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Great Fiction Everyone Needs to Read

A personal and idiosyncratic list of great novels and short fiction ( no drama or poetry ; those would be separate lists) by a former teacher of writing and literature. Some may be surprised by what is on this list ( and by what is NOT!), but these are the classics, literary fiction, and genre fiction that matter to me. The list should not be taken as exhaustive or authoritative.
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made by James Loranger
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11/22/63 (Stephen King)
11/22/63
1
Stephen King
1984 (Orwell)
1984
2
Orwell
The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow)
The Adventures of Augie March
3
Saul Bellow
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4
Mark Twain
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
5
Arthur Conan Doyle
Agnes Grey (Anne Brontë)
Agnes Grey
6
Anne Brontë
All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
All the Light We Cannot See
7
Anthony Doerr
All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
All Quiet on the Western Front
8
Remarque
American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
American Gods
9
Neil Gaiman
American Tabloid (James Ellroy)
American Tabloid
10
James Ellroy
Ancient Sorceries (Algernon Blackwood)
Ancient Sorceries
11
Algernon Blackwood
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None
12
Agatha Christie
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
13
George Orwell
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
14
Leo Tolstoy
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
15
William Faulkner
August 1914 (Solzhenitsyn)
August 1914
16
Solzhenitsyn
Background to Danger (Ambler)
Background to Danger
17
Ambler
Barchester Towers (Anthony Trollope)
Barchester Towers
18
Anthony Trollope
Ben-Hur (Lew Wallace)
Ben-Hur
19
Lew Wallace
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Alfred Döblin, Trans. Michael Hoffman)
Berlin Alexanderplatz
20
Alfred Döblin, Trans. Michael Hoffman
The Big Clock (Kenneth Fearing)
The Big Clock
21
Kenneth Fearing
The Big Nowhere (James Ellroy)
The Big Nowhere
22
James Ellroy
The Big Sleep (Chandler)
The Big Sleep
23
Chandler
Billiards at Half-Past Nine (Heinrich Böll)
Billiards at Half-Past Nine
24
Heinrich Böll
Billy Budd, Sailor (Herman Melville)
Billy Budd, Sailor
25
Herman Melville
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
26
Charles Dickens
The Bostonians (Henry James)
The Bostonians
27
Henry James
Breakfast of Champions (Kurt Vonnegut)
Breakfast of Champions
28
Kurt Vonnegut
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
29
Thornton Wilder
Brighton Rock
Brighton Rock
30
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
31
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A Burnt Out Case (Greene)
A Burnt Out Case
32
Greene
The Caine Mutiny (Herman Wouk)
The Caine Mutiny
33
Herman Wouk
Cancer Ward (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
Cancer Ward
34
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
35
Miller
Captain Blood (Rafael Sabatini)
Captain Blood
36
Rafael Sabatini
Carrion Comfort (Simmons)
Carrion Comfort
37
Simmons
The Castle (Franz Kafka)
The Castle
38
Franz Kafka
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
39
Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
40
J.D. Salinger
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