# What novels published since the turn of the century will become classics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121 "2009-01-06T19:43:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/61 "2009-01-07T23:23:34Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > That’s a good point. But it’s balanced by the numbers. Wiki lists only 15 novels published in 1900. In 2000, they list 379. So the field to choose from is larger. > > But I don’t know what criteria Wiki is using. I know there were more than 379 novels published in 2000. Maybe they’re listing just the novels that made a best seller list or sold more than X number of copies. Ah, but that’s part of the problem. If only 15 novels come out in a year, then there’s a good chance that one will be widely read, but if 379 novels come out, then the market is much more widely spread out, and so each novel will be read by a smaller percentage of people. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ETA: This also applies to music, which is why I think from now on, there will no longer be “definitive” songs of a year or decade. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/62 "2009-01-08T00:26:28Z")
That’s another good point. I don’t have any statistics on reading habits, but I’ve read a lot of novels set in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. When a reader is a character, they’re usually described as having a few favorite novels (or books of poetry) that they read over and over. I’d like to think that the reason we’re having trouble coming up with future classics is that there’s so much good stuff to choose from. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/63 "2009-01-08T00:40:51Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > I think “Gravity’s Rainbow” by Thomas Pynchon will become one of those “classic works of literature” that no one has ever read. You may well be right. Personally, I’ve started that book three times, but have yet to manage to make it past the midpoint. (Which reminds me, I’m about due to take another crack at it sometime soon.) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/64 "2009-01-08T00:46:25Z")
If there is any justice in the world: Gregory David Roberts - ‘Shantaram’ a semi-autobiographical novel about an escaped convict living as an expat in Bombay. ---
**Author:** ![spike404](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spike404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spike404)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/65 "2009-01-08T01:17:56Z")
I think there have been a lot of good novels since 2000, but no classics. Most were dependent upon contemporary issues or interests. I thought “The Road” was just another end-of-the world book. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/66 "2009-01-08T01:59:57Z")
The two that I am certain will be regarded as classics are “Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susannah Clarke and “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Chabon. Of those I much preferred Johnathan Strange. Like Dio I think it is the best fantasy novel of at least the last fifty years. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/67 "2009-01-08T02:05:03Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Chabon. I heard a story about this book on NPR right around the time it was published and thought it sounded really good. Then 2 days ago I bought a hardback copy in my local public library for a dollar. I haven’t read it yet but I thought that couldn’t be a good sign. I’m still going to give it a chance, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/68 "2009-01-08T03:43:16Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > If we can accept that most of these books are classics, we should be able to come up with more titles from 2001-2008 that will be considered classic. If we can’t, I don’t know what that means. That we need more time to tell if a book will hold up? That today’s writers aren’t as good as writers from 100 years ago? Good point. If we broaden our horizons a bit, I’d say [Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal](http://www.amazon.com/Lamb-Gospel-According-Christs-Childhood/dp/0380813815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231386046&sr=1-1), by Christopher Moore, is worthy of consideration. There’s a lot of Mark Twain in Christopher Moore, it seems to me. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/69 "2009-01-08T03:50:21Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > The first book I though of was _The Road_, but that’s been done in this thread so I’m going to go to another favorite of mine. > > _World War Z_ by Max Brooks. The author outdoes George Romero with a story of zombies overtaking the Earth which is really an examination of the real world. I doubt it’s in the top ten novels of this century, but its critical acclaim and geek credentials (Zombies!) guarantees that it will be read for decades to come and will make its way into a few classrooms. I don’t know if it will be an enduring classic, but I agree that WWZ is a very interesting, entertaining and creative take on a well-worn genre. Something I didn’t know until long after I read the book is that the author, Max Brooks, is the son of Mel Brooks. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/70 "2009-01-08T04:21:59Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > If there is any justice in the world: > > Gregory David Roberts - ‘Shantaram’ a semi-autobiographical novel about an escaped convict living as an expat in Bombay. You Philistines who haven’t read this book will all run out to buy it when the main character is played by Johnny Depp and the film is directed by Mira Nair. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/71 "2009-01-08T04:38:36Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I heard a story about this book on NPR right around the time it was published and thought it sounded really good. Then 2 days ago I bought a hardback copy in my local public library for a dollar. I haven’t read it yet but I thought that couldn’t be a good sign. I’m still going to give it a chance, of course. I thought it was great. It’s really surprising how well the cadence of Philip Marlowe-style speech fit into the rhythms of Yiddish-accented English. _Kavalier & Klay_ is a better novel, though, and more likely to be the one remembered a hundred years from now. But I suspect that Michael Chabon’s best work has yet to be written. ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/72 "2009-01-08T08:19:56Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I don’t read much fiction and have no nominees. But I did read The Da Vinci Code, and classics must at least be well written. The Da Vinci Code is enjoyable as a pot boiler/page turner, but is awfully written. Among the worst I’ve read in decades as far as quality of the writing. Nobody will be teaching this, even in classes on adapting successful books to successful films. IMHO, TDVC is dreck. I was ready to agree, but then I thought about books from the nineteenth century with comparable sales. _Ben-Hur_ and _Last of the Mohicans_ may not be classics and any honest critic would call them literary bubblegum, but the titles still have a hell of a lot of name recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/73 "2009-01-08T10:03:17Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Jonathan Safran Foer’s **Everything is Illuminated** and/or **Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close**. > > Dave Eggers’ **A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius** and/or **You Shall Know Our Velocity!**. > > I prefer the latter book by both authors, though I think the former works drew more praise. As for Alice Sebold, I cannot recommend her memoir **Lucky** enough. Classic or not, it should be required reading in high schools. Nothing against Eggers, but no way will **A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius** or **You Shall Know Our Velocity** be considered classic novels. _Against the Day_ by Thomas Pynchon, _Falling Man_ by Don DeLillo, and (maybe) _The Road_. Those would be my picks. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/74 "2009-01-08T14:31:41Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > From Wiki, here’s a list of popular novels published from 1900 to 1910. It’s not comprehensive – I arbitrarily deleted titles I’d never heard of, and there were a lot of those. I’ve put a \* next to titles that (I believe) are still widely read today and qualify as classics. > > ::snip list:: > > If we can accept that most of these books are classics, we should be able to come up with more titles from 2001-2008 that will be considered classic. If we can’t, I don’t know what that means. That we need more time to tell if a book will hold up? That today’s writers aren’t as good as writers from 100 years ago? I would add asterisks to _The Four Feathers_, _A Little Princess_, and _A Girl of the Limberlost_. All are still in print and I would consider them classics. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/75 "2009-01-08T14:44:33Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I would add asterisks to _The Four Feathers_, _A Little Princess_, and _A Girl of the Limberlost_. All are still in print and I would consider them classics. I won’t argue with that. 🙂 Maybe we can agree on some authors writing in the 21st century whose work will be considered classic? Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, John Updike, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King (even Harold Bloom admits he can’t be ignored) for sure. Maybe Michael Chabon, Stewart O’Nan, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Wally Lamb, Larry McMurtry? ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/76 "2009-01-08T15:04:40Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I won’t argue with that. 🙂 > > Maybe we can agree on some authors writing in the 21st century whose work will be considered classic? Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, John Updike, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King (even Harold Bloom admits he can’t be ignored) for sure. > > Maybe Michael Chabon, Stewart O’Nan, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Wally Lamb, Larry McMurtry? **John Irving** , definitely. The bulk of his important work was published in the 20th century, but he’s still going strong in the 21st, with three novels published and one more coming soon (_Last Night In Twisted River_, 2009). Being a bestseller multiple times definitely helps him, as well as his unique ability to weave absurd tragicomic tapestries with strange characters and bizarre sexual situations. I imagine that those sexual kinks percolating in his mind and spewing onto the page will give him a distinct historical identity. Throw in the sheer entertainment value of some of his efforts (particularly _The Hotel New Hampshire_) and he’s a pretty guaranteed classic author. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/77 "2009-01-08T15:28:13Z")
I haven’t read it, but it seems to be a book that will go the distance: [The story of Edgar Sawtelle](http://www.amazon.com/Story-Edgar-Sawtelle-Novel-Oprah/dp/0061768065/ref=pd_ts_b_26?ie=UTF8&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/78 "2009-01-08T15:59:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > _The Road_ is pretty good, but I don’t think it’s McCarthy’s best work. _Blood Meridian_ knocked my head off. Seconded. Blood Meridian will be remembered as his finest work, and an American classic. The Road will be remembered as the book that got people reading him. PS Dio: They recently started reprinting Notes on Blood Meridian, a retracing of McCarthys research. A wonderful companion piece to Blood Meridian. Give it a look see. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/79 "2009-01-08T16:10:10Z")
> [@SuntanTigerTamer](#): > > Seconded. Blood Meridian will be remembered as his finest work, and an American classic. The Road will be remembered as the book that got people reading him. > PS Dio: They recently started reprinting Notes on Blood Meridian, a retracing of McCarthys research. A wonderful companion piece to Blood Meridian. Give it a look see. Thanks, I’ll check it out. It doesn’t give any insights into the Judge or into the ending, does it? McCarthy is notoriously reticent about ever explaining hs work. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121/80 "2009-01-08T16:13:26Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I won’t argue with that. 🙂 > > Maybe we can agree on some authors writing in the 21st century whose work will be considered classic? Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, John Updike, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King (even Harold Bloom admits he can’t be ignored) for sure. > > Maybe Michael Chabon, Stewart O’Nan, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Wally Lamb, Larry McMurtry? Neil Gaiman is a hack with terrible prose but interesting ideas. I seriously doubt he’ll be remembered for novels, though certainly for comic books where his tortured descriptions aren’t present. This thread is sort of confusing. When we say turn of the century do we mean the 20th or 21st? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-novels-published-since-the-turn-of-the-century-will-become-classics/480121.md?page=5)