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The Most Important Books of the Last Twenty Years

"The end of December is a time when we are bombarded with end-of-year lists—so much so that they start to blur together. But what about the books that stay with us for years? In an effort to come up with a more enduring, definitive list, I reached out to some of my favorite contemporary writers and asked them to name the most important books published over the last two decades."
Article by Michele Filgate
CONTRIBUTORS
Ann Patchett · Azar Nafisi · Ben Fountain · Colson Whitehead · Colum McCann · Curtis Sittenfeld · Eileen Myles · Geoff Dyer · Jane Smiley · Jesmyn Ward · Jess Walter · Jo Ann Beard · Jonathan Franzen · Jonathan Lethem · Kaitlyn Greenidge · Lauren Groff · Leslie Jamison · Maggie Nelson · Paul Harding · Peter Straub · Patti Smith · Porochista Khakpour · Rebecca Solnit · Rick Moody · Roxane Gay · Sarah Waters · Stewart O'Nan · Ruth Ozeki · Victor LaValle
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1
2666 (Roberto Bolaño)
2666
Roberto Bolaño
2
A Big Enough Lie (Eric Bennett)
A Big Enough Lie
Eric Bennett
3
A Fine Balance
A Fine Balance
4
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
5
A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines (Janna Levin)
A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines
Janna Levin
6
A Visit From the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Jennifer Egan
7
Against Identity (Leon Wieseltier)
Against Identity
Leon Wieseltier
8
All Souls' Rising (Madison Smartt Bell)
All Souls' Rising
Madison Smartt Bell
9
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
10
Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Katherine Boo)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Katherine Boo
11
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
12
Beneath the Roses (Gregory Crewdson)
Beneath the Roses
Gregory Crewdson
13
Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
14
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
15
Birds of America
Birds of America
16
Blue Nights
Blue Nights
17
Brick Lane
Brick Lane
18
Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
19
Brother, I'm Dying (Edwidge Danticat)
Brother, I'm Dying
Edwidge Danticat
20
Building Stories
Building Stories
21
Capital in the 21st Century (Thomas Piketty)
Capital in the 21st Century
Thomas Piketty
22
Citizen (Claudia Rankine)
Citizen
Claudia Rankine
23
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas
David Mitchell
24
Collected Stories (Lorrie More)
Collected Stories
Lorrie More
25
Command and Control
Command and Control
26
The Conference of the Birds (Peter Sís)
The Conference of the Birds
Peter Sís
27
Counternarratives (John Keene)
Counternarratives
John Keene
28
Debt: The First 5000 Years (David Graeber)
Debt: The First 5000 Years
David Graeber
29
Decreation: Poetry, Essays, Opera (Anne Carson)
Decreation: Poetry, Essays, Opera
Anne Carson
30
Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee)
Disgrace
J. M. Coetzee
31
Drown, Junot Diaz
Drown, Junot Diaz
32
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet (Bill McKibbin)
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
Bill McKibbin
33
Falling Out of Time (David Grossman)
Falling Out of Time
David Grossman
34
Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)
Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk
35
For the Relief of Unbearable Urges (Nathan Englander)
For the Relief of Unbearable Urges
Nathan Englander
36
Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)
Gilead
Marilynne Robinson
37
Global Crisis (Geoffrey Parker)
Global Crisis
Geoffrey Parker
38
Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
39
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (Alice Munro)
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Alice Munro
40
Head off & Split
Head off & Split
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