba family, entwining the personal, the political, and the magical.

40. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

A perennial personal development staple, How to Win Friends and Influence People has been flying off the shelves since its release in 1936. Full of tried-and-true tips for garnering favor in both professional and personal settings, you’ll want to read the classic book that launched the entire self-help industry.

41. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

From a small Southern town to San Francisco, this landmark memoir covers Maya Angelou’s childhood years growing up in the United States, facing daily prejudice, racism, and sexism. Yet what shines the brightest on every page is Maya Angelou’s voice — which made the book an instant classic in 1969 and has endured to this day.

42. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

You don’t have to be a sci-fi buff (or a Will Smith fan) to understand I, Robot’s iconic status. But if you are one, you’ll know the impact Isaac Asimov’s short story collection has had on subsequent generations of writers. Razor-sharp and thought-provoking, these tales of robotic sentience are still deeply relevant today.

43. If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

Spare, unflinching, and horrifying, If This Is a Ma n is Italian-Jewish writer Primo Levi’s autobiographical account of life under fascism and his detention in Auschwitz. It serves as an invaluable historical document and a powerful insight into the atrocities of war, making for a challenging but essential read.

44. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

From Ellison’s exceptional writing to his affecting portrayal of Black existence in America, Invisible Man is a true masterpiece. The book’s unnamed narrator describes experiences ranging from frustrating to nightmarish, reflecting on the “invisibility” of being seen only as one’s racial identity. Weaving in threads of Marxist theory and political unrest, this National Book Award winner remains a radical, brilliant must-read for the 21st century.

45. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Like a dark, sparkling jewel passed down through generations, Charlotte Brontë’s exquisite Gothic romance continues to be revered and reimagined more than 170 years after its publication. Its endurance is largely thanks to the intensely passionate and turbulent relationship between headstrong heroine Jane and the mysterious Mr. Rochester — a romance that is strikingly modern in its sexual politics.

46. The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en

Journey to the West is an episodic Chinese novel published anonymously in the 16th century and attributed to Wu Cheng’en. Today, this beloved text — a rollicking fantasy about a mischievous, shape-shifting monkey god and his fallen immortal friends — is the source text for children’s stories, films, and comics. But this classic book is also an insightful comic satire and a monument of literature comparable to The Canterbury Tales or Don Quixote.

47. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

A science fiction novel by one of the genre's greats, Kindred asks the toughest “what if” question there is: What if a modern black woman was transported back in time to antebellum Maryland? Octavia Butler sugarcoats nothing in this incisive, time-traveling inquisition into race and racism during one of the most horrifying periods in American history.

49. The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon

The Lonely Londoners occupies a unique historical position as one of the earliest accounts of the Black working-class in 20th-century Britain. Selvon delves into the lives of immigrants from the West Indies, most of whom feel disillusioned and listless in London. But with its singular slice-of-life style and humor, The Lonely Londoners is hardly a tragic novel — only an unflinchingly honest one.

50. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Another high school English classic, Lord of the Flies recounts the fate of a group of young British boys stranded on a desert island. Though they initially attempt to band together, rising tensions and paranoia lead to in-fighting and, eventually, terrible violence. The result is a dark cautionary tale against our own primitive brutality — with the haunting implication that it's closer to the surface than we'd like to think.

51. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert’s heroine Emma Bovary is the young wife of a provincial doctor who escapes her banal existence by devouring romance novels. But when Emma decides she remains unfulfilled, she starts seeking romantic affairs of her own — all of which fail to meet her expectations or rescue her from her mounting debt. Though Flaubert’s novel caused a moral outcry on publication, its portrayal of a married woman’s affair was so realistic, many women believed they were the model for his heroine.

52. The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling

This short novella tells the story of two British men visiting India while the country is a British colony. Swindlers and cheats, the men trick their way to Kafiristan, a remote region where one of them comes to be revered as king. A cautionary tale warning against letting things go to your head, this funny and absurd read has also been made into a classic film starring Michael Caine and Sean Connery.

53. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Subtitled A Study of Provincial Life , this novel concerns itself with the ordinary lives of individuals in the fictional town of Middlemarch in the early 19th century. Hailed for its depiction of a time of significant social change, it also stands out for its gleaming idealism, as well as endless generosity and compassion towards the follies of humanity.

54. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

Born in the first hour of India’s independence, Saleem Sinai is gifted with the power of telepathy and an extraordinary sense of smell. He soon discovers that there are 1,001 others with similar abilities — people who can help Saleem build a new India. The winner of the Booker prize in 1981, Salman Rushdie’s groundbreaking novel is a triumphant achievement of magical realism .

55. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick is more than the story of a boy on-board a whaling ship, more than an ode to marine lore and legend, and even more than a metaphysical allegory for the struggle between good and evil. Herman Melville’s “Great American Novel” is a masterful study of faith, obsession, and delusion — and a profound social commentary born from his lifelong meditation on America. The result will fill you with wonder and awe.

56. My Antonia by Willa Cather

Willa Cather’s celebrated classic about life on the prairie, My Ántonia tells the nostalgic story of Jim and Ántonia, childhood friends and neighbors in rural Nebraska. As well as charting the passage of time and the making of America, it’s a book that fills readers with wonder and a warm feeling of familiarity.

57. The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco

Originally published in Italian, The Name of the Rose is one of the bestselling books of all time — and for good reason. Umberto Eco plots a wild ride from start to finish: an intelligent murder mystery that combines theology, semiotics, empiricism, biblical analysis, and layers of metanarratives that create a brilliant labyrinth of a book.

58. The Nether World by George Gissing

A masterpiece of realism, The Nether World forces the reader to spend time with the type of marginalized people routinely left out of fiction: the working class of late 19th century London, a group whose many problems are intertwined with money. Idealistic in its pessimism, this fantastic novel insists that life is much more demanding than fiction lets show.

59. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

George Orwell’s story of a heavily surveilled dystopian state was heralded as prescient and left a lasting impact on popular culture and language (“Room 101”, “Big Brother,” and “Doublethink” were all born in its pages, to name a few). Just read it, if only to recognize its references, which you’ll begin to notice everywhere .

60. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Uprooted from the South, a pastor's daughter, Margaret Hale, finds herself living in an industrial town in England's North. She encounters the suffering of the local mill workers and the mill owner John Thornton — and two very different passions ignite. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell fuses personal feeling with social concern, creating in the process a heroine that feels original and strikingly modern.

61. The Odyssey by Homer

This timeless classic has the heart-racing thrills of an adventure story and the psychological drama of an intricate family saga. After ten years fighting in a thankless war, Odysseus begins the long journey home to Ithaca — where his wife Penelope struggles to hold off a horde of suitors. But with men and gods standing in their way, will Odysseus and Penelope ever be reunited?

62. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway ’s career culminated with The Old Man and the Sea, the last book he published in his lifetime. This ocean-deep novella has a deceptively simple premise — an aging fisherman ventures out into the Gulf Stream determined to break his unlucky streak. What follows is a battle that’s small in scale but epic in feeling, rendered in Hemingway’s famously spare prose.

63. On The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Questioning the idea of a Creator — and therefore challenging the beliefs of most of the Western world — in The Origin of Species , Darwin explored a theory of evolution based on laws of natural selection. Not only is this text still considered a groundbreaking scientific work, but the ideas it puts forward remain fundamental to modern biology. And it’s totally readable to boot!

64. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

The subjective nature of “sanity,” institutional oppression, and rejection of authority are just a few of the issues tackled in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest . The rebellious Randle McMurphy is this story’s de facto hero, and his clashes with the notorious Nurse Ratched have not only inspired a host of spin-offs but arguably a whole movement of fiction related to mental health.

65. One Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous

Embittered by his first wife’s infidelity, King Shahryar takes a new bride every night and beheads her in the morning — until Scheherazade, his latest bride, learns to use her imagination to stave off death. In this collection of Arabic folk tales, the quick-witted storyteller Scheherazade demonstrates the power of a good cliffhanger — on both the king and the reader!

66. Orientalism by Edward W. Said

An intelligent critique of the way the Western world perceives the East, Orientalism argues that the West’s racist, oppressive, and backward representation of the Eastern world is tied to imperialism. Published in 1978, Edward Said’s transformative text changed academic discourse forever.

67. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Thanks to the wit and wisdom of Jane Austen, the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy (pioneers of the enemies-to-lovers trope) is not merely a regency romance but a playful commentary on class, wealth, and the search for self-knowledge in a world governed by strict etiquette. Light, bright, and flawlessly crafted, Pride and Prejudice is an Austen classic you’re guaranteed to love.

68. The Princesse de Clèves by Madame de Lafayette

Often called the first modern novel from France, The Princesse de Cleves is an account of love, anguish, and their inherent inseparability: an all-too-familiar story, despite the 16th-century setting. Though the plot is simple — an unrequited love, unspoken until it’s not — Madame de Lafayette pours onto the pages a moving and profound analysis of the fragile human heart.

69. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

The Reader is set in postwar Germany, a society still living in the shadow of the Holocaust. The book begins with an older woman’s relationship with a minor, though it isn’t even the most shocking thing that happens in this novel. Concerned with disconnection and apathy, Schlink’s book grapples with the guilty weight of the past without flinching from the horror of the present.

70. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Du Maurier’s slow-burning mystery has been sending a chill down readers’ spines for decades, earning its place in the horror hall of fame. It’s required reading for any fan of the genre, but reader beware: this gorgeously gothic novel will keep you up at night.

71. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

A mainstay of feminist literature , A Room of One’s Own experimentally blends fiction and fact to drill down into the role of women in literature as both subjects and creatives. Part critical theory, part rallying cry, this slender book still packs a powerful punch.

72. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

Described by Edward Said as one of the great novels in the oeuvre of Arabic books, Season of Migration to the North is the revolutionary narrative of two men struggling to re-discover their Sudanese identities following the impact of British colonialism. Some compare it to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness , but it stands tall in its own right.

73. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

A foundational feminist text , Simone de Beauvoir's treatise The Second Sex marked a watershed moment in feminist history and gender theory. It rewards the efforts of those willing to traverse its nearly 1,000 pages with eye-opening truths about gender, oppression, and otherness.

74. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

How do genes work? And what does that mean for our chances of survival? Often cited as one of the most influential science books of all time, Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene seeks to answer these pressing questions and more. It also touts the dubious glory of introducing the word “meme” into the public consciousness. 

75. The Shining by Stephen King

Jack Torrance is the new off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. Providing his family with a home and him with enough time to write, it’s the perfect job, but for one tiny problem: the hotel may be haunted. And it’s only going to get worse once winter sets in. If you only read one horror book in your lifetime, you could do much worse than Stephen King’s The Shining .

76. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

The story of a man casting off his worldly possessions in the pursuit of self-discovery and enlightenment, Siddhartha may seem intimidatingly philosophical at first glance. In reality, though, Herman Hesse’s German-language classic is surprisingly accessible, and as page-turning and readable as it is spiritually enlightening.

77. The Sorrows Of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A defining work in early Romanticism that influenced the likes of Mary Shelley and Thomas Mann, The Sorrows of Young Werther is an epistolary novel that tells of a young writer infatuated with someone else’s betrothed. Drawing heavily on his own experience of ill-fated love, as well as the death of his good friend, Goethe makes the pages hum with angst and repressed desire.

78. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Dr. Jekyll’s attempt to indulge in his vices transforms him into the horrific Mr. Hyde. The more Jekyll yields to his urges, the more powerful Hyde becomes until even Jekyll can’t control him. The result is a thrilling story of supernatural horror and a potent allegory that warns against giving in to one’s dark side.

79. The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger opens with Meursault, our hero, learning of the death of his mother. His reaction to the news is put under intense scrutiny from those around him. The reader is led in a strange dance of absurdism and existentialism that sees Meursault confront something even crueler than mortality: society’s expectations.

80. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth by Vikram Seth

Recently adapted into a hit drama by the BBC, A Suitable Boy is one of the newer books on our list but has already landed classic status. At nearly 1,500 pages long, the story of 19-year-old Lata's attempts to resist her family's efforts to marry her off to "a suitable boy" is astonishing in its execution and eye-opening look at class, religion, and gendered expectations in mid-century India.

81. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji follows the romantic and political misadventures of a young official born to one of the emperor’s consorts. With no place in the line of succession, Genji makes his way through life using his good looks and charm — but these gifts ultimately bring him more sorrow than joy. Elegant and immersive, this captivating classic is often touted as the first in-depth character study.

82. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Set against sweeping landscapes and wind-torn fields, Tess of the D’Urbervilles focuses on the life of young Tess Durbeyfield, who, by her family’s great poverty, is forced to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urberville family. What follows is a devastating tragedy, as Tess meets harsher and harsher treatment at the hands of men.

83. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

After being caught kissing down-and-out Johnny Taylor, sixteen-year-old Janie is promptly married off to an older man. Following her journey through adolescence, adulthood, and a string of unsatisfying marriages with unblinking honesty, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the seminal masterpieces of African American literature .

84. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe’s magnum opus follows Okonkwo, an Igbo man whose sole aim is to rise above his father’s weak legacy. Okonkwo is strong and fearless, but his obsession with masculinity leads him to violently dominate others — until he goes too far one day. The following events form an unparalleled tragedy, made all the more gripping by rich details of pre-colonial Igbo culture and timeless questions about tradition and honor.

85. Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata

When a young man meets his late father’s mistress at a tea ceremony, he succumbs to a desire that is both transgressive and overpowering. While the tragic consequences of their love affair unfold, Kawabata delicately guides us through a world of passion, regret, and exquisite beauty. No wonder Thousand Cranes helped him land a Nobel Prize.

86. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This unforgettable classic centers on race relations and justice in the Depression-era South. Narrated by our protagonist as an adult, it looks back to her childhood when her father defended a Black man falsely accused of rape. She muses on what their small town’s reactions to the trial taught her about prejudice and morality. Despite the heavy subject matter, Scout’s warm, insightful voice makes To Kill a Mockingbird a joy to read; no wonder it’s often cited as the Great American Novel.

87. The Trial by Franz Kafka

The Trial begins with a bank cashier, Josef K., accused of an unspecified crime and told to await a court summons. Josef attempts to figure out what he has “done” but is met only with chaos and despair, and his sanity continues to fray as he goes through this maddening ordeal.

88. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Henry James’ brilliance arguably reached a pinnacle with The Turn of the Screw , a Gothic novella about a governess who cares for two children in the estate of Bly. She grows convinced that the grounds are haunted by ghosts — but are they, really?

89. Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning adaptation recently drew renewed attention to this vital work by Solomon Northup, a memoir that takes a well-deserved place on every complete list of classic books. As a free and educated man kidnapped and sold into slavery, Northup was able to write an extraordinarily full account of life on a cotton plantation that exposes the brutal truth from the uniquely cutting viewpoint of both an outsider and a victim.

90. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

This classic sci-fi book features the original Nemo — not, regrettably, an adorable clownfish, but the captain of a submarine called Nautilus. Captain Nemo, his crew, and three scientists go on a fantastical journey in the shadowy depths of the sea. From underwater forests to walking the seafloor and finding Atlantis, this is no ordinary adventure.

91. Ulysses by James Joyce

Though it’s a long book, Ulysses traces the progress of a single day in the life of Irishman Leopold Bloom and his acquaintances. A groundbreaking modernist work, this novel is characterized by innovative literary experimentation and a stream-of-consciousness flow that winds elusively along the streets of Dublin.

92. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch’s best-known novel is much like its protagonist: brimming with equal parts charisma and chaos. Down-and-out writer Jake Donaghue is the man of the hour, and the reader charts him all over London as he runs into increasingly odd characters and situations.

93. Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

Untouchable follows a day in the life of Bakha, a sweeper and toilet cleaner who is rendered “untouchable” under India’s rigid caste system. Only 166 pages long, Anand presents a powerful case study of injustice and the oppressive systems that perpetuate it.

94. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

A commanding manifesto by author-activist Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman birthed the tenets of modern feminist thought. Defying the commonly held notion that women were naturally inferior to men, it argued that a lack of education for women fostered inequality. One to pick up if you want to feel good about how far gender equality has come — or if you want to fuel your fire for the distance yet to be traveled.

95. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

Two worlds must do epic battle: humankind and Martians. And only one can survive. This seminal science fiction work caused widespread panic in 1938 when its radio adaptation—narrated and directed by Orson Welles—made people across the United States think that an actual alien invasion was taking place right outside their front doors.

96. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Are you tired of being told to read Jane Eyre ? Then we suggest you pick up Wide Sargasso Sea : the feminist prequel written by Jean Rhys in 1966. Rhys reshapes the Bronte classic forever by writing from Bertha Mason’s point of view: no longer the madwoman in the attic, but a Jamaican caught in a patriarchal society from which she cannot escape.

97. Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

This book takes its reader to a fictional African nation called the Free Republic of Aburiria and brings a postcolonial edge to folk storytelling. Featuring tricksters, lovers, and magical elements, Wizard of the Crow is a hilarious satire of autocracy and an experimental feat that cleverly incorporates oral traditions into its grand vision.

98. Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis

Women, Race, and Class is a must-read for anyone who wants to know about the intersectionality of the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. Civil rights activist Angela Davis unpacks white feminism, sexism, and racism in clear, incisive prose as she makes a resounding call for equality.

99. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Amid a terrible snowstorm, a man takes shelter at Wuthering Heights, where he learns the story of the manor’s former inhabitants: Catherine and Heathcliff. Set against the bleak and feral backdrop of the Yorkshire Moors, it’s a story of impossible desire, cruel betrayal, and bitter vengeance that rages with as much life and power as the fierce winds outside.

100. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

One of the early feminist triumphs, The Yellow Wallpaper is the famous short story chronicling the slow breakdown of a woman imprisoned in a room with (spoiler alert) yellow wallpaper—presumably to cure her “temporary nervous depression.” Highly recommended, especially since it’s only a 10-minute read.

Still hungry for more classic reads? Check out our picks for the best books of all time . If you'd like to try something a little more contemporary, we've got you covered with our favorite novels of the 21st century .

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 9 literary elements you'll find in every story.

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The AP Literature exam is designed to test your ability to analyze literature. That means you'll have to know how to use analytical tools, like literary elements, to uncover the meaning of a text.

Because literary elements are present in every piece of literature (really!), they're a good place to start when it comes to developing your analytical toolbox. In this article, we'll give you the literary element definition, explain how a literary element is different from a literary device, and look at the top nine literary elements you need to know before taking the AP Literature exam.

So let's get started!

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What Are Literary Elements?

Take a minute and imagine building a house. (Stick with us, here.) What are some of the things that you would absolutely have to include in order to make a house? Some of those non-negotiable elements are a roof, walls, a kitchen, and a bathroom. If you didn't have these elements, you wouldn't have a house. Heck, you might not even have a building!

A literary element's definition is pretty similar. Literary elements are the things that all literature—whether it's a news article, a book, or a poem— absolutely have to have. Just like a house, the elements might be arranged slightly differently...but at the end of the day, they're usually all present and accounted for. Literary elements are the fundamental building blocks of writing, and they play an important role in helping us write, read, and understand literature.

You might even say that literary elements are the DNA of literature.

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How Is a Literary Element Different From a Literary Device?

But wait! You've also learned about literary device (sometimes called literary techniques), which writers use to create literature!

So what makes a literary element different from a literary device?

Let's go back to our house metaphor for a second. If literary elements are the must-have, cannot-do-without parts of a house, then literary devices are the optional decor. Maybe you like a classic style (a trope !), or perhaps you're more of an eclectic kind of person (a conceit )! Just because you decorate your house like a crazy person doesn't make it any less of a house. It just means you have a...unique personal style.

Literary devices are optional techniques that writers pick and choose from to shape the style, genre, tone, meaning, and theme of their works . For example, literary devices are what make Cormac McCarthy's western novel, Blood Meridian , so different from Matt McCarthy's medical memoir, The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly . Conversely, literary elements—especially the elements that qualify both works as "books"—are what keep them shelved next to each other at Barnes & Noble. They're the non-negotiable things that make both works "literature."

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Top 9 Literary Elements List (With Examples!)

Now let's take a more in-depth look at the most common elements in literature. Each term in the literary elements list below gives you the literary element definition and an example of how the elements work.

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#1: Language

The most important literary element is language. Language is defined as a system of communicating ideas and feelings through signs, sounds, gestures, and/or marks. Language is the way we share ideas with one another, whether it's through speech, text, or even performance!

All literature is written in a recognizable language, since one of literature's main goals is sharing ideas, concepts, and stories with a larger audience. And since there are over 6,900 distinct languages in the world , that means literature exists in tons of different linguistic forms, too. (How cool is that?!)

Obviously, in order to read a book, you need to understand the language it's written in. But language can also be an important tool in understanding the meaning of a book, too. For instance, writers can combine languages to help readers better understand the characters, setting, or even tone. Here's an example of how Cherrie Moraga combines English and Spanish in her play, Heroes and Saints :

Look into your children's faces. They tell you the truth. They are our future. Pero no tendremos ningún futuro si seguimos siendo víctimas.

Moraga's play is about the plight of Hispanic migrant workers in the United States. By combining English and Spanish throughout the play, Moraga helps readers understand her characters and their culture better.

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The plot of a work is defined as the sequence of events that occurs from the first line to the last. In other words, the plot is what happens in a story.

All literature has a plot of some kind. Most long-form literature, like a novel or a play, follows a pretty typical plot structure, also known as a plot arc. This type of plot has six elements:

  • Beginning/Exposition: This is the very beginning of a story. During the exposition, authors usually introduce the major characters and settings to the reader.
  • Conflict: Just like in real life, the conflict of a story is the problem that the main characters have to tackle. There are two types of conflict that you'll see in a plot. The major conflict is the overarching problem that characters face. Minor conflicts, on the other hands, are the smaller obstacles characters have to overcome to resolve the major conflict.
  • Rising Action: Rising action is literally everything that happens in a story that leads up to the climax of the plot. Usually this involves facing and conquering minor conflicts, which is what keeps the plot moving forward. More importantly, writers use rising action to build tension that comes to a head during the plot's climax.
  • Climax: The climax of the plot is the part of the story where the characters finally have to face and solve the major conflict. This is the "peak" of the plot where all the tension of the rising action finally comes to a head. You can usually identify the climax by figuring out which part of the story is the moment where the hero will either succeed or totally fail.
  • Falling Action: Falling action is everything that happens after the book's climax but before the resolution. This is where writers tie up any loose ends and start bringing the book's action to a close.
  • Resolution/Denouement: This is the conclusion of a story. But just because it's called a "resolution" doesn't mean every single issue is resolved happily—or even satisfactorily. For example, the resolution in Romeo and Juliet involves (spoiler alert!) the death of both main characters. This might not be the kind of ending you want, but it is an ending, which is why it's called the resolution!

If you've ever read a Shakespearean play, then you've seen the plot we outlined above at work. But even more contemporary novels, like The Hunger Games , also use this structure. Actually, you can think of a plot arc like a story's skeleton!

But what about poems, you ask? Do they have plots? Yes! They tend to be a little less dense, but even poems have things that happen in them.

Take a look at "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas . There's definitely stuff happening in this poem: specifically, the narrator is telling readers not to accept death without a fight. While this is more simple than what happens in something like The Lord of the Rings , it's still a plot!

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The mood of a piece of literature is defined as the emotion or feeling that readers get from reading the words on a page. So if you've ever read something that's made you feel tense, scared, or even happy...you've experienced mood firsthand!

While a story can have an overarching mood, it's more likely that the mood changes from scene to scene depending on what the writer is trying to convey. For example, the overall mood of a play like Romeo and Juliet may be tragic, but that doesn't mean there aren't funny, lighthearted moments in certain scenes.

Thinking about mood when you read literature is a great way to figure out how an author wants readers to feel about certain ideas, messages, and themes . These lines from "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou are a good example of how mood impacts an idea:

You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise.

What are the emotions present in this passage? The first three lines are full of anger, bitterness, and violence, which helps readers understand that the speaker of the poem has been terribly mistreated. But despite that, the last line is full of hope. This helps Angelou show readers how she won't let others' actions—even terrible ones—hold her back.

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#4: Setting

Have you ever pictured yourself in living in the Gryffindor dormitories at Hogwarts? Or maybe you've wished you could attend the Mad Hatter's tea party in Wonderland. These are examples of how settings—especially vivid ones—capture readers' imaginations and help a literary world come to life.

Setting is defined simply as the time and location in which the story takes place. The setting is also the background against which the action happens. For example, Hogwarts becomes the location, or setting, where Harry, Hermione, and Ron have many of their adventures.

Keep in mind that longer works often have multiple settings. The Harry Potter series, for example, has tons of memorable locations, like Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and Gringotts. Each of these settings plays an important role in bringing the Wizarding World to life.

The setting of a work is important because it helps convey important information about the world that impact other literary elements, like plot and theme. For example, a historical book set in America in the 1940s will likely have a much different atmosphere and plot than a science fiction book set three hundred years in the future. Additionally, some settings even become characters in the stories themselves! For example, the house in Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," becomes the story's antagonist . So keep an eye out for settings that serve multiple functions in a work, too.

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All literary works have themes, or central messages, that authors are trying to convey. Sometimes theme is described as the main idea of a work...but more accurately, themes are any ideas that appear repeatedly throughout a text. That means that most works have multiple themes!

All literature has themes because a major purpose of literature is to share, explore, and advocate for ideas. Even the shortest poems have themes. Check out this two line poem, "My life has been the poem I would have writ," from Henry David Thoreau :

But I could not both live and utter it.

When looking for a theme, ask yourself what an author is trying to teach us or show us through their writing. In this case, Thoreau is saying we have to live in the moment, and living is what provides the material for writing.

#6: Point of View

Point of view is the position of the narrator in relationship to the plot of a piece of literature . In other words, point of view is the perspective from which the story is told.

We actually have a super in-depth guide to point of view that you can find here . But here's the short version: literature can be written from one of four points of view.

  • First person: This is told by one of the characters of the story from their perspective. You can easily identify first-person points of view by looking for first-person pronouns, like "I," "you," and "my."
  • Second person: second-person point of view happens when the audience is made a character in the story. In this instance, the narrator uses second person pronouns, like "you" and "your." If you ever get confused, just remember that "Choose Your Own Adventure" books use second person.
  • Third person limited: this is when the narrator is removed from the story and tells it from an outside perspective. To do this, the narrator uses pronouns like "he," "she," and "they" to refer to the characters in the story. In a third person limited point of view, this narrator focuses on the story as it surrounds one character. It's almost like there's a camera crew following the protagonist that reports on everything that happens to them.
  • Third person omniscient : in this point of view, the narrator still uses third-person pronouns...but instead of being limited to one character, the narrator can tell readers what's happening with all characters at all times. It's almost like the narrator is God: they can see all, hear all, and explain all!

Point of view is an important literary element for two reasons. First, it helps us better understand the characters in a story. For example, a first person point of view lets readers get to know the main character in detail, since they experience the main character's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Second, point of view establishes a narrator, or a character whose job it is to tell the story, which we'll talk about in the next section!

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#7: Narrator

Like we just mentioned, the narrator is the person who's telling the story. All literature has a narrator, even if that narrator isn't named or an active part of the plot.

Here's what we mean: when you read a newspaper article, it's the reporter's job to tell you all the details of a particular event. That makes the reporter the narrator. They're taking a combination of interviews, research, and their own eyewitness account to help you better understand a topic.

The same is true for the narrator of a book or poem, too. T he narrator helps make sense of the plot for the reader . It's their job to explain, describe, and even dramatically reveal plot points to the audience. Here's an example of how one of the most famous narrators in literature, John Watson, explains Sherlock Holmes' character to readers in A Study in Scarlet:

He was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply to a question, confirmed Stamford's opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for a degree in science or any other recognized portal which would give him an entrance into the learned world. Yet his zeal for certain studies was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me. Surely no man would work so hard or attain such precise information unless he had some definite end in view. Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning. No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.

John Watson tells the story from a first person perspective (though that's not evident in this quote). That means he's giving readers his own perspective on the world around him, which includes Sherlock Holmes. In this passage, readers learn about Holmes' peculiar learning habits, which is just another part of his extraordinary nature.

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#8: Conflict

Because conflict is a part of plot—and as we've already established, all literature has some sort of plot—that means conflict is a literary element, too. A conflict is the central struggle that motivates the characters and leads to a work's climax. Generally, conflict occurs between the protagonist , or hero, and the antagonist , or villain...but it can also exist between secondary characters, man and nature, social structures, or even between the hero and his own mind.

More importantly, conflict gives a story purpose and motivates a story's plot . Put another way, conflict causes the protagonist to act. Sometimes these conflicts are large in scale, like a war...but they can also be small, like conflict in a relationship between the hero and their parents.

One of the most important things to understand about conflict is it can be both explicit and implicit. Explicit conflict is explained within the text; it's an obvious moment where something goes wrong and characters have to fix it. Bram Stoker's Dracula uses explicit conflict to fuel its plot: a vampire has come to England, and the heroes in the story have to kill him as soon as possible.

Implicit conflict is more common in poetry, where there isn't a specific occurrence that obviously screams, "this is a problem." Instead, you have to read between the lines to find the conflict that's motivating the narrator. Take a look at Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?" for an example of implicit conflict in action:

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

The conflict here is actually a happy one: the narrator is so in love that she's struggling with expressing the depth of her emotion!

body-cyanide and happiness protagonist

#9: Characters

A piece of literature has to have at least one character, which can be a person, an object, or an animal.

While there are many different character types (and archetypes!), we're going to talk about the two you absolutely need to know: the protagonist and the antagonist.

The protagonist of a work is its main character. The plot circles around this person or object, and they are central to solving the conflict of the story. Protagonists are often heroic, but they don't have to be: many stories focus on the struggles of average people, too. For the most part, protagonists are the characters that you remember long after the book is over, like Katniss Everdeen, David Copperfield, Sherlock Holmes, and Hester Prynne.

Antagonists, on the other hand, are the characters that oppose the protagonist in some way. (This opposition is what causes the conflict of the story!) There can be multiple antagonists in a story, though usually there's one major character, animal, or object that continues to impede the protagonist's progress. If you ever forget what an antagonist is, just think of your favorite Disney villains. They're some of the best bad guys out there!

What's Next?

If you're not taking AP practice tests, there's no way to know how you'll do when you're taking the exam for real. Here's a list of practice tests for every AP exam, including the AP literature exam . It might seem like extra work, but we promise—practice tests are one of the best ways to help you improve your score!

Listen: we know you're busy, so it can be hard to schedule time to study for an AP test on top of your extracurriculars and normal class work. Check out this article on when you need to start studying for your AP tests to make sure you're staying on track.

What does a good AP score look like, anyway? H ere's a list of the average AP scores for every single AP test. This is great for seeing how your practice scores stack up against the national average.

Need more help with this topic? Check out Tutorbase!

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Classic Works of Literature for a 9th Grade Reading List

20 enduring works that will whet young readers' appetites

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Although there has been debate over the past few decades about requiring high school students to read the classics , these works still appear on many 9th grade reading lists. Written at a level appropriate for most freshmen, they will nonetheless challenge students to develop stronger reading, writing, and analytical skills, and they also encourage discussion about many aspects of the human condition . 

'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque

This frankly told tale of the horrors of war was written by someone who lived it while fighting as a German soldier in World War I. The book is narrated by 20-year-old Paul Bäumer, whose experiences of the extreme mental and physical stress of soldiering—and the emotional detachment from civilian life once back home—spin a cautionary tale humanity has yet to heed.

'Animal Farm' by George Orwell

Orwell 's devastating satire of the move from tyranny to revolution and back to tyranny remains as relevant a tale of totalitarianism masquerading as equality today as it was when it was published in 1945, targeting the abuses of Soviet Russia.  

'Black Like Me' by John Howard Griffin

In 1961, Griffin, a White journalist, set out to journey through the American South in the guise of a Black man (he had his skin temporarily darkened) to report on the realities of life under segregation. Along the way, he confronts his own prejudices and bursts the myth that racism is more paranoia than reality.​

'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck

This novel is the first in Buck’s famous trilogy of life in China before World War I, some of it based on her own experiences. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, was instrumental in Buck’s winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938, and was turned into a successful film. The book topped the bestseller lists once again in 2004 when it was chosen as the main selection of Oprah’s Book Club.

'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

A novel at once comedic and tragic, "Great Expectations" centers on a poor young man by the name of Pip, who is given the chance to make himself a gentleman by a mysterious benefactor. Dickens ' classic presents a fascinating overview of class, money, and corruption during the Victorian Era.

'Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe' by Edgar Allan Poe

He gave us some of the most memorable lines in all of American literature, some of them downright chilling, yet Poe was more than just a writer of horror. He was also a master of mystery, adventure, and often humor, all written with the same lyrical command of the English language. 

'The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter' by Carson McCullers

When McCullers published this, her first novel, at only 23 years of age, it became an instant sensation. Much about the book’s young heroine, Mick Kelly, will resonate with teenagers today, who may experience the same yearning for independence and self-expression.  

'Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle

The third of the famed mystery writer’s crime novels to feature Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle 's book has long been a favorite of high school English teachers. Not only is it one of the reference texts for almost all detective fiction to follow, but it is also a model of how to craft character, build suspense, and bring action to a satisfying conclusion.

'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou

The first in a series of seven autobiographical books written by Angelou , this book was first published in 1969. A searing portrait of Angelou’s transformation from a victim of rape and racism into a self-possessed, dignified young woman is a heartening example for anyone seeking to overcome oppression.

'The Iliad' by Homer

" The Iliad " is an epic poem attributed to Homer and the oldest extant piece of European literature. Divided into 24 books, it's an adventure story set in the final years of the Trojan War  that introduces readers to some of the most famous conflicts and characters in all of classic literature.

'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë

"Jane Eyre" is on the surface a romance novel (one that no doubt established many conventions of the genre), but it is also a great piece of literature. In its heroine, Brontë 's readers discover a remarkably resourceful and intelligent young woman who comes of age thanks to her inner strength and the redemptive power of love.

'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott

It has been called a proto-feminist novel for the way in which the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—are written as fully rounded women with ideas, ambitions, and passions. Readers are likely to find inspiration in one or more of the sisters as they carve out lives for themselves despite the hardships of growing up in New England during the Civil War.

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding

The Guardian 's breakdown of the 100 best novels of all time calls "Lord of the Flies "a brilliantly observed study of adolescents untethered from rules and conventions." Far from creating paradise on the island in which this group of English schoolboys has been stranded, they create a dystopian nightmare in which the impulse of savagery far outweighs that of civility.

'The Odyssey' by Homer

This sequel to "The Iliad" tells of the 10-year journey back home taken by Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology) after the fall of Troy. Like its predecessor, "The Odyssey" is an epic poem that imbues its main character with the experiences and qualities that we have come to identify with the heroic.

'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck packs quite a punch in this novella of two migrant workers, George and his friend Lennie, a man of imposing physicality but the mind of a child. The story takes place during the Great Depression and deals with themes of racism, sexism, and economic disparity.

'The Old Man and the Sea' by Ernest Hemingway

More than just a simple tale of an old Cuban fisherman who catches an enormous fish only to lose it, Hemingway 's story is a tale of bravery, heroism, and one man's battle with challenges both external and internal.

'A Separate Peace' by John Knowles

Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, the novel centers on the friendship between introverted, intellectual Gene and handsome, athletic Finny. The friendship becomes in Gene's mind a tangle of supposed slights and possible treachery and how what results will reverberate through both of their lives.

'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith

Another coming-of-age story, this one chronicles the life of Francie Nolan, age 11 when the book begins, from 1902 to 1919. Big things blossom in Francie's small sphere in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: love, loss, betrayal, shame, and, ultimately, hope.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

Lee's book on racial inequality in the American South of the 1930s is probably the most-read book in American literature, and for good reason. The Pulitzer Prize-winner deals with heavy issues, yet as seen through the eyes of 6-year-old Scout Finch, it is a poignant reminder of the power of kindness and the quest for justice.

'The Yearling' by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

An instant success when it was published in 1938, this tale of the care a young boy gives to a wild animal is as uplifting as it is heart-wrenching. The ultimate lesson is that within the harsh realities of life there is also beauty and purpose.

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The Ultimate Best Books of 2019 List

Popularity it is glory's small change..

‘Tis the season—of hot apple cider, gifts, and of course most importantly, love and family best-of year-end lists. After all, there seem to be more of them than just about anything else at the moment. So as is now tradition , I have collated every one I could find, tallied up their recommendations, and figured out which books were most often included. Does that make them the best? Well, I don’t know—it depends on how much stock you put in popular consensus. Perhaps you’ll just have to read them for yourself.

This year, I counted lists (often multiple lists) from 37 sources, tracking a total of 749 books. I’m sure I didn’t get every single list that’s out there, and more come every day. But for what it’s worth, my findings are below—and you’ll find the list of the sites I consulted at the very end.

Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (Penguin Press)

21 lists: Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys

sally rooney normal people

20 lists: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is In Trouble Sally Rooney, Normal People

olive again strout

17 lists: Elizabeth Strout, Olive, Again

9 literary books

16 lists: Susan Choi, Trust Exercise Ann Patchett, The Dutch House Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror

Jacqueline Woodson, Red at the Bone

15 lists: Jacqueline Woodson, Red at the Bone

Patrick Radden Keefe, Say Nothing

14 lists: Patrick Radden Keefe, Say Nothing

Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer

13 lists: Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer Lisa Taddeo, Three Women

9 literary books

12 lists: Margaret Atwood, The Testaments Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House Marlon James, Black Leopard Red Wolf Ben Lerner, The Topeka School Valeria Luiselli, Lost Children Archive Téa Obreht, Inland Miriam Toews, Women Talking

9 literary books

11 lists: Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other Robert Macfarlane, Underland Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth Zadie Smith, Grand Union

know my name chanel miller

10 lists: Chanel Miller, Know My Name Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & the Six

exhalation_ted chiang

9 lists: Ted Chiang, Exhalation Saeed Jones, How We Fight for Our Lives Yoko Ogawa, tr. Stephen Snyder, The Memory Police Helen Oyeyemi, Gingerbread Helen Phillips, The Need Bryan Washington, Lot: Stories

ducks newburyport

8 lists: Lucy Ellmann, Ducks, Newburyport Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, She Said Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias

kristen arnett mostly dead things

7 lists: Kristen Arnett, Mostly Dead Things Jami Attenberg, All This Could Be Yours Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House Casey Cep, Furious Hours Nicole Dennis-Benn, Patsy Jayson Greene, Once More We Saw Stars Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic Angie Kim, Miracle Creek Stephen King, The Institute Deborah Levy, The Man Who Saw Everything Casey McQuiston, Red, White and Royal Blue Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing Karen Russell, Orange World and Other Stories Jennifer Weiner, Mrs. Everything Lauren Wilkinson, American Spy

Jericho Brown, The Tradition

6 lists: Jericho Brown, The Tradition Candice Carty-Williams, Queenie Steph Cha, Your House Will Pay Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Girls Laila Lalami, The Other Americans Elizabeth McCracken, Bowlaway Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King Erin Morgenstern, The Starless Sea Rachel Louise Snyder, No Visible Bruises David Treuer, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee Chuck Wendig, Wanderers Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here Nell Zink, Doxology

night boat to tangier

5 lists: Kevin Barry, Night Boat to Tangier Adrienne Brodeur, Wild Game Yangsze Choo, The Night Tiger Helen Hoang, The Bride Test Mira Jacob, Good Talk Stephanie Land, Maid Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient Tamsyn Muir, Gideon the Ninth Rion Amilcar Scott, The World Doesn’t Require You Namwali Serpell, The Old Drift Chris Ware, Rusty Brown Julie Yip-Williams, The Unwinding of the Miracle

mona awad bunny

4 lists: Mona Awad, Bunny Blake Crouch, Recursion Jaquira Díaz, Ordinary Girls Samantha Downing, My Lovely Wife Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina Ronan Farrow, Catch and Kill Anissa Gray, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls Tessa Hadley, Late in the Day Isabella Hammad, The Parisian Jane Harper, The Lost Man Amy Hempel, Sing to It Adam Higginbotham, Midnight in Chernobyl Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes Yiyun Li, Where Reasons End Attica Locke, Heaven, My Home Adrian McKinty, The Chain Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow Toni Morrison, The Source of Self-Regard Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall Sandra Newman, The Heavens George Packer, Our Man Mary Laura Philpott, I Miss You When I Blink Lara Prescott, The Secrets We Kept Samantha Power, The Education of an Idealist Joanne Ramos, The Farm Dani Shapiro, Inheritance Ali Smith, Spring David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, The Revisioners Lara Williams, Supper Club Ali Wong, Dear Girls Albert Woodfox, with Leslie George, Solitary

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The Messenger

These Are Goodreads’ Most Anticipated Books of 2024

Featuring ten reads from debut and veteran authors in the romance, fantasy, thriller, and literary genres.

When it comes to finding a fantastic new novel, sometimes the best place to start is with the recommendation from another everyday reader. Sound like you? Then check out Goodreads' 10 most anticipated books of 2024, a list which is based on the books most frequently added to the want-to-read shelves of more than 140 million readers:

1. The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: January 9

In the final installment of Olivie Blake's The Atlas Six trilogy, six Alexandrians who have been recruited into a prestigious society of magicians return to the outside world with immense power. Old alliances begin to break down all the while, and those in the library archives contend with the ethics of their abilities. Elsewhere, "an un unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage."

2. The Fury by Alex Michaelides

Genre: Thriller

Release Date: January 16

When ex-movie star Lana Farrar invites her friends to a fabulous getaway on her private Greek island, little does she know that one of seven of them will be murdered. Told by island guest and unreliable narrator Elliot Chase, The Fury takes readers through the ill-fated friendships between the other guests and the events that transpired over that unforgettable weekend.

3. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Romantasy

Release Date: January 30

In the closing novel of Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City trilogy, the magical planet of Midgard is threatening to collapse. The only solution is rebellion — which may cost everything recurring protagonists Bryce and Hunt have to give.

4. The Women by Kristin Hannah

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: February 6

It's 1965 and the world is changing — especially for women. That's why, when her brother ships out to fight in the Vietnam War, nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath leaves her conservative upbringing behind and joins the Army Nurse Corps. Insightful and prosaic, The Women is the story of one woman whose "courage under fire defines a generation," and a remembrance of women's contributions to their country.

5. Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Release Date: February 27

To save her imprisoned village, 21-year-old Lore Alemeyu makes a deal with a Fae lord to catalog and organize an ancient enchanted library. Little do they know that her real goal is not wealth, but a chance to covet magical powers of her own.

Still, in order to journey through a dangerous world outside her home, Lore must entrust her safety with two attractive Fae males. She soon becomes in risk of not only losing her life, but her heart to the creatures she's been told not to trust.

6. The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

Genre: Literary Fiction

Release Date: March 5

Expansive and empathetic, The Great Divide details the "intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers" during the construction of the Panama Canal, whose stories have gone unacknowledged by the dominant culture.

7. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Release Date: April 9

Set during the Spanish Golden Age, The Familiar follows the journey of Luzia, a servant who reveals her ability to perform small magical miracles to her poverty-stricken employer. When the mistress of the house demands she use her powers to engage Madrid's wealthiest, what starts as an amusing game for Luzia quickly takes a turn for the worst. She'll have to use all of her skills — and the help of an immortal familiar named Guillén Santángel — to survive.

8. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

Genre: Occult Fiction

Release Date: May 21

A deadly fog has covered the entire planet, killing everyone it touched. The only survivors left are 122 island villagers content to follow the rules set by the three scientists who live among them — until one scientist is found stabbed to death. When the murder triggers a lowering of the island's security system and subsequently erases the residents' memories, they are given 92 hours to find the killer before the fog returns to eliminate them all.

9. The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Release Date: June 18

From the bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment comes a new locked-room murder mystery in a luxury resort called The Manor, featuring five characters with various pasts and agendas — not all of whom will survive the resort's opening weekend.

10. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Release Date: September 3

Grace Winters is a widow and retired math teacher whose world seems to be getting more solitary with each passing day. When a long-lost friend dies under strange circumstances and leaves her a house in Ibiza, Grace sets off to start a drastically different chapter of her life.

The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez; The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton; The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo; and The Life Impossible by Matt Haig Ecco; Sourcebooks Landmark; Flatiron Books; Viking

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Staff, faculty offer Valentine’s tips for books that cover what we talk about when we talk about love

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Love stories come in many different forms. For Valentine’s Day, we asked members of the Harvard staff and faculty what books they think about when they think about love. The results mixed fiction with nonfiction, happy romances with tragic insight, all of which make intriguing reading for this holiday.

“Anyone who’s been in love, or even just had a crush, will find themselves in her analyses.” Michelle Interrante, about Anne Carson’s “Eros the Bittersweet”

Book cover: "Anatomy of Love."

Jacqueline Olds and Richard Schwartz

Associate Professors of Psychiatry , Harvard Medical School

Married couple and creative partners Olds and Schwartz wrote a book on lasting relationships, “Marriage in Motion.” Olds shared the couple’s pick: “We loved the Helen Fisher book ‘The Anatomy of Love,’ ” she said. “It is a fascinating description of her observations and research, and her access to the data on a huge sector of the population that participated in Match.com made it even more compelling. She also has a wonderful way of translating her scientific findings for the lay public.”

Book cover: "Eros and the Bittersweet."

Michelle Interrante

Archivist/Records Manage r, Harvard Art Museums Archives

Interrante chose Anne Carson’s look at the Greek concept of love, “Eros the Bittersweet.” “Her subtle observations about love are truly eternal and relatable,” she said. “Anyone who’s been in love, or even just had a crush, will find themselves in her analyses — no prior experience with ancient Greek poetry required!”

“Sometimes, the greatest insights into love can come from reflections on ways love can go wrong.”  Quinn White

Book cover: "The Bridge of San Luis Rey."

Quinn White

Assistant Professor , Department of Philosophy

White’s work focuses on the ethics of love and interpersonal relationships, which may play into one of his picks: Thornton Wilder’s novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.” “Sometimes, the greatest insights into love can come from reflections on ways love can go wrong. This short book is well worth everyone’s time and features truly exquisite writing,” he said.

For a second choice, White went with Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel “The Left Hand of Darkness,” which explores the idea of gender fluidity. “Maybe an odd choice, but a deeply moving story, featuring a profoundly unreliable narrator, about the love that can arise even across profound difference. A classic of sci-fi, but highly recommended even for those who don’t normally like science fiction!”

Book cover: "Come as You Are."

Sharon Bober

Associate Professor of Psychiatry , Harvard Medical School

Bober, the founding director of the Sexual Health Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, picked “Come As You Are” by sex educator Emily Nagoski, calling it “one of the most delightful, accessible, and deeply useful resources about sexual desire out there. It is an eye-opener for both individuals and couples who want to understand how love, sex, emotion, brain chemistry, and social context are all essentially connected to the experience of desire.” 

“It is an eye-opener for both individuals and couples who want to understand how love, sex, emotion, brain chemistry, and social context are all essentially connected to the experience of desire.”  Sharon Bober, about “Come As You Are” by Emily Nagoski

Book cover: "Hamnet."

Carol S. Steiker

Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law

“During the pandemic, I read a lot, but for a while I lost the pleasure in it,” said Steiker, who also serves as Harvard Law School’s special adviser for public service. “What broke the dry spell for me was Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel ‘ Hamnet .’ The story draws on facts from Shakespeare’s life to imagine his marriage and his inspiration for writing ‘Hamlet.’  

“Stop reading this if you haven’t read the book, because — spoiler ahead. After Shakespeare’s son Hamnet (a name interchangeable in Elizabethan England with Hamlet) dies, Shakespeare brings him back to life in the young prince Hamlet.

“Shakespeare’s wife unexpectedly comes to London and sees a performance of the play, and the couple, isolated in their separate grief, are drawn together. The love of parents for children and the way in which shared parental love binds a couple to one another are so beautifully rendered.”

Book cover: "Frankissstein."

Patrick Goodsell

Properties Carpenter , American Repertory Theater

Goodsell chose Jeanette Winterson’s “Frankissstein: A Love Story,” “a narrative that oscillates between Mary Shelley writing ‘Frankenstein’ in 1816 and Ry Shelley, a transgender doctor in the present, as they both navigate love and the question of what it means to be human.”

“Slow burn, enemies to lovers, humor and hijinks, pulls at your heartstrings … What more can you ask for?” Madeleine Wright, about “You Deserve Each Other” by Sarah Hogle

Book cover: "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh."

Alexander Rehding

Fanny Peabody Professor of Music

Michael Chabon’s “extraordinary first novel, ‘The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,’” was the theorist and musicologist’s pick. “When it came out, in 1988, I was 18, and the summer of love and adventure during which the story is set really resonated with me at the time — and has stayed with me ever since.”

Book cover: "Beach Read."

Madeleine Wright

Marketing and PR Coordinator , American Repertory Theater

Wright had four picks: “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin, which she describes as “a portrait of two Harvard students, inexorably tied to each other through unimaginable pain and extraordinary joy. Sadie and Sam are the epitome of platonic soulmates.” “ This Time Tomorrow,” by Emma Straub: “Heartfelt and singular, this novel’s portrayal of the love between a father and daughter will prompt you to pick up the phone and call your loved ones the moment you stop crying.” “ Beach Read,” by Emily Henry: “This novel is exactly what it claims to be — a feel-good, lighthearted love story with a literary bent and charming characters who will stick with you long after its close.” And finally, “ You Deserve Each Other,” by Sarah Hogle: “Slow burn, enemies to lovers, humor and hijinks, pulls at your heartstrings … What more can you ask for?”

Book cover: "The Lover."

Barbara Claire Lindstrom

Receptionist and Volunteer Coordinator , American Repertory Theater

To explain her pick, “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras, Lindstrom simply quoted from the lush seductive work: “One day, I was already old, in the entrance of a public place a man came up to me. He introduced himself and said, ‘I’ve known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you’re more beautiful now than then. Rather than your face as a young woman, I prefer your face as it is now. Ravaged.’”

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Berlin: why literary adaptations like ‘robot dreams’ are thriving in spain.

From a current Oscar nominee to streaming hits like Netflix’s 'Through My Window,' filmmakers and audiences alike can’t seem to get enough of the Spanish book-to-film pipeline.

By Jennifer Green

Jennifer Green

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Cannes Special Screenings Robot Dreams

Orson Welles famously started but never finished an adaptation in Spain of  Don Quixote , Miguel de Cervantes’ beloved 17th-century novel. Terry Gilliam’s first attempt to shoot his take on  Quixote  fell apart so spectacularly in 2000 that it resulted in a widely viewed “unmaking-of” documentary titled, grimly,  Lost in La Mancha . 

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Spanish literature — and its literary figures — have been inspiring filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. According to a now-defunct Cervantes Virtual Library database, considered incomplete by some accounts, in Spain almost 1,200 literary adaptations were produced or co-produced between 1905 and 2013.

Today, “the interest in books for possible film adaptations has been increasing year after year,” according to Anna Soler-Pont, founder and director of Barcelona-based Pontas Literary and Film Agency, which has been in the business for more than three decades and represents authors on five continents.

Recent successes are fueling competition for source material, particularly in certain genres, while directors and producers say they’re being approached by publishers earlier than ever before. “In the last 10 years, there have been more and more literary adaptations,” affirms director Isabel Coixet, the European Film Academy’s 2023 European Achievement in World Cinema Award winner.

“In the last month, I think I’ve been offered five adaptations from different countries,” Coixet says, “and I thought I was never going to do another adaptation!” Coixet’s most recent drama,  Un Amor , was based on the best-selling novel by Sara Mesa, and in 2017 she won a best international literary adaptation prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair (as well as top Goya Awards) for her adaptation of author Penelope Fitzgerald’s  The Bookshop .

Directors find inspiration in all kinds of stories. Pablo Berger, whose graphic novel-inspired animated feature  Robot Dreams  recently won best adapted script and animated feature Goyas and is now nominated for an Oscar, describes discovering American author Sara Varon’s wordless book when his daughter was a toddler learning to read. 

Years later, he recalls, “I was having a coffee in my office and procrastinating, and I took out the book and read it again, and again I was fascinated. I thought it was funny, unique, surreal. When I got to the end, I was completely, deeply moved.” In that moment, he says, he envisioned the film he would make.

For producers, adaptations can be “a safer bet,” as Coixet puts it, “because there’s something to start with. It’s not just an idea or a plot you’re presenting. A book has a structure, a plot, characters, themes, and for a producer or a platform or whoever is going to finance a film, there is something to start with.”

A book can also come with a built-in audience. “Having an IP behind any project always makes it attractive when it comes to production,” ventures screenwriter Arturo Ruiz Serrano, who collaborated on the script for HBO Max’s upcoming book-based series  When Nobody Sees Us . “If a story has worked among readers, why wouldn’t it do so on screens?”

Robot Dreams  producer Sandra Tapia Díaz of Barcelona-based Arcadia Motion Pictures says 40 to 50 percent of their productions are adaptations of published works, plays or real stories. “A producer can like a story and two things can happen: either the story isn’t a big commercial success, which doesn’t mean it’s better or worse, or it can be a sales success, in which case you’re adapting a novel that has a community of readers, and that obviously becomes an important marketing element.”

For example, when word got out that a first-ever adaptation in Spanish of a Wattpad tale, writer Ariana Godoy’s  Through My Window , was in the works, “social networks lit up and the phenomenon began to grow exponentially,” says Nostromo’s Núria Valls, producer on what is now a franchise on Netflix. The first installment sat on the streamer’s global non-English top 10 list for a whopping 16 weeks. The third installment,  Through My Window: Looking at You , premieres on the platform Feb.  23. 

Producers don’t want to miss out, and manuscripts are increasingly selling before publication. Spanish novelist Dolores Redondo’s noir  Baztán Trilogy  was optioned based on the first book — before publication, and before the next two installments were even written, according to Soler-Pont. All three adaptations —  The Invisible Guardian ,  The Legacy of the Bones  and  Offering to the Storm  — are currently streaming on Netflix. 

Going a step further, Soler-Pont says she optioned the rights to Syrian refugee Sama Helalli’s Spanish-language, female-led crime thriller  Operation Kerman  to “a big platform” before the work even has a publisher attached (the audio book is available on Audible). “Maybe when this is out there, or when shooting starts, maybe then we’ll have a publishing house interested.”

Coixet and producer Raffaella Leone currently hold the rights to  The Lost Daughter  author Elena Ferrante’s  The Days of Abandonment , a project with Penélope Cruz long attached. An English-language Cruz-Coixet-Leone-Ferrante combo would certainly have international appeal. That’s an obvious plus for producers looking for content — especially at the streaming platforms, which account for more than a third of global content investment in Spain, higher than in any other European territory, according to the 2022-23 European Audiovisual Observatory yearbook.

The streamers have shown particular interest in genre content from Spain, especially true crime, thrillers and young adult romances. HBO Max’s eight-episode  When Nobody Sees Us , based on Sergio Sarria’s novel, is a thriller set against Seville’s atmospheric Holy Week processions. Enrique Urbizu is directing from the script by Daniel Corpas, Ruiz Serrano and Isa Sánchez.

In addition to the  Through My Window  franchise, the platform has also seen huge success with several series based on romance novels by popular author Elísabet Benavent, including 2023’s  A Perfect Story  and  Sounds Like Love , both of which sat on the global top 10 for multiple weeks.

Amazon has its own ongoing mix of young romances ( My Fault , based on a trilogy of books by Mercedes Ron) and thrillers, including the feature  Apocalypse Z , based on a book by Manel Loureiro, and two series adapted from best-selling books by Juan Gómez-Jurado: The seven-episode  Red Queen , premiering globally Feb. 29, and eight-part revenge thriller  Scar , currently shooting in Bilbao.

Martin Scorsese, who recently gave a talk at Spain’s Film Academy, is taking an executive producer credit on Rodrigo Cortés’  Escape , in production at Nostromo and based on a book by Enrique Rubio. Valls says a final edit was recently completed, with Scorsese’s approval.

A film or series adaptation can also give back to its source material. Since the release of  Un Amor  in Spain, Coixet says sales on Mesa’s book, originally published in 2020 by Anagrama, have taken off again. 

Still, not every author wants to see their work adapted to the screen. Soler-Pont cites best-selling Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón, who died in 2020: “He never sold the rights because he didn’t want to be a ‘traitor’ to his readers,” she says.

“We all know bad adaptations,” notes Ruiz Serrano. “And there are also authors who are more complicated to adapt — Faulkner or Virginia Woolf, for example. But we continue adapting literature to cinema. And that will go on.”

Readers can also be critical of adaptations. “When you adapt a novel, it is very difficult to be 100 percent faithful to the text,” says Ruiz Serrano. “They are different languages. In screenplays, you write with images and dialogue. And unless you use voiceover, you cannot enter the thoughts and reflections of your characters.”

Coixet similarly underscores that a screenwriter must “capture the essence” of the story and characters via “cinematic ideas.” For example, on  Un Amor , she says she incorporated “a thousand tiny, physical details” to get across ideas from the book, in addition to inventing character context not in the book.

Soler-Pont suggests genre-oriented thrillers and crime fiction are “co-existing” on page and screen in Spain with “arty, small, quiet stories.” “A request I’ve been receiving this past month is, ‘Do you have a book similar to  20,000 Species of Bees ?’ ” (The critical and art-house darling from Spain premiered last year in Berlin, winning a Silver Bear for its 9-year-old star.)

Experts also see adaptations in Spain becoming more diverse and moving beyond the high-brow literary classics of yesteryear. “Despite the ongoing presence of Cervantes and García Lorca, cinema has moved away from the literary canon” popular for adaptations in the 20th century, and toward more recent publications as well as younger writers, says University of Salamanca history of cinema professor Fernando González García.

