Literature of the 20th century - the best works. Philosophy in simplicity
The jury of 'The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books', led by a New York Times columnist, included such famous writers as: Jonathan Franzen, recognized by Times magazine as the best American novelist, author of the novel “The Emperor's Children” Claire Mesud, Joyce Carol Oates, famous American novelist, and many others. Writers have compiled lists of 10 best novels and writers, reviewing 544 titles. The novels were scored from 1 to 10.
The literary collection that emerged as a result of this experiment, which united literary preferences completely different writers– from David Foster Wallace to Stephen King, provides a glimpse into world literature as a kind of collective creativity of great writers.
The literary collection that emerged as a result of this experiment, which united the literary passions of completely different writers - from David Foster Wallace to Stephen King, allows us to look at world literature as a kind of collective creativity of great writers.
1. “Lolita” – Vladimir Nabokov
In 1955, Lolita was published - the third American novel by Vladimir Nabokov, the creator of The Luzhin Defense, Despair, Invitation to an Execution and The Gift. Causing a scandal on both sides of the ocean, this book elevated the author to the top of the literary Olympus and became one of the most famous and, without a doubt, the greatest works of the 20th century. Today, when the polemical passions around Lolita have long subsided, we can confidently say that this is a book about great love, overcoming illness, death and time, love, open to infinity, “love at first sight, at last sight, at eternal sight.”
2. “The Great Gatsby” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
One of the most famous prose writers USA of the 20th century, Francis Scott Fitzgerald announced to the world the beginning of a new century - the “age of jazz”, one of the first to speak on behalf of “ lost generation" He wrote about “ American dream”, personified it, but reality turned into a tragedy, and early death the life of the darling of fate was cut short. The hero of the novel “The Great Gatsby” made a fortune for himself, achieved power, but neither money nor power made him happy.
3. “In Search of Lost Time” – Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust is a famous French writer, the founder of modern psychological prose. His seven-volume epic “In Search of Lost Time” became one of the most brilliant literary experiments of the 20th century. The first volume includes three novels: “Towards Swann”, “Under the canopy of girls in bloom” and “Germant”. The second volume includes four novels: “Sodom and Gomorrah”, “Captive”, “Fugitive”, “Time Regained”.
4. “Ulysses” – James Joyce
The great Irish writer James Joyce (1882 - 1941) stands at the origins of all modernist and postmodernist literature. Big name and Ulysses, a unique text, “novel No. 1” of the 20th century, earned him worldwide fame. His hero and the plot are extremely simple - one day in the life of a Dublin man in the street; but the entire cosmos of literature is contained in a simple shell - a fireworks display of all styles and writing techniques, the most virtuoso language, echoes with myriads of great and unknown texts, the invasion of ancient myths and the creation of new ones, irony and scandal, mockery and play - and emerging from all this a new look at art, people and the world. From the moment of its publication to this day, Ulysses remains a challenge from the Writer to the Reader.
5. “Dubliners” – James Joyce
The book includes early realistic stories from the collection “Dubliners” and a lyrical sketch “Giacomo Joyce” by the outstanding Irish writer James Joyce, whose 100th birthday was celebrated in 1982. In “Dubliners,” Joyce set himself the task of “writing a chapter in the spiritual history of his nation,” and in “Giacomo” he conveyed the inner thoughts of his hero.
6. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” shows the birth, heyday, decline and death of the Buendia family. The history of this family is the story of loneliness, one way or another manifested in the fate of each of the Buendias. Loneliness, separation of family members, their inability to understand and be understood by each other acquire a truly mythological character in the novel. And the very history of several generations of the Buendia family takes on the character of a family myth, and with it its characteristic features - a craving for incest and the curse associated with it, the predetermined and predetermined fate of the heroes. In the novel, she is embodied in the image of the gypsy Melquiades, who wrote down in Sanskrit the chronicle of the family, deciphered a few minutes before the death of Macondo and all Buendia. At the same time, the novel also contains a parody of myth. The means of parody is the writer’s special ironic laughter, manifested in deliberately mythological constructions, the everyday tone of the narrative, which sometimes tells about absurd or downright fantastic events. The myth-creating “reality of the miraculous,” “magical realism” of Latin American prose appears in the novel as the most important means of creating a unique image of America and at the same time as a parody of itself.
7. “The Sound and the Fury” – William Faulkner
William Faulkner - the largest American writer, who received the Nobel Prize in 1949 “for his significant and, from an artistic point of view, unique contribution to the development of the modern American novel.” The writer’s novels “Light in August”, “Absalom, Absalom!”, “Sanctuary”, “Defiler of Ashes”, the trilogy “Village” - “City” - “Mansion” and, of course, included in this edition brought worldwide fame and fame to the writer. the novel “The Sound and the Fury,” a novel that Faulkner called the most difficult in his creative biography.
The main storyline tells of the decline of one of the oldest and most influential families of the American South - the Compsons. Over the course of the novel's roughly 30 years, the family faces financial ruin, loses respect in the town, and many family members end their lives tragically.
