# The Twentieth Century - Best Novels (First Cut) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901 "2006-04-08T23:59:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/61 "2006-04-11T18:42:29Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > In your OP you excluded Harry Potter, but Rowling is a brilliant prose master compared to Asimov. Either you have standards or you don’t. But you can’t allow Asimov on the list and then exclude any other book ever written. I’m terribly sorry - I never meant to exclude Harry Potter. This comment, > [@](#): > > Poor nominations would be - > > Harry Potter, by J. K. Rowling was not an attempt to show Harry Potter (Nor any of the other books listed in the “do not” section of the OP.) as a **book** I’m excluding from the list, rather an example of the **style** I wanted **nominations** to avoid. I’m terribly sorry for the confusion I seem to have created. If you want to nominate Harry Potter, please do. I certainly shan’t object. Also, if people want to argue the merits, or lack thereof of Asimov’s prose, please do so in another thread. Keep this one positive: Nominations, or questions, please. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/62 "2006-04-11T18:47:19Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Code was given as a bad example I think. Re-read the Op. Actually, the line with Code wasn’t meant to be a comment about the quality (or lack thereof) of the book - just that saying that book X “rawks” is not quite what I was looking for with the nominations. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/63 "2006-04-11T19:08:51Z")
There are some books and some authors who moved me long ago, but I haven’t read the books I’m thinking of for so long that I can’t really give a good summation of why I think they are valuable. I’ll just name a few and perhaps someone who has read them more recently can support their inclusion or tell me why they don’t belong. \*\*Fahrenheit 451 \*\* by Ray Bradbury \*\*Trout Fishing in America \*\* by Richard Brautigan \*\*The Great Santini \*\* by Pat Conroy Each of these authors wrote other good books: I remember these as especially good. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/64 "2006-04-11T19:22:00Z")
I’d nominate **The U.S.A. Trilogy** by John Dos Passos - a much more difficult read than the previously-mentioned **Manhattan Transfer** (which I also agree with), but, like **Ulysses** , you’ll find it both rewarding and oddly enjoyable once you’ve slogged through it. His work’s also much more avant-garde than I’d expected (which may be a caveat, depending upon your tastes). I don’t think it’s been mentioned, but wasn’t **Swann’s Way** also published in the 20th Century? I though it was quite good, although I can see why others wouldn’t. I happily admit that’s the only volume of **Remembrance of Things Past** I’ve read (or plan on reading). **The Bridge of San Luis Rey** by Thornton Wilder was also very affecting (moreso because I think I was originally turned off by the religious elements). Since plays are out (disqualifying **Waiting for Godot** ), I’d nominate **Molloy/Malone Dies/The Unnamable** (which I’ve always seen grouped together in a single volume), just because I think Beckett was such an 20th century important literary figure. For noir/pulp, I’d go with Chandler’s **The Long Goodbye** , Hammett’s **The Glass Key** , and Thompson’s **Pop. 1280**. For more modern “literary” fiction, my nominees would be Paul Auster’s **New York Trilogy** , Katherine Dunn’s **Geek Love** , and any of **Stephen Wright** ’s three novels. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/65 "2006-04-11T19:25:30Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I’m terribly sorry - I never meant to exclude Harry Potter. This comment, > > was not an attempt to show Harry Potter (Nor any of the other books listed in the “do not” section of the OP.) as a **book** I’m excluding from the list, rather an example of the **style** I wanted **nominations** to avoid. I’m terribly sorry for the confusion I seem to have created. > > If you want to nominate Harry Potter, please do. I certainly shan’t object. > Also, if people want to argue the merits, or lack thereof of Asimov’s prose, please do so in another thread. Keep this one positive: Nominations, or questions, please. OK, though it looks like I’m not the only one to misunderstand. I still take exception about series, though. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/66 "2006-04-11T19:29:24Z")
NP. (If you want my views about The Foundation Trilogy, feel free to email - I don’t want to piss off the OP by talking about it, here.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/67 "2006-04-11T19:33:58Z")
Gotcha. People who refer to themselves in the third person are extremely touchy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/68 "2006-04-11T19:38:21Z")
NP. (If you want my views about The Foundation Trilogy, feel free to email - I don’t want to piss off the OP by talking about it, here.) ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/69 "2006-04-11T19:42:35Z")
