25 Great Books of the 20th Century

Explore the 25 greatest books of the 20th century, from timeless classics to groundbreaking literature. Discover must-read novels that shaped modern writing and captivated generations.

Cancer Ward Cover
Book

Cancer Ward

by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great allegorical masterpieces of world literature, Cancer Ward is both a deeply compassionate study of people facing terminal illness and a brilliant …
Nineteen Eighty-four Cover
Book

Nineteen Eighty-four

by George Orwell

Eternