Any books from the past 5 years that might make the pantheon of literature?

[Spoke]

I’m looking for some reading material.

Good reading material.

Really good reading material.

I’ve only read a few novels that have come out in the past five years, and I’m wondering what I might have missed. Can dopers recommend any recent books that might be of lasting worth and impact? I’m not a snob about genres; any genre will do, as long as we’re talking about a really well-crafted book.

Whatta ya got?

[AuntiePam]

Guaranteed good reads (most of these were recommended by Dopers):

Black Swan Green, a coming of age novel by David Mitchell

The English Passengers by Matthew Kneale

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (just because Oprah picked it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read)

Flanders by Patricia Anthony (published in 2000 but maybe you haven’t read it)

The March by E. L. Doctorow

[Spoke]

@AuntiePam

The March by E. L. Doctorow

Hey! I have that one on my shelf! Just haven’t gotten to it yet. Thanks for the incentive. It will be next on my list.

I did read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is very well-written, but Cormac McCarthy’s writing is so grim and pessimistic I have a hard time getting enthusiastic about it. I had to force myself to pick up The Road after having read his Child of God.

[Spoke]

Incidantally, for those dropping in on the thread and looking for ideas, I just finished (and would recommend) Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. It’s a step down from Cold Mountain, but still a very fine read with a lot of interesting ideas. Frazier is a helluva wordsmith, and I like that he makes an effort to get minor details right in his historical novels. (This one is set around the Cherokee removal.)

[AuntiePam]

Where is everybody? I could use some recommendations too. Maybe “pantheon” is too restrictive. The English Passengers will probably never make it into the canon, but you won’t regret the time you spent with it.

Another really good recent book is The Worst Hard Time by Tim Egan. Non-fiction, Dust Bowl, not as depressing as The Road, but close. It won one of the big prizes in 2006. Very readable.

[straykat23]

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, an incredible novel that takes you from Kabul to Fremont (California) and back again.

Here’s a quote from a wiki article about both the author and The Kite Runner.

The Kite Runner (ISBN 1-59448-000-1) is the story of a young boy, Amir, juggling to establish a closer rapport with his father and coping with memories of a haunting childhood event. The novel is set in Afghanistan, from the fall of the monarchy until the collapse of the Taliban regime, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its many themes include ethnic tensions between the Hazara and the Pashtun in Afghanistan, and the immigrant experiences of Amir and his father in the United States. The novel was the number three best seller for 2005 in the United States, according to Nielsen BookScan.[1] The Kite Runner has been adapted into a film of the same name with a release date in November, 2007.

This one haunted me for a very long time.

[TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]

@AuntiePam

Black Swan Green, a coming of age novel by David Mitchell

Absolutely. “Black Swan Green” might be the greatest coming of age novel I’ve ever read; it’s easily up there with Catcher in the Rye and Stop-Time, and I’d go as far as to say that it surpasses both of them at moments. David Mitchell is definitely one of the greater writers currently working; his Cloud Atlas was excellent as well.

[Spoke]

@straykat23

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, an incredible novel that takes you from Kabul to Fremont (California) and back again.

I’ve seen my sister with that one. I’ll borrow it from her.

[well_he_s_back]

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is a very good read.
So hard to predict what literature will last and live a long time - but this fun, engrossing fantasy set in the time of the Napoleonic wars and written in a style reminiscent of Dickens, just might.