8. “To the Lighthouse” – Virginia Woolf
The name of the English writer W. Woolf, the author of famous novels“Jacob's Room”, “Mrs. Dalloway”, “Orlando” are put on a par with the names of J. Joyce, T. S. Eliot, O. Huxley, D. H. Lawrence - in a word, those who determined the main paths of development Western European literature XX century.
In the novel “To the Lighthouse” presented in this edition by W. Woolf, after “Mrs. Dalloway”, probably the most famous work writer, the main theme is time and life in its temporal expiration.
9. Stories - Flannery O'Connor
Author's collection of stories by the outstanding American master“Southern Gothic”, stories about love and death, full of Old Testament passions projected into modern times. O'Connor places her eccentric characters in extreme situations that result in acts of violence that bring her characters back to reality and leave the reader with a taste of mystery.
10. “Pale Fire” – Vladimir Nabokov
The novel “Pale Fire” by Vladimir Nabokov, one of the writer’s most extraordinary works, was published in 1962. Coming out of print, Pale Fire immediately came into the spotlight of American and English critics. Not all of them appreciated the writer’s innovation and discerned behind the complicated form the deep philosophical essence of his work, which reveals the tragedy of the human “I” alienated from the world and explores the problems of correlation creative imagination and madness, fiction and reality, temporary and eternal. However, in spite of everything, this most difficult and opaque work of Nabokov's English language became a bestseller, giving rise over time to many literary studies.
33 best books according to users of Goodreads - the most authoritative online portal for book lovers. Yesterday, Book Day was celebrated all over the world. Therefore, we invite you to pay attention to the list that includes best works, published in the twentieth century. We remember some of the books presented from school, while others are not so well known in Russia, but will undoubtedly bring a lot of aesthetic pleasure. The overall user rating of the Goodreads portal includes 4,560 books and takes into account the votes of more than 30,000 users and regular readers of the site. Among them are eminent critics, publicists and modern writers, have earned the right to publication. In honor of this symbolic date, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of reading preferences abroad and remember the best quotes from your favorite books.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Author of the book: Harper Lee “Courage is when you know in advance that you have lost, and yet you get down to business and, despite everything in the world, go to the end. You win very rarely, but sometimes you still win.”1984
Author of the book: George Orwell "If you are in the minority - and even in singular"That doesn't mean you're crazy" Lord of the Rings
Author of the book: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien "Many of the living deserve to die. And others perish, although they deserve a long life. Can you reward them? So do not rush to hand out death sentences. Even the wisest cannot foresee everything." Catcher in the rye
Author of the book: Jerome David Salinger “If a beautiful girl comes to a date, who will be upset that she is late? Nobody!” The Great Gatsby
Author of the book: Francis Scott Fitzgerald “If you suddenly want to judge someone, remember that not all people in the world have the advantages that you had.” Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Author of the book: JK Rowling “Truth is the most beautiful, but at the same time the most dangerous thing. And therefore it must be approached with great caution.” Anne Frank's Diary
Author of the book: Anne Frank “You recognize a person only after a real quarrel. Only then does he show his true character” A little prince
Author of the book: Antoine de Saint-Exupery "It is much more difficult to judge yourself than others. If you can judge yourself correctly, then you are truly wise" The Grapes of Wrath
Author of the book: John Steinbeck "Anyone can despair. But to control yourself, you need to be human" 451 degrees Fahrenheit
Author of the book: Ray Bradbury "There are crimes worse than burning books. For example, not reading them" One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author of the book: Gabriel García Márquez “A prosperous old age is the ability to come to terms with your loneliness” O brave new world
Author of the book: Aldous Huxley “In its natural form, happiness always looks pathetic next to the flowery embellishments of unhappiness. And, of course, stability is much less colorful than instability. And contentment is completely devoid of the romance of battles with evil fate, there is no colorful struggle with temptation, no halo disastrous doubts and passions. Happiness is devoid of grandiose effects." Gone With the Wind
Author of the book: Margaret Mitchell "A man cannot move forward if his soul is corroded by the pain of memories" Lord of the Flies
Author of the book: William Golding “If a face changes completely depending on whether it is illuminated from above or from below, what is the face worth? And what is everything worth then?” Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade
Author of the book: Kurt Vonnegut "One of the most important consequences of war is that people eventually become disillusioned with heroism." Lolita
Author of the book: Vladimir Nabokov “Lolita, the light of my life, the fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-li-ta: the tip of the tongue takes three steps down the sky, so that on the third it will bump against the teeth. Lo. Li . Ta" Over the cuckoo's nest
Author of the book: Ken Kesey “You are never truly strong until you learn to see the funny side of everything.” The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Author of the book: Douglas Adams “This planet has - or rather, had - one problem: most of the people living on it did nothing but suffer, because they did not find happiness in life. Many solutions were born, but almost all of them came down to the redistribution of small green pieces of paper - which in itself is very strange, since some people, even small green pieces of paper, did not experience any suffering, because they were not looking for happiness" A crack in time
