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Bookriot's 100 Must-Read Modern Classics

'...here are my arbitrary rules for what a modern classic is: all the books below were published after 1950 but are at least 20 years old, so nothing after 1997. This list is my best guess about the books that matter from a period of not-quite 50 years in the second half of the twentieth century. Somebody else could do their own list of 100 must-read modern classics that has absolutely no overlap with mine, and it would probably be a good list too. So check out my choices and tell me what you would add or take away!'
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Excellent Women (Barbara Pym)
Excellent Women
1
Barbara Pym
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
2
Ralph Ellison
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
The Crucible
3
Arthur Miller
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
4
Ray Bradbury
A Kiss Before Dying
A Kiss Before Dying
5
Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett)
Waiting for Godot
6
Samuel Beckett
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (Barbara Comyns)
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead
7
Barbara Comyns
A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Flannery O'Connor)
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
8
Flannery O'Connor
The Talented Mr. Ripley (Patricia Highsmith)
The Talented Mr. Ripley
9
Patricia Highsmith
The Fountain Overflows
The Fountain Overflows
10
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night
11
Elie Wiesel
Palace Walk
Palace Walk
12
The Assistant
The Assistant
13
Memories of a Catholic Girlhood (Mary McCarthy)
Memories of a Catholic Girlhood
14
Mary McCarthy
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
On the Road
15
Jack Kerouac
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Things Fall Apart
16
Chinua Achebe
The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)
The Haunting of Hill House
17
Shirley Jackson
A Raisin in the Sun (Lorraine Hansberry)
A Raisin in the Sun
18
Lorraine Hansberry
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
19
Harper Lee
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
20
Joseph Heller
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
21
Muriel Spark
Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates)
Revolutionary Road
22
Richard Yates
Cassandra at the Wedding (Dorothy Baker)
Cassandra at the Wedding
23
Dorothy Baker
The Golden Notebook (Doris Lessing)
The Golden Notebook
24
Doris Lessing
Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
Pale Fire
25
Vladimir Nabokov
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
26
Sylvia Plath
The Fire Next Time (James Baldwin)
The Fire Next Time
27
James Baldwin
Hopscotch (Julio Cortázar)
Hopscotch
28
Julio Cortázar
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea (Yukio Mishima)
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea
29
Yukio Mishima
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (John Le Carré)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
30
John Le Carré
A Personal Matter
A Personal Matter
31
The Woman in the Dunes (Kobo Abe)
The Woman in the Dunes
32
Kobo Abe
Autobiography of Malcom X (Malcom X, Alex Haley)
Autobiography of Malcom X
33
Malcom X, Alex Haley
The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon)
The Crying of Lot 49
34
Thomas Pynchon
Stoner (Williams)
Stoner
35
Williams
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
In Cold Blood
36
Truman Capote
Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
Wide Sargasso Sea
37
Jean Rhys
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
38
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Sport and a Pastime
A Sport and a Pastime
39
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
40
Philip K. Dick
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