Our list is still too short.
A prophet is without honor in his own country, and a book is without honor in its own time, I reckon.
I’d also like to add Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections to my short-but-sweet list. That’s a novel so good it made me weep with jealousy. Even if Franzen does come off as a bit of a dick.
It’s the 21st century, year 2000 inclusive. Skald shouldn’t have put that in the tiny print. 
Someone mentioned Larry McMurtry. I hadn’t realized he was still publishing.
It does give insight into the historical basis of the Judge as he was portrayed by Samuel Chamberlain in My Confession, McCarthy’s main source material for Blood Meridian. He also explores the Jungian implications of the Judge as an archetype (the be all and end of archetypes, as it would seem), and explores the significance of the tarot scene.
As far as the ending goes, the author has his own idea of what happened (and I think he is probably right) but he only mentions it offhandedly.
The best part about Notes on Blood Meridian, however, is realizing the sheer amount and depth of McCarthy’s research for it; if he said the Glanton Gang was at x doing y on z date, they were. Also, McCarthy left a trail in Blood Meridian for anyone to follow if they wanted to know what HE had read to write it; even his spelling mistakes in Blood Meridian were purposeful.
If Blood Meridian blew you away half as much as it did I, then I couldn’t recommend Notes enough.
Burn the heretic!
I hate 9 out of 10 television shows I happen to see, and 7 out of 10 movies
:: shrugging ::
Look, I gave up the evil schtick months ago; you can’t expect me to give up my squirrel abuse too. But if you’ll like I’ll say “the 00s decade.”
“Tree of Smoke” by Denis Johnson is a definite (although I prefer “Angels” as his best work; unfortunately published too long ago to make the list).
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Díaz is also a strong contender.
I thought it was a very well written book, and I kind of liked Franzen for scraping off the Oprah stickers, but I ultimately found the book unsatisfying only because I hated the Caroline character so much (the bitch wife of the brother named Gary), and she never gets any kind of comeuppance in the book. Franzen wrote that whole relationship masterfully, though. They felt like real people. I wanted to call Caroline on the phone and chew her out.
My wife met Junot Diaz through work, her and her boss read this talked about how awesome it is and told me I could read it and the book has never been delivered to me.
I’ve read it. I think it has problems, but its originality might compensate. It’s a book that people will be talking about for awhile.
I’ll nominate The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’s this century’s Diary of Anne Frank, sorta.
I think Suttree is the one that will be seen as his masterpiece, given time. Blood Meridian blows the 'kin doors off, it just demands superlatives and bludgeons you over the head with its brilliance. But Suttree is the one he poured his heart and soul into - deeply personal and sad, an amazing tour de force.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I can see it being taught in high schools. It deals with adolescents, it’s multicultural and it’s kinda funny.
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra. An epic of modern day India.
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Another modern day classic of India.
Roberto Bolano’s 2666 is getting ridiculously good reviews and being lumped with the greatest literature of the past 100 years. Haven’t read it yet but will soon.
I second "A Fine Balance"by Rohinton Mistry. I also agree that while “The Road” was great, “Blood Meridian” was far better. Maybe just personal taste though. I love everything I’ve read by Cormac McCarthy. I also would add “Beloved” or “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison.
House of Leaves. Every time I re-read it, I come away with a different impression. Still not sure what to make of it. But any book that makes me think as much as this must have some enduring quality.
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban: Nobel-worthy, century-defining literature.
Riddley Walker was published during the early eighties. It’s a great book, though.
I love that book. I picked it up expecting it to be a fairly light horror-suspense novel, which it is in part, but it somehow managed to provide a lot of valuable insight on the nature of fear, which has (surprisingly) had a very significant and lasting effect on me. Sounds goofy, I know, but there it is.
I’ve read it three times, the last of which was while I was studying for the bar exam. And I was nowhere near as anxious over the exam as the vast majority of people who took it with me (and passed it as well!).
I’m reading this right now (I just finished The Road, which I also was quite moved by) and I have to say that so far, it is a terrific book. Simply wonderful.
I also really liked *A Thousand Splendid Suns *by Hosseini, although I haven’t read *Kite Runner *yet.