Author of the book: Madeleine Langl “One thing I know for sure is that you don’t have to understand what’s what to understand what’s going on.” The Handmaid's Tale
Author of the book: Margaret Atwood "No one dies from lack of sex. They die from lack of love" Memoirs of a Geisha
Author of the book: Arthur Golden “Sometimes we get into trouble only because we imagine the world as we picture it in our imagination, and not as it really is.” Outsider
Author of the book: Albert Camus “And then I saw a string of faces opposite. They were all looking at me, and I realized that these were the jury. But I could not distinguish them, they were somehow the same. It seemed to me that I had entered a tram, in front of me There are passengers sitting in a row - faceless strangers - and everyone is staring at me and trying to spot something to laugh at." The Chronicles of Narnia
Author of the book: Clive Staples Lewis “What kind of person you are and where you look from depends on what you see and hear!” Charlotte's Web
Book Author: Alvin Brooks White "If this is what we call freedom, I'd rather stay in the barn!" A tree grows in Brooklyn
Author of the book: Betty Smith "The ability to forgive is a great gift. Moreover, it costs nothing." Ender `s game
Author of the book: Orson Scott Card “With real understanding, which allows you to defeat the enemy, comes love for him. Apparently, it is impossible to get to know someone, to delve into his desires and faith, without loving how he loves himself. And in this very moment of love ... - You win" Night
Author of the book: Elie Wiesel "I blessed God for creating dirt in His endless and wonderful world" The Old Man and the Sea
Author of the book: Ernest Hemingway “Man is not made to suffer defeat. Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.” Atlas Shrugged
Author of the book: Ayn Rand "In my opinion, there is only one form of human failure - the loss of purpose" Generous tree
Author of the book: Shel Silverstein "And the Apple Tree Was Happy" Ship Hill
Author of the book: Richard Adams “Animals do not behave like people. They fight when they have to fight, and they kill when they have to kill. But they will never use all their natural resourcefulness and cleverness only to invent new way cripple the life of another living being. They never lose their sense of self-worth and animality." Under a glass cover
Author of the book: Sylvia Plath “From somewhere far away I will see a person who seems perfect to me, but as soon as he comes closer, I will begin to discover one flaw in him after another and in the end I will decide that he is no good at all.” Prayer for Owen Meany
Author of the book: John Irving “When a loved one dies unexpectedly, you don’t lose him right away. It happens gradually, step by step, over a long time - so the letters stop coming, then the familiar smell evaporates from the pillows, and then from the wardrobe and boxes. Gradually you accumulate in your consciousness some disappearing pieces of this person; and then the day comes when you notice that something special has disappeared, and you have a nagging feeling that this person is no more and will never be; and then another day comes , and it turns out that something else has disappeared..." The Goodreads website was founded in 2006. The purpose of creating the site is to enable people to find and use books that they need and are interested in. Since the portal's existence, 395 million books have been placed in its catalogs and more than 20,000 book clubs have been created."To Kill a Mockingbird". Harper Lee
It must have been extremely easy to write a novel about trial on the rape of a white woman by a black man, which takes place in the deeply racist South of the United States of America, from the point of view of a little girl, full of too much simple solutions and cinematic sentiments. But, fortunately, this is not about Harper Lee's novel " To Kill a Mockingbird" The little girl is the inquisitive and insightful Scout, and her father, who defends the accused, is the immortal Atticus Finch, who has become a bastion of justice for a tired and exhausted town. Behind all this follow, not simple or sentimental, but classic complexities of moral principles, and an endlessly renewable source of wisdom in the natural kingdom of human decency."1984". George Orwell, 1949 "Nineteen Eighty-Four", George Orwell
The time is 13:00, the date does not matter, the year is not mentioned. Winston Smith, an official in the Ministry of Truth, toils day and night in the service of Big Brother, the distant, falsely benign ruler of this grimly familiar dystopia. Orwell's novel is an essay on all possible ways the humiliation of the nation by the government: spiritually, physically, intellectually, through encirclement, torture, surveillance and censorship, to the extent that the state can manipulate reality at will. When a beautiful female resistance member persuades Smith to rebel, 1984 becomes something more—strange, tragic, and profound. sad story love. That the novel is as prophetic as it is pessimistic was Orwell's triumph and the century's misfortune. "Lord of the Rings". John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, 1954
"The Lord of the Rings", John Ronald Reuel Tolkien Tolkien
When a homemade Catholic, pipe-smoking Oxford professor named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien sat down to write a novel, no one could have imagined that his wild imagination would create an entire continent inhabited by elves, gnomes, orcs, wizards and walking trees. Tolkien called on his deep knowledge of ancient languages and mythology, as well as his harrowing memories of the Battle of the Somme, to create a 20th-century tale of magic and heroism, misty mountains and mystical forests, virtue and temptation, where a tiny dwarf-like hobbit, Frodo, goes on an adventure to destroy the One Ring, an evil artifact that could cause the death of all of Middle-earth. Being the founding text modern style fantasy, The Lord of the Rings also conveys an extremely bleak longing for a pre-industrial England lost forever in the muddy trenches of the First World War.Catcher in the rye". Jerome David Salinger, 1951
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
No matter how much school teachers foreign literature did not try to “domesticate” the novel Jerome Selinger « Catcher in the rye"in the classroom, he will never lose his satirical edge in his life. When Holden Caulfield finds out he's been expelled from yet another private school, he escapes in the middle of the night and heads to New York for a few days, meeting girls, remembering his late brother, wondering where the ducks go in winter, before telling sad news for parents. Time passes in the throes of complete indifference to the joys of life, changing the boy who has just matured. It is a constant reminder of the sweetness of childhood, the hypocrisy of the adult world, and the strange space in between."The Great Gatsby". Francis Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
"The Great Gatsby", F. Scott Fitzgerald
There's no better party than Jazz Age multimillionaire Jay Gatsby. Nobody has a bigger house, or a bigger pool, and nobody drives a longer, shinier, more luxurious car. His silk shirts alone make women cry. But who is he? Where is he from? How did he earn his fortune? And why does he stand on his pier every night, holding out his hand towards the green lantern that glows on the other side of the bay, opposite his magnificent mansion? "The Great Gatsby" Reveals the empty, tragic heart of a man who achieved everything through his own efforts. This is not just a gripping read about a great loss. This is one of the most quintessentially American novels ever written."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." JK Rowling, 1997
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", J. K. Rowling
The adventures of a young wizard and his friends and their relationship with the forces of growing up and evil have managed to sell more than 350 million books in 65 languages. The Harry Potter phenomenon has its ill-wishers, but the success of books in special covers “for adults”, which allow you to read the novel on the subway and trains without embarrassment, speaks for itself..."A little prince". Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
"Le Petit Prince", Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
50 years before the appearance of "Harry Potter" and even 10 years before the writing of " Catcher in the rye", was " A little prince", pamphlet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, directed against adults and their rational thinking. The work is imbued with extreme tenderness, poetry and some simple but deep human wisdom. The naivety, which is noticeable at first glance, actually hides amazing, subtle humor, as well as sadness and touching. "The Grapes of Wrath". John Steinbeck, 1938
"The Grapes of Wrath", John Steinbeck
Before the storms of the Dust Bowl had calmed, Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath, a novel about a family of impoverished Okies, the Joads, who travel west in pursuit of a mirage of the good life, from their ruined Midwestern farm to California. The Joads find only the bitterness, poverty and oppression of the migrating farm workers living in the Hoover Towns, but their unstoppable strength in the face of the disasters of an entire continent makes Steinbeck's epic much more than a recounting of the history of unfortunate events. The book is a written record of the times as well as an enduring monument to human perseverance."451 degrees Fahrenheit". Ray Bradbury, 1953
"Fahrenheit 451", Ray Bradbury
A classic of world science fiction, Ray Bradbury’s novel “Fahrenheit 451” (the ignition temperature of paper), about firefighters starting fires instead of putting them out, about books forbidden to read, and about people who have almost forgotten what it means being human… "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1967
“Cien años de soledad”, Gabriel García Marquez
Novel Gabriel Garcia Marquez « One Hundred Years of Solitude" - This greatest work, most characteristic of the direction of magical realism. This passionate humorous story Macondo and his family, the Buendia family, have a certain attractive power of myth."Brave New World" Aldous Huxley, 1932
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
A classic example of science fiction, ranked alongside George Orwell's 1984. Back in 1932, Aldous Huxley managed to predict such modern phenomena as cloning, growing embryos in test tubes, totalitarianism, neo-fascism and its artificial compulsory happiness, materialistic globalization and soft ideology."Gone With the Wind". Margaret Mitchell, 1936
"Gone with the Wind", Margaret Mitchell
It's one of the best-selling books of all time, but that's not what makes the book's sugar cocktail impressive Margaret Mitchell so great. A powerful, original and all-encompassing historical novel about the courageous Scarlett O'Hara, the roguish Rhett Butler and the romantic, infinitely beautiful Ashley Ulkes, in a world destroyed by the cataclysm of the Civil War. Like quintessence English novel is Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, so the quintessentially American novel is gone With the Wind" The book is extremely readable because love stories have never been more triangular. But it is also a distinctive take on one of America's core mythologies—the disappearance, in blood and dust, of the great old South."Lord of the Flies". William Golding, 1954 "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
If the novel had been written in the 19th century, it would have been about a joyful, whimsical and fantastical Neverland created by boys. But in Golding's version, the children's ostentatious purity quickly disappears in the absence of adults, turning the boys into two warring tribes, one led by the righteous Ralph and his asthmatic sidekick Piggy, the second under the leadership of the former choir leader, Jack. Golding tracks the fall of this new Eden with ruthless, meticulous care and total psychological clarity. And in the process, he mercilessly exposes the myths and clichés about childhood innocence. "Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade." Kurt Vonnegut, 1969
“Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death”, Kurt Vonnegut
