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Vulture's Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon

What if you could start a canon from scratch? New York magazine's Vulture thought it might be fun to speculate (very prematurely) on what a canon of the 21st century might look like right now. A couple of months ago, they reached out to dozens of critics and authors — well-established voices (Michiko Kakutani, Luc Sante), more radical thinkers (Eileen Myles), younger reviewers for outlets like n+1, and some of their best-read contributors, too. They asked each of them to name several books that belong among the most important 100 works of fiction, memoir, poetry, and essays since 2000 and tallied the results. The purpose was not to build a fixed library but to take a blurry selfie of a cultural moment.
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from vulture.com · made by Jen Steerswell
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1
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai
2
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen
3
Freedom (Jonathan Franzen)
Freedom
Jonathan Franzen
4
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
5
How Should a Person Be
How Should a Person Be
6
The Neapolitan Novels (Elena Ferrante)
The Neapolitan Novels
Elena Ferrante
7
The Argonauts (Maggie Nelson)
The Argonauts
Maggie Nelson
8
2666 (Roberto Bolaño)
2666
Roberto Bolaño
9
The Savage Detectives (Roberto Bolaño)
The Savage Detectives
Roberto Bolaño
10
The Sellout (Paul Beatty)
The Sellout
Paul Beatty
11
Outline (Rachel Cusk)
Outline
Rachel Cusk
12
Atonement (Ian McEwan)
Atonement
Ian McEwan
13
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion
14
Leaving the Atocha Station
Leaving the Atocha Station
15
The Flamethrowers (Rachel Kushner)
The Flamethrowers
Rachel Kushner
16
Erasure (Percival Everett)
Erasure
Percival Everett
17
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
Jeffrey Eugenides
18
Platform
Platform
19
Do Everything in the Dark (Gary Indiana)
Do Everything in the Dark
Gary Indiana
20
The Known World (Edward P. Jones)
The Known World
Edward P. Jones
21
The Plot Against America (Philip Roth)
The Plot Against America
Philip Roth
22
The Human Stain (Philip Roth)
The Human Stain
Philip Roth
23
The Line of Beauty (Alan Hollinghurst)
The Line of Beauty
Alan Hollinghurst
24
Veronica (Mary Gaitskill)
Veronica
Mary Gaitskill
25
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
26
Ooga Booga
Ooga Booga
27
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Díaz)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Díaz
28
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel
29
The Possessed (Elif Batuman)
The Possessed
Elif Batuman
30
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (Aimee Bender)
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender
31
Mr Fox (Helen Oyeyemi)
Mr Fox
Helen Oyeyemi
32
Lives Other Than My Own (Emmanuel Carrere)
Lives Other Than My Own
Emmanuel Carrere
33
The Kingdom (Emmanuel Carrere)
The Kingdom
Emmanuel Carrere
34
Zone One (Colson Whitehead)
Zone One
Colson Whitehead
35
Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor
36
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn
37
NW (Zadie Smith)
NW
Zadie Smith
38
White Girls (Hilton Als)
White Girls
Hilton Als
39
My Struggle (Karl Ove Knausgaard)
My Struggle
Karl Ove Knausgaard
40
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt
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