There is no denying that the 21st century is a time of extraordinary growth and transformation for literature, and on many different levels. Just look at the bookstore shelves, where more and more books by authors from different corners of the world appear. The American daily “New York Times” decided to distinguish the most important books published since the beginning of the 2000s. It invited 503 famous people from the world of culture to create the list, including actress Sara Jessica Parker, writers and Nick Hornby, vocalist and author of the famous “My Struggle” Karl Ove Knausgard. They presented the top 10 of their favorite titles, from which the most frequently repeated ones were selected.
Top 10 Best Books of the 21st Century. These titles were recognized by the New York Times
Many different genres have appeared in the list of the best of this century. Fiction novels are definitely in the lead, followed closely by content that touches on political topics, social problems or the scientific revolution. The first volume of the tetralogy “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante (pseudonym of an Italian author whose identity is unknown) took the podium of the ranking, the plot of which tells the story of two girls growing up in a poor district of Naples.
In turn, 2nd place went to the previously untranslated book “The Warmth of Other Suns. The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson, focusing on the Great Migration of Black Americans from the South to the North and West. The podium was closed by the award-winning novel about England in the times of Henry VIII “In the Chambers of Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mentel.
- “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante
- “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson
- “In the Chambers of Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel
- “The Known World” Edward P. Jones
- “Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen
- “2666” Roberto Bolano
- “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
- “Austerlitz” by W.G. Sebald
- “Don’t Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro
- “Gilead” Marilynne Robinson
The New York Times’ Best Books of the 21st Century. No Polish Author Has Been Awarded
It is impossible not to notice that the ranking is very American-centric. Although the top ten is dominated by authors from outside the United States, the whole list is dominated by English-speaking authors. Fans of Polish literature will also be disconsolate that no Polish artist made it to the list. Even the Nobel Prize winner in 2018 did not receive a distinction. This is not particularly surprising, especially since out of the hundred listed titles, only six of them were created by Nobel Prize winners.
These include the book “Second-Hand Times. The End of the Red Man” by Svetlana Alexeyevich and “Septology” by Jon Fosse, which is the longest item on the list. Also noteworthy is “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy, the crime novel “Beyond the Wall” by Sarah Waters and the description of the history of cancer by Siddharth Mukherjee “The Emperor of All Maladies. The Biography of Cancer”. The full ranking of distinguished books can be found on the website “”.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