Vonnegut may still be a cult writer, but he deserves full canonical honors for his kaleidoscopic puzzle about Billy Pilgrim, a man who "flew out of time." Pilgrim bounces helplessly from decade to decade, living through episodes of his life without any consistency, not excluding his own death, his capture by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, and his traumatic service in World War II, where he survived the bombing of Dresden. " Slaughterhouse Five is a cynical novel, but beneath the bitterness of its dark humor lies a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the heinous crimes of the 20th century."Lolita". Vladimir Nabokov, 1955
"Lolita", Vladimir Nabokov
The novel was born in agony. Nabokov practically burned the manuscript halfway through completion, and his first publisher was a French publishing house specializing in pornographic literature. But "Lolita" turned into the greatest bestseller, the most different from the American classic. Main character named Humbert Humbert is a pedophile. He is a highly cultured and endearingly ironic man who hates himself as only a human being can hate, but he loves, and only can love, pretty little girls, whom he calls “nymphets.” "Lolita" is the story of Humbert's affair with a 12-year-old girl named Dolores Haze. Their story is as disgusting and unacceptable as one can imagine, but Humbert's voice, an endlessly resourceful stream of angry, understandable curses, elevates it to the level of a tragic, twisted epic."Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Ken Kesey, 1962
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Ken Kesey
When Kesey decided to take on the task of describing hypocrisy, cruelty and forced obedience modern life, he dug up his personal experience research object in a mental hospital. In "Cuckoo's Nest," violent patient Randle Patrick McMurphy battles cold, unfriendly, power-mad sister Mildred Ratched in an attempt to free, or at least breathe some life into, the downtrodden and frightened patients she puts on airs in front of. observes the silent, stony-faced narrator, Chief Bromden. Containing these two allegories of individualism and heartbreaking psychological drama, the novel “ Over the cuckoo's nest” manages to lift the mood without giving the slightest chance to excessive sentimentality."The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Douglas Adams, 1979
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams
Originally broadcast on Radio 4, this quotable comedy about the ill-fated adventures of an ordinary Englishman and his alien friend is a prime example of what Science fiction can be smart and funny at the same time."Stranger." Albert Camus, 1942
"L"Étranger", Albert Camus
Everyone remembers how at school they diligently forced us to read and understand the works of Albert Camus. At that time it was almost impossible to do this, and coercion could cause rejection French writer for life. But the story “The Outsider” is really worth re-reading now. The scorched despair of the intelligent humanism Camus and his clear manner of presentation are simply inimitable."American tragedy". Theodore Dreiser, 1925
"An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser
Clyde Griffiths is an ambitious young man. He is in love with a rich girl, but he has impregnated a poor girl, Roberta Alden, who works with him in his uncle's factory. One day he takes Roberta for a boat ride on the lake with the intention of killing her. From now on, his fate is sealed. But by this moment, Dreiser had already made it clear that Clyde’s fate was predetermined even before this by the cruelty and cynicism of society. Dreiser's usual criticism, line by line, makes him the weakest American short story writer. He uses a plumbing approach to his writing style, artfully connecting each sentence. But by the end of the work, he will line them up into a powerful aqueduct, releasing some very significant meaning through it."The Old Man and the Sea". Ernest Hemingway, 1952
"The Old Man and the Sea", Ernest Hemingway
It is no longer worth explaining to anyone that the story “The Old Man and the Sea” is a modern classic that brought Ernest Hemingway Nobel Prize. And the main idea in the story of a simple fisherman Santiago, embodying complicated story a person who is forced to fight for life every day and at the same time trying to coexist in harmony with the world, has long become a popular motto, serving as the motto of many admirers of literature, and not only: “Man was not created to suffer defeats. Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.”The best books of the 20th century are known to many lovers of good literature. Many of these masterpieces have long become cult favorites. They raise serious issues and give incredible emotions to every reader. All of the works mentioned are worthy of first place on the list, as they are required reading.
Reflections with a touch of satire
Among best books The 20th century novel “The Catcher in the Rye” is noted for its quality story about a person growing up. Author Jerome Selinger's main character, Holden Caulfield, has once again been kicked out of an elite private school. This news forced him to flee in the middle of the night. So he got to New York, where he tried to indulge in the joys of life. He understands that he will have to upset his parents again, and because of such thoughts, the guy is unable to experience all the delights of the big city. Holden begins to grow up in the throes of doubt amid memories of a carefree childhood. He is preoccupied with the evil world of adults, and the transition between these states is too painful.
Legendary fantasy
In the best books of the 20th century it is impossible not to include the legendary work of John Tolkien called “The Lord of the Rings”. This work is considered the main one in the genre of classic fantasy. No one could have thought that the author would be able to create such a well-developed universe with its own races and a huge amount characters. The author based his books on mythology different nations, ancient beliefs and own experience of participation in the First World War. Thus was born the story of the little hobbit Frodo, who, by the will of fate, must become the savior of the world called Middle-earth. To do this, he will have to, in the company of his faithful friends, go from the green Shire to the stronghold of evil Mordor, in order to destroy the main artifact there - the One Ring. A wide variety of adventures await him along the way, while the story is told about other interesting characters. The world is on the brink of destruction, and all hope lies in a few brave heroes.