I think Heman Hesse probably belongs in this group somewhere. I found “Beneath the Wheel” very compelling. Of course, everyone brings up “Steppenwolf” which may be the more “important” of the two. I noticed we’ve included some anthologies and if that’s the case, then “21 Stories” by S.Y. Agnon belongs on this list also. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/70 "2006-04-11T21:00:47Z")
You know, I absolutely love Vonnegut, but I really don’t think his works are either great literature, or will stand the test of time. It’s not just the concepts that are important, but the writing too. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/71 "2006-04-12T03:18:02Z")
So many Best Novels, so little time. I’d like to see how they will be listed and described, particularly because there are several that I haven’t (yet) read. I also nominate **The Stranger** , for its clear and sundazed story. For those who like **Breakfast at Tiffany’s** , I recommend Christopher Isherwood’s **The Berlin Stories** , poignant and amusing stories from the 1930’s, with carefully detailed prose that can keep carrying you forward. For those who can spare a few hours, there is **Charlotte’s Web** by E.B. White. It’s short, like **The Little Prince** and **Animal Farm** , with no-nonsense, poetic prose and memorable characters. “Terrific”, as Charlotte wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/72 "2006-04-12T03:28:04Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > You know, I absolutely love Vonnegut, but I really don’t think his works are either great literature, or will stand the test of time. It’s not just the concepts that are important, but the writing too. Whuh? I mean… Whuh? ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/73 "2006-04-12T04:06:46Z")
Mark Danielewski’s **House of Leaves**. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/74 "2006-04-12T04:32:12Z")
I’ll nominate - [BThe Razor’s Edge\*\* by Somerset Maughm. A great look at one man’s journey into knowledge. It’s also a fascinating slice of what life was like for a certian class in the Twenties and Thirties. One of the books I have to re-read every couple of years. \*\* The Snow Goose\*\* by Paul Galico. A novella, really, but often printed as a single volume so I guess it qualifies. It’s poetic, haunting and ultimately deeply moving. I can read it in an hour and it always gives me chills. _The Outsiders_ by S. E. Hinton. Yes, it’s directed toward younger readers, but I continue to connect to it thirty odd years after I first read it. The characters feel so real. Hey, I hung out with those guys, or at least the Burnaby '74 version of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/75 "2006-04-12T12:20:55Z")
I’m not a fan of Steinbeck, but East of Eden is worth mentioning. I prefer it to Grapes of Wrath, which would probably be the Steinbeck most chosen. I’ll second Possession, Alias Grace (I actually like Robber Bride better, but Alias Grace is possibly better written), and Midnight’s Children. To Kill a Mockingbird and Lolita are some of my favorites, but I don’t think I really need to vote - particularly for TKAMB. (Off to get Ada, thanks. Don’t know why I didn’t read more Nabokov when I discovered it). To extend the non English/American - Isabelle Allende’s House of Spirits is an exceptional book - another one of those books in the Gabrielle Garcia Marquez or Salmon Rushdie tradition of blending history and magic that writers from other cultures do so well - and writers who start in English get tagged as genre (and don’t do so well - if anyone has one of these that started in English and is real literature and not Orson Scott Card, I’d be interested in reading it). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/76 "2006-04-12T12:22:31Z")
Oh, E.M. Forester writes beautifully…but I haven’t read it in years so I couldn’t pick the best book - only know that Forester deserves to be on a list of the best 20th century authors. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/77 "2006-04-12T19:16:06Z")
> [@Stricker van Gogh](#): > > Whuh? I mean… > > Whuh? He’s a fantastic ideas man. His imagination is staggering to behold. I just don’t think he’s a great _writer_ - sure, he’s better than Dan Brown, but his prose and his dialog are still quite clunky, IMO. And that, also IMO, would stand in the way of being judged “best” in years to come. I’m guessing this might be a controversial opinion, so if it threatens to derail this thread, perhaps we should start a new thread. (In CS… not the Pit, I beg you!) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901/78 "2006-04-12T21:10:07Z")
**1984 To Kill a Mockingbird Of Mice and Men** And I’ll add \*\*Housekeeping \*\* by Marilynne Robinson and \*\*Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant \*\* by Anne Tyler. Not huge books, but slices of life that are written beautifully. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twentieth-century-best-novels-first-cut/351901.md?page=3)