List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction

A list by Larry McCaffery, inspired by Modern Library's list of the "100 Greatest English-Language Novels." Trilogies and multi-volume works are represented by the first book in the set.
Read More
2,821 users · 12,588 views
 
from spinelessbooks.com · made by Lingtoness
avg. score: 11 of 100 (11%)
required scores: 1, 4, 7, 10, 16 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 3
Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
Pale Fire
1
Vladimir Nabokov
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
2
James Joyce
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
3
Thomas Pynchon
The Public Burning
The Public Burning
4
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
5
William Faulkner
Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, the Unnameable (Samuel Beckett)
Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, the Unnameable
6
Samuel Beckett
The Making of Americans (Gertrude Stein)
The Making of Americans
7
Gertrude Stein
The Soft Machine (William S. Burroughs)
The Soft Machine
8
William S. Burroughs
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
9
Vladimir Nabokov
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
10
James Joyce
Take It or Leave It (Raymond Federman)
Take It or Leave It
11
Raymond Federman
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
12
Toni Morrison
Going Native
Going Native
13
Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
Under the Volcano
14
Malcolm Lowry
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
15
Virginia Woolf
In the Heart of the Heart of the Country (William H. Gass)
In the Heart of the Heart of the Country
16
William H. Gass
JR
JR
17
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
18
Ralph Ellison
Underworld (Don Delillo)
Underworld
19
Don Delillo
The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
The Sun Also Rises
20
Ernest Hemingway
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
21
James Joyce
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
22
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Ambassadors (Henry James)
The Ambassadors
23
Henry James
Women in Love (D.H. Lawrence)
Women in Love
24
D.H. Lawrence
60 Stories (Donald Barthelme)
60 Stories
25
Donald Barthelme
The Rifles (William T. Vollmann)
The Rifles
26
William T. Vollmann
The Recognitions (William Gaddis)
The Recognitions
27
William Gaddis
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
28
Joseph Conrad
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
29
Joseph Heller
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
30
George Orwell
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
31
Zora Neale Hurston
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
32
William Faulkner
Dhalgren (Samuel R. Delany)
Dhalgren
33
Samuel R. Delany
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
34
John Steinbeck
The Stain (Rikki Durcornet)
The Stain
35
Rikki Durcornet
Neuromancer (William Gibson)
Neuromancer
36
William Gibson
Tropic of Cancer (Henry Miller)
Tropic of Cancer
37
Henry Miller
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
On the Road
38
Jack Kerouac
Lookout Cartridge (Joseph McElroy)
Lookout Cartridge
39
Joseph McElroy
Crash (J.G. Ballard)
Crash
40
J.G. Ballard
Page 1 of 3
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction'
20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
5,117
107
20th Century's 100 Greatest English-Language Books of Fiction
20th Century's 100 Greatest English-Language Books of Fiction
648
105
Stanford's Best English-Language Fiction of the 20th Century
Stanford's Best English-Language Fiction of the 20th Century
2,020
200
Top 200 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century
Top 200 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century
2,599
200
Top 50 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century (FEMALE Authors)
Top 50 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century (FEMALE Authors)
2,419
50
100 Best English-Language Novels of the 20th Century
100 Best English-Language Novels of the 20th Century
2,147
100
Top 100 English Language Novels of the 20th Century (Madison Public Library)
Top 100 English Language Novels of the 20th Century (Madison Public Library)
2,024
100
Top 50 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century (MALE Authors)
Top 50 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century (MALE Authors)
1,462
50
Friendswood Library: the Best 150 English Language Novels of the 20th Century
Friendswood Library: the Best 150 English Language Novels of the 20th Century
1,090
175
Larry McCaffery's 20th Century's Greatest Literary Hits
Larry McCaffery's 20th Century's Greatest Literary Hits
546
112
20th Century Modern: Some of the English Teacher's Favorite Fiction and Drama
20th Century Modern: Some of the English Teacher's Favorite Fiction and Drama
450
150
Stanford: The Best English-Language Fiction of the Twentieth Century (Updated)
Stanford: The Best English-Language Fiction of the Twentieth Century (Updated)
1,662
221
Hungry Mind Review's 100 Best 20th-Century American Books of Fiction and Nonfiction
Hungry Mind Review's 100 Best 20th-Century American Books of Fiction and Nonfiction
1,679
100
The Modern Library's Best 100 English-Language Non-Fiction Books of the Last 100 Years
The Modern Library's Best 100 English-Language Non-Fiction Books of the Last 100 Years
479
100
Top Science Fiction Books of the 20th Century According to Chatgpt
Top Science Fiction Books of the 20th Century According to Chatgpt
367
35
Bookslut's 100 Greatest Books of the 20th Century
Bookslut's 100 Greatest Books of the 20th Century
1,934
100
The Greatest Books of the 20th Century
The Greatest Books of the 20th Century
974
100
Every #1 Book on the New York Times Fiction List of the 20th Century
Every #1 Book on the New York Times Fiction List of the 20th Century
638
415
20th Century American Fiction: A Curriculum From 1972
20th Century American Fiction: A Curriculum From 1972
264
10
San Francisco Chronicle's 100 Best Fiction of the American West of the 20th Century
San Francisco Chronicle's 100 Best Fiction of the American West of the 20th Century
224
100
Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the 20th Century Novel
Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the 20th Century Novel
195
34
From Asimov to Zelazny (Sort Of): (Mostly) 20th-Century SF & Fantasy Short Fiction
From Asimov to Zelazny (Sort Of): (Mostly) 20th-Century SF & Fantasy Short Fiction
128
200
Governor General's Literary Award Winners (Canada Council for the Arts-- English Language Fiction)
Governor General's Literary Award Winners (Canada Council for the Arts-- English Language Fiction)
91
84
50 Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century Per Goodreads
50 Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century Per Goodreads
1,966
50
100 Greatest Novels in the English Language
100 Greatest Novels in the English Language
1,921
100
The Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century as Interpreted by Goodreads Voters
The Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century as Interpreted by Goodreads Voters
944
96
20 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century
20 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century
862
20
Digital Dream Door's 200 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century
Digital Dream Door's 200 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century
762
200
AP English Language and Composition/Freshman English One Reading List
AP English Language and Composition/Freshman English One Reading List
274
25
Goodreads' 200 Best Books of the 20th Century
Goodreads' 200 Best Books of the 20th Century
30,661
200
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN