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The Great English-Language Novels of the Past 100 Years

This list is inspired by The Atlantic's 2024 list of their Great American Novels. I've already published lists in response to that and of what I believe the great English-language novels are, but with no time limit. This list, however, follows The Atlantic's criteria that the books must have been published within the last 100 years. I have 136 novels in this list, just like The Atlantic's list, but the one rule I imposed on myself, which The Atlantic didn't (which is fine - to each their own), is to allow an author only one entry on the list. Enjoy...
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1984 (George Orwell)
1984
1
George Orwell
2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)
2001: A Space Odyssey
2
Arthur C. Clarke
The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow)
The Adventures of Augie March
3
Saul Bellow
Age of Vice (Deepti Kapoor)
Age of Vice
4
Deepti Kapoor
All the King's Men (Robert Penn Warren)
All the King's Men
5
Robert Penn Warren
All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
All the Light We Cannot See
6
Anthony Doerr
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Michael Chabon)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
7
Michael Chabon
American Dirt (Jeanine Cummins)
American Dirt
8
Jeanine Cummins
American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
American Gods
9
Neil Gaiman
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis, 1991)
American Psycho
10
Bret Easton Ellis, 1991
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
11
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Amongst Women (John McGahern)
Amongst Women
12
John McGahern
An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser)
An American Tragedy
13
Theodore Dreiser
At Swim-Two-Brids (Flann O'Brien)
At Swim-Two-Brids
14
Flann O'Brien
Atonement (Ian McEwan)
Atonement
15
Ian McEwan
Bastard Out of Carolina (Dorothy Allison)
Bastard Out of Carolina
16
Dorothy Allison
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
17
Toni Morrison
A Bend in the River (V. S. Naipaul)
A Bend in the River
18
V. S. Naipaul
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
19
Raymond Chandler
Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks)
Birdsong
20
Sebastian Faulks
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
21
Cormac McCarthy
The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe)
The Bonfire of the Vanities
22
Tom Wolfe
The Book of Negroes (Lawrence Hill)
The Book of Negroes
23
Lawrence Hill
A Boy's Own Story (Edmund White)
A Boy's Own Story
24
Edmund White
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
25
Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Brideshead Revisited
26
Evelyn Waugh
A Brief History of Seven Killings (Marlon James)
A Brief History of Seven Killings
27
Marlon James
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter Miller)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
28
Walter Miller
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
29
Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
30
J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
31
Anthony Burgess
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas
32
David Mitchell
Cloudstreet (1991) (Tim Winton)
Cloudstreet (1991)
33
Tim Winton
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
34
Alice Walker
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections
35
Jonathan Franzen
The Country Girls (Edna O'Brien)
The Country Girls
36
Edna O'Brien
Crash (J.G. Ballard)
Crash
37
J.G. Ballard
Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
Cry, the Beloved Country
38
Alan Paton
Days Without End (Sebastian Barry)
Days Without End
39
Sebastian Barry
Demon Copperhead (Barbara Kingsolver)
Demon Copperhead
40
Barbara Kingsolver
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