I recommended A Little Life because from a literary standpoint it was beautifully written and offered a window into, yes pain and suffering, but also friendship. Your take is yours alone. |
I absolutely loved 4-3-2-1 and Foster. I just finished basically everything Claire Keegan has written. I don't think those will be well known enough even though I agree with you, taste-wise. |
Already mentioned, but what comes to mind for me-
Middlesex Never Let Me Go Corrections |
Actually isn't reading a book in HS English the definition of a classic to some degree? It's sitting alongside Austen, Shakespeare et al |
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A Fine Balance 100%. I’m surprised it’s not talked about more on this site. Absolutely amazing. |
I love your list too! I tried to think of some that filled a new niche or updated a niche. Wolf Hall with a new take on historical fiction, Gilead as the midwestern American religious vibe, the inventiveness of Lincoln in the Bardo, sci-fi dystopian but literary Ishiguro, and North Woods with setting as a link through generations plus the ecological piece. I should have added something by Adichie - maybe Half a Yellow Sun. |
What are some you’ve loved, since we have similar taste? Others can feel free to ignore. |
I’ll add Sing, unburied, sing
Station 11 Nothing to see here 2666 or the savage detectives |
Adding Milkman by Anna Burns
I also loved Station 11 |
All of these are missing the mark. I’ve enjoyed many of the books suggested (Namesake is my favorite, adored Middlex, Hamnet was a page turner)…but would they be considered classics? No.
Maybe there’s nothing? |
Interesting- Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy will make the cut, but Beloved and Blood Meridian were both published in the 1980’s. Agree with Ishiguro Kazo- perhaps The Buried Giant? |
It’s been a couple of years since I read it and I still think about it all the time. |
If A Little Life has no haters, I’m dead. I passionately hate that fckn book. |
Olive Kitteridge
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