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The 20th Century in Written Works - First Draft

A personal selection of 100 noteworthy written works that were published during the course of the 20th century, drawn from everything I've read thus far and continually subject to future amendment. Nonfiction welcome, one book per author, minimal indulgence of non-adult material/genre writing/series, all ordered in terms of first year of publication. I didn't include material published in the year 2000, which is technically the wrong thing to do, but it simplified the choosing process and won't piss off anyone who doesn't know any better. Any biases towards certain periods/decades will hopefully be gradually alleviated during the course of future reading, although I can't promise the same regarding bias towards certain genres and/or lack thereof.
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Howards End (E. M. Forster)
Howards End
1
E. M. Forster
Kristin Lavransdatter (Sigrid Undset, Trans. Tiina Nunnally)
Kristin Lavransdatter
2
Sigrid Undset, Trans. Tiina Nunnally
The Magic Mountain (Thomas Mann)
The Magic Mountain
3
Thomas Mann
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
4
Marcel Proust
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
5
Franz Kafka
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
6
Virginia Woolf
Quicksand (Nella Larsen)
Quicksand
7
Nella Larsen
Letters to a Young Poet (Rainer Maria Rilke)
Letters to a Young Poet
8
Rainer Maria Rilke
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
9
William Faulkner
Living My Life (Emma Goldman)
Living My Life
10
Emma Goldman
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
11
Aldous Huxley
Testament of Youth (Vera Brittain)
Testament of Youth
12
Vera Brittain
Independent People (Halldór Laxness)
Independent People
13
Halldór Laxness
Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 (W.E.B. Du Bois)
Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880
14
W.E.B. Du Bois
Native Son (Richard Wright)
Native Son
15
Richard Wright
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
16
Carson McCullers
Chess Story (Stefan Zweig)
Chess Story
17
Stefan Zweig
The Street (Ann Petry)
The Street
18
Ann Petry
The Discovery of India (Jawaharlal Nehru)
The Discovery of India
19
Jawaharlal Nehru
Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
Under the Volcano
20
Malcolm Lowry
The Second Sex (Simone De Beauvoir)
The Second Sex
21
Simone De Beauvoir
Memoirs of Hadrian (Margarite Yourcenar)
Memoirs of Hadrian
22
Margarite Yourcenar
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
23
Ralph Ellison
The Long Goodbye (Raymond Chandler)
The Long Goodbye
24
Raymond Chandler
The Complete Stories (Flanner O'Connor)
The Complete Stories
25
Flanner O'Connor
The Ten Thousand Things (Maria Dermoût)
The Ten Thousand Things
26
Maria Dermoût
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings
27
J.R.R. Tolkien
Imperial Woman (Pearl S. Buck)
Imperial Woman
28
Pearl S. Buck
God's Bits of Wood (Ousmane Sembène)
God's Bits of Wood
29
Ousmane Sembène
The Wretched of the Earth (Franz Fanon)
The Wretched of the Earth
30
Franz Fanon
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
31
Joseph Heller
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Ken Kesey)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
32
Ken Kesey
The Book of Lamentations (Rosario Castellanos)
The Book of Lamentations
33
Rosario Castellanos
Labyrinths (Jorge Luis Borges)
Labyrinths
34
Jorge Luis Borges
The Golden Notebook (Doris Lessing)
The Golden Notebook
35
Doris Lessing
The Wall (Marlen Haushofer)
The Wall
36
Marlen Haushofer
The Fire Next Time (James Baldwin)
The Fire Next Time
37
James Baldwin
Eichmann in Jerusalem (Hannah Arendt)
Eichmann in Jerusalem
38
Hannah Arendt
The Passion According to G.H. (Clarice Lispector)
The Passion According to G.H.
39
Clarice Lispector
Stoner (John Williams)
Stoner
40
John Williams
Page 1 of 3
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