Fellow professor of film adaptation at the University of Málaga, Rafael Malpartida, who edits an academic journal focused on the interchanges between film and literature, points to the same trends of “de-canonization” and diversification of literary sources, as well as “self-adapting” by “playwrights who practice cinema” and “filmmakers who practice dramaturgy.” 

For Soler-Pont, too, the past few years have brought a “fascinating dialogue between literature and screens. I have this feeling that nobody is writing a novel now without audiovisual or film references, so writers are changing their way of writing more and more. And in the film industry, people are reading a lot. I’ve never had more interesting conversations on literature than the ones I have been having with producers.” 

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‘We’re Going to Stand Up’: Queer Literature is Booming in Africa

Even in countries where homophobia is pervasive and same-sex relationships are illegal, authors are pushing boundaries, finding an audience and winning awards.

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This photo montage includes four images of African writers. Clockwise from top left are Kevin Mwachiro; Monica Arac de Nyeko; Chinelo Okparanta and Arinze Ifeakandu.

By Abdi Latif Dahir

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya.

As a queer teenager growing up in northern Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu often found himself searching for books that reflected what he felt.

He combed through the books at home and imagined closer bonds between the same-sex characters. He scoured the book stands in Kano, the city where he lived, hoping to find stories that focused on L.G.B.T.Q. lives. Later, in furtive visits to internet cafes, he came across gay romance stories, but they often focused on lives far from his own, featuring closeted white jocks living in snowy towns.

Ifeakandu wanted more. After college, he began writing short stories in which gay men battled loneliness but also found lust and love in conservative, modern-day Nigeria.

“I have always taken my own desires, my own fears, my own joys seriously,” Ifeakandu, 29, said. “I knew I wanted to write characters who are queer. That’s the only way I am going to show up on the page.”

His stories gained traction with readers, and with critics. In 2017, he became a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing , and last year, his debut collection, “God’s Children Are Little Broken Things,” won the Dylan Thomas Prize for young writers.

Ifeakandu’s work is part of a boom in books by L.G.B.T.Q. writers across Africa. Long obscured in literature and public life, their stories are taking center stage in works that are pushing boundaries across the continent — and winning rave reviews.

Big publishing houses in Europe and the United States are getting in on the action, but so are new publishers cropping up across the continent with the goal of publishing African writers for a primarily African audience.

Thabiso Mahlape, who founded Blackbird Books in South Africa, has published Nakhane , a queer writer and artist , and “ Exhale ,” a queer anthology. “So much more can be done,” she said.

The gathering momentum dovetails with a broader cultural moment. More Africans are openly discussing sex and expressing their sexual and gender identities. Small Pride marches and film festivals are celebrating queer experiences, and some African religious leaders are speaking up in support of L.G.B.T.Q. people .

Young people, who make up the majority of the continent’s population , are turning to social media to discuss these books, and the big screen is bringing some of them to a wider readership: “ Jambula Tree,” a short story by Uganda’s Monica Arac de Nyeko about the romance between two girls, inspired “ Rafiki ,” a film that was featured in Cannes .

The books — fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels — are also being published as a way to push back against virulent homophobia and anti-gay legislation across Africa .

By writing them, authors say they hope to engage readers and challenge pervasive notions that homosexuality is a Western import.

“These books are an invitation to change mindsets and to start a dialogue,” said Kevin Mwachiro, who coedited “We’ve Been Here,” a nonfiction anthology about queer Kenyans who are 50 or older.

“These books are saying, ‘I am not a victim anymore,’” he said. “It’s gay people saying, ‘We don’t want to be tolerated. We want respect.’”

The momentum is new, but books centering queer stories are not without precedent in Africa.

Mohamed Choukri’s 1972 novel “For Bread Alone” caused a furor in Morocco for its depiction of same-sex intimacy and drug consumption. The mesmerizing 2010 novel “In A Strange Room,” by the South African Booker Prize winner Damon Galgut, followed an itinerant gay protagonist. And the Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina made global headlines in 2014 when he published a “lost chapter” of his memoir titled “I am a homosexual, mum.”

But the books being published now, literary experts and publishers say, are expanding Africa’s literary canon. These stories — family sagas, thrillers, sci-fi and more — dive into the complexities of being queer in Africa and in the diaspora.

Their writers interrogate the silence surrounding queer culture in their own communities ( “Love Offers No Safety,” edited by Jude Dibia and Olumide F Makanjuola) and the hope and heartache of being trans or gender fluid (Akwaeke Emezi’s “The Death of Vivek Oji” ), intersex (Buki Papillon’s “An Ordinary Wonder” ) or lesbian (Trifonia Melibea Obono’s “La Bastarda.” )

They look into the intersection of politics, religion and sex (“You Have to Be Gay to Know God” by Siya Khumalo) and the vicissitudes of the secretive gay scene in a bustling metropolis (“No One Dies Yet” by Kobby Ben Ben.)

The books also explore the awkward and difficult process of coming out to conservative parents ( Uzodinma Iweala’s “Speak No Evil” ) and imagine entire families whose members are on the L.G.B.T.Q. continuum (“The Butterfly Jungle” by Diriye Osman ). “More Than Words,” a 2023 illustrated book from the Kenyan creative collective The Nest, looks at the everyday life of gay Africans through sci-fi and fan fiction.

The authors often use works of fiction to imagine bold new worlds.

The Nigerian American writer Chinelo Okparanta focuses on the coming-of-age story of a young woman during Nigeria’s Biafra Civil War in her 2015 novel “Under the Udala Trees.” The book’s protagonist, Ijeoma, meets Ndidi after finishing school. Together, they attend secret lesbian parties in a church, explore sexual pleasure and even talk about getting married.

Growing up, Okparanta said she read “So Long A Letter,” a 1979 epistolary novel by the Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ in which a widow writes to her longtime friend, and found herself imagining “a world where there might be more to the women’s relationship,” she said. “I must have been hungry for an African novel with a story like that.”

“Under the Udala Trees” ends on a hopeful note: Ijeoma’s mother accepts her and she and Ndidi end up together after her marriage to a man falls apart. Ndidi even imagines a Nigeria safe for gay people — a powerful statement, given that the book was published a year after Nigeria’s former leader signed a punitive anti-gay law .

“There needs to be room for people to have hope,” Okparanta said.

Nonfiction authors, too, are sharing their experiences of love and dating, of navigating hostile workplaces and of facing rejection from their own kin and finding what they call their “chosen” families. Even when they prioritize confession and catharsis, some of the books also aim to give a window into the lives of gay people on the continent.

“Sometimes people think we are just freaks having sex with each other and that there’s no love, there’s no desire, there’s no sensuality,” said Chiké Frankie Edozien, whose memoir “Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man” won a Lambda Award.

“I wanted truth and honesty and vulnerability,” he said.

Like Edozien, who lives in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, with frequent stays in New York, some queer African writers have relocated or established their careers in the West, and use their work to explore not only the communities they left behind but also those they live in.

These include Abdellah Taïa, the Paris-based writer originally from Morocco who is often considered the first openly gay Arab writer and filmmaker . Taïa has written nine novels that probe what it means to be Muslim, queer, Arab and African. He has also made two films: “Salvation Army,” which is adapted from his eponymous novel, and “Never Stop Shouting,” which addresses his gay nephew .

But Taïa’s work has also focused on France and Europe and the anti-migrant and anti-Muslim sentiments that have sprung there.

“If you are gay, and only thinking about gay liberation and only about that, it means you understand nothing about how the world is functioning,” Taïa said. “I am not totally free because other people are not free.”

For many of these authors, publishing has brought public recognition and even appreciation. But some have faced harassment or even death threats .

Edozien hopes the books will inspire younger generations to read a “dignified and balanced” portrayal of gay Africans.

“Books are really powerful, books are really intimate,” Edozien said. And having these queer-centered stories in “libraries for decades to come is great, because the needle has been moved even when it doesn’t feel like it.”

Ifeakandu dreams of a future where queer-centered African stories are no longer the exception to the rule.

“I didn’t choose the country I was born into, just as much as I didn’t choose my sexuality,” Ifeakandu said. “Grudgingly, hopefully, we’re going to stand up.”

Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The Times, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He covers a broad range of issues including geopolitics, business, society and arts. More about Abdi Latif Dahir

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