Philosophy in simplicity
Francis Scott Fitzgerald's work entitled "The Great Gatsby" wonderful story deserves to be included in the list of the best books of the 20th century. The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, who moved to New York after World War I to work on the stock exchanges. He learns about the mysterious Mr. Jay Gatsby who lives next door. He has a beautiful villa with a huge living space, where the loudest parties in the entire metropolis are constantly held. Entertainment lovers from different parts of New York come here, but no one knows about Jay’s identity. There are all kinds of legends about him, and one day the owner of the villa shows himself to Nick. Before him appears a successful and good-natured man who also participated in the last war. Only in the course of the story, the philosophy of the work shows a person who has achieved everything, who was never able to know happiness in life, even though he fully deserved it.
Fairy tale for adults and children
One of the most popular books
The 100 best books of the 20th century deservedly include the first book about the “boy who lived.” The work "Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone" marked the beginning of the creation of a new popular universe, which now has millions of fans. The story captivated children and adults with its simplicity, style and attention to detail. It all starts with the fact that an ordinary guy named Harry receives an invitation to study at Hogwarts School of Wizardry. In the world of magic he is a true legend, after all, he managed to survive the deadly spell of the most powerful dark sorcerer. The first year of study brought meeting friends and finding my true home. This saga continued in this century until the seventh part was written. The work captivates you from the very first minutes, and it is incredibly difficult to tear yourself away from reading it.
Cult science fiction
The work "451 degrees Fahrenheit" in the 20th century occupies special place. Author Ray Bradbury managed to perfectly show a totalitarian society where mass culture is the main one. The introduction states that the temperature in the title of this masterpiece refers to the required degree for burning paper. In such a society, the presence of books that force the reader to think about something is not allowed. To prevent this from happening, special fire brigades were founded that confiscate such literature and burn it. The story is told on behalf of an employee of such a service. He increasingly wonders why they have to start fires from valuable books instead of putting out fires. Through the thoughts of the main character and images of the people around him, the author demonstrates the vices of the current world. Individuals who have forgotten what it means to be human meet at every turn, and the wife of the main character is bright that example. A science fiction classic that is a must-read for everyone.
Depressive prophecy
The 20th century could be topped by George Orwell's 1984, if judged by its dystopian quality and prophetic outlook on the future. The English writer seemed to look through the veil of time in the middle of the last century and managed to show the state of the world now. He does not talk about specific time dates, but creates a powerful atmosphere of total control. The main character, named Winston Smith, works in the Ministry of Truth in order to provide people with only the “correct” material. The figure of Big Brother, who is the ruler of this state, looms over the entire community. Everyone remembers and knows about him, although few have seen him. Through the eyes of the main character, the viewer learns all the methods of power pressure on the people. Everything comes to a paradox when people are forced to believe in a fictional reality, although before their eyes there is a completely different picture. The main character decides to join the uprising because of love, but even that has no place in such a world.
Human power
Many people know that persistence in achieving certain goals can help overcome any difficulties. It was this idea that became the main one in John Steinbeck’s masterpiece “The Grapes of Wrath,” which was included in the top best books of the 20th century. The plot tells about the Joad family preparing to go to the west of the country in search of a better life. Their small fortune forces them to do this, although no one wants to give up their California farm, which no longer generates income. After leaving, even greater troubles awaited them than in their native region. They encountered poverty, misery and the bitterness of ordinary workers in the “Hoover Townships.” Even this couldn't break iron strength along with the desire for a better life for the main characters. They overcome any obstacles and set an example for all those around them. Thanks to this, Steinbeck was able to show that human perseverance can be highly valued. The work has not turned into a demonstration of a series of unfortunate events, and this attracts many readers.
Ode to the power of the human spirit
With his novel “The Old Man and the Sea” he almost made a revolution in literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for this creation, and it deservedly entered the list of the best books of the 20th century. The story is based on the bad luck of an ordinary fisherman, Santiago, who for almost three months was unable to catch anything when going out to sea. Everyone around him began to shun him, because they considered him too unlucky. Only his faithful friend Manolin continues to go out with him in search of prey in open waters, although his father does not allow the guy to do this. On the 85th day, Santiago was lucky - a huge marlin was caught on the bait. From this moment on, the old man’s struggle with the animal begins, which does not want to become prey. The main character is burdened by the fate of a man who fights for his existence every day. At the same time, he likes the world around him, its harmony, and he does not want to violate it. His expression that a person can be destroyed, but cannot be defeated, became popular immediately after the release of the novel.
Love under social pressure
Theodore Dreiser had a unique style of writing his masterpieces. It may seem to the reader that there is simply no deep philosophy in the context, but at the end of the story everything changes. The ending makes it clear that every part of the work is located where it should be. A striking example of this is “An American Tragedy” - a work that was included in the list of the best foreign books 20th century. The plot centers on the fate of a guy named Clyde Griffiths. He is in love with a rich girl, and marriage with her will also help him satisfy his powerful ambitions. Only at this time the poor girl Roberta Alden announces to him that she is expecting a child from him. They work together at the factory, and Clyde cannot allow this fact to be made public. Under the pretext of boating on the lake, the hero decides to kill her and from that moment his life goes downhill.
Life views of an unusual person
In the list of the best books of the 20th century, the work “The Outsider” Alberta Camus is one of the most difficult to understand. It may seem to many that the plot describes the fate of an evil man, and everything ended logically, but the author laid a deeper subtext. The main character, a Frenchman named Meursault, lives in colonial Algeria. The author does not focus on his personality, but rather shows his actions. First, the text describes the death of the mother, then the murder of a resident in the city at the hands of the central character. The final part of the book is the trial of the guilty. With all his actions, Meursault shows that for him human life doesn’t mean anything, because even at his own mother’s funeral he didn’t shed a tear. Albert Camus in this book showed his signature style of criticism of intelligent humanism, which attracted the attention of society.
A novel with a difficult history
If we talk about the best books in Russia of the 20th century, then the first to mention is the masterpiece “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov. Author for a long time worked on his work, and halfway through he burned his creation. Later it was published in France, and it was taken over by an agency that specialized in materials for adults. As a result, the narrative had the effect of a bomb explosion and became a worthy alternative American classics. The main character Humbert has an unhealthy passion for little girls. He can only love them, for which he hates himself with all his heart. A man is able to think soberly, is not devoid of irony and is far from stupid, but he cannot do anything with his desire. The story tells of his relationship with a twelve-year-old girl, Dolores Haze. The plot is revealed through the main character, his manner of speaking and tragic reflections on his actions with love for the child. This work was included in the list of the best Russian books of the 20th century for its innovation and frank history.
Truly a wonderful world
If you look for the best books on the history of the 20th century, you will find that they were published in different periods throughout the hundred years. The novel "O wondrous new world» from famous writer Aldous Huxley is included in this number and is considered a classic on the level of “1984”, although it demonstrates a completely different world. The author talks about a community in 26th century London that is entirely focused on consumption. For them, a new era began with the advent of the Ford T, which was the first car produced in a million copies. Henry Ford was elevated to the cult of a deity, and people began to be raised in incubators. At the production stage, they are distributed according to castes, and after that they are endowed the necessary knowledge. Representatives of the lower categories are artificially made less developed to perform menial work. Lives in such a society main character Lenina Crown, who works as a nurse in a human production facility. Views of the world from the perspective of this character will more than once make you think about the pursuit of ideals and real world humanity.
One of the strangest novels
If you get together and go through the history of the 20th century in Russia, many works can be called the best books, but none of them compares with the masterpiece “The Master and Margarita”. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote this novel in agony and even burned the first versions with different names. Nevertheless, the work was destined to appear and create a sensation with its unusual style. The author leads storyline in the time period of the 20th century and in parallel talks about the fate of Jesus Christ. It all starts with two writers who argued about God. Suddenly, a gray-haired, elderly man intervenes in their conversation and predicts that one of them will have his head cut off. Within a few minutes he falls onto the track and a tram runs over his neck. Further events will reveal such a broad picture to the reader that it will be simply impossible to stop reading.
The best detectives
Among the best detective books of the 20th century, readers may especially like the work of Agatha Christie called “Ten Little Indians.” The story tells of a gloomy mansion where ten people with a criminal past have gathered. They are tormented not only by their conscience, but by the knowledge of near death. Every day, according to the rhyme about the little blacks, there are one less of them, and no one can expose the killer. This classic plot about blind justice that borders on revenge. The criminals decided to repent, but their killer is not interested. Using a sophisticated method, he decided to eliminate them one by one, so that in the allotted hours everyone would feel fear.
A list of the best books of the 20th century according to users of Goodreads, the most authoritative online portal for book lovers. The rating was compiled for April 23 - Book Day.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Author of the book: Harper Lee“Courage is when you know in advance that you have lost, and yet you get down to business and, despite everything in the world, go to the end. You win very rarely, but sometimes you do win.”
2. 1984
Author of the book: George Orwell“Just because you’re in the minority—even in the singular—doesn’t mean you’re crazy.”
3. Lord of the Rings
Author of the book: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien“Many of the living deserve to die. And others die, although they deserve a long life. Can you reward them? So don't rush to hand out death sentences. Even the wisest cannot foresee everything.”
4. Catcher in the Rye
Author of the book: Jerome David Salinger“If a girl comes on a date and looks beautiful, who will be upset that she is late? Nobody!".
5. The Great Gatsby
Author of the book: Francis Scott Fitzgerald“If you suddenly want to judge someone, remember that not all people in the world have the advantages that you had.”
6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Author of the book: JK Rowling“Truth is the most beautiful, but at the same time the most dangerous thing. Therefore, it must be approached with great caution.”
7. The Diary of Anne Frank
Author of the book: Anne Frank“You only recognize a person after a real quarrel. Only then does he show his true character.”
8. The Little Prince
Author of the book: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry“It is much more difficult to judge yourself than others. If you can judge yourself correctly, then you are truly wise.”
9. The Grapes of Wrath
Author of the book: John Steinbeck“Anyone can despair. But to control yourself, you need to be human.”
10. 451 degrees Fahrenheit
Author of the book: Ray Bradbury“There are worse crimes than burning books. For example, don’t read them.”
11. One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author of the book: Gabriel García Márquez“A prosperous old age is the ability to come to terms with your loneliness.”
12. Brave New World
Author of the book: Aldous Huxley“In its natural form, happiness always looks miserable next to the flowery embellishments of unhappiness. And, of course, stability is much less colorful than instability. And contentment is completely devoid of the romance of battles with evil fate, there is no colorful struggle with temptation, there is no aura of disastrous doubts and passions. Happiness is devoid of grandiose effects.”
13. Gone with the Wind
Author of the book: Margaret Mitchell“A person cannot move forward if his soul is corroded by the pain of memories.”
14. Lord of the Flies
Author of the book: William Golding“If the face changes completely depending on whether it is illuminated from above or below, what is the face worth? And what is everything worth then?”
15. Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade
Author of the book: Kurt Vonnegut“One of the great consequences of war is that people end up giving up on heroism.”
16. Lolita
Author of the book: Vladimir Nabokov“Lolita, the light of my life, the fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-li-ta: the tip of the tongue takes three steps down the palate, only to hit the teeth on the third. Lo. Lee. Ta."
17. Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Author of the book: Ken Kesey“You won’t be truly strong until you learn to see the funny side of everything.”
18. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Author of the book: Douglas Adams“This planet has - or rather, had - one problem: most of the people living on it did nothing but suffer, because they did not find happiness in life. Many solutions were born, but almost all of them boiled down to the redistribution of small green pieces of paper - which in itself is very strange, since some, who, and the little green pieces of paper did not experience any suffering, because they were not looking for happiness.”
19. A Crack in Time
Author of the book: Madeleine Langl“One thing I know for sure is that you don’t have to understand what’s what to understand what’s going on.”
20. The Handmaid's Tale
Author of the book: Margaret Atwood“No one dies from lack of sex. They die from lack of love.”
21. Memoirs of a Geisha
Author of the book: Arthur Golden“Sometimes we get into trouble just because we imagine the world as we picture it in our imagination, and not as it really is.”
22. Outsider
Author of the book: Albert Camus“And then I saw a line of faces opposite. They all looked at me, and I realized that these were the jury. But I couldn’t tell them apart, they were somehow the same. It seemed to me that I had entered a tram, passengers were sitting in a row in front of me - faceless strangers - and everyone was staring at me and trying to spot something to laugh at.”
23. Chronicles of Narnia
Author of the book: Clive Staples Lewis“What kind of person you are and where you look from depends on what you see and hear!”
24. Charlotte's Web
Book Author: Alvin Brooks White“If this is what we call freedom, then I’d rather stay in the barn!”
25. A tree grows in Brooklyn
Author of the book: Betty Smith“The ability to forgive is a great gift. Moreover, it costs nothing.”
26. Ender's Game
Author of the book: Orson Scott Card“With true understanding to defeat the enemy comes love for him. Apparently, it is impossible to get to know someone, to delve into their desires and faith, without loving them as they love themselves. And at this very moment of love...
“You are winning.”
27. Night
Author of the book: Elie Wiesel“I blessed God for creating dirt in His endless and wonderful world.”
28. The Old Man and the Sea
Author of the book: Ernest Hemingway“Man was not created to suffer defeat. Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.”
29. Atlas Shrugged
Author of the book: Ayn Rand“In my opinion, there is only one form of human downfall: the loss of purpose.”
30. Generous tree
Author of the book: Shel Silverstein“And the apple tree was happy.”
31. Ship Hill
Author of the book: Richard Adams“Animals don’t behave like people. They fight when they have to fight, and they kill when they have to kill. But they will never use all their natural resourcefulness and ingenuity only to invent a new way to cripple the life of another living creature. They never lose their sense of self-worth and animality.”
32. The Bell Jar
Author of the book: Sylvia Plath“From somewhere far away I will see a person who seems perfect to me, but as soon as he comes closer, I will begin to discover one flaw in him after another, and in the end I will decide that he is no good at all.”
33. Prayer for Owen Meany
Author of the book: John Irving“When a loved one dies unexpectedly, you don’t lose them right away. This happens gradually, step by step, over a long period of time - so the letters stop coming - then the familiar smell has disappeared from the pillows, and then from the wardrobe and drawers. Gradually you accumulate in your consciousness some disappearing parts of this person; and then the day comes when you notice that something special has disappeared, and you are overcome by a nagging feeling that this person is no longer there and will never be; and then another day comes, and it turns out that something else has disappeared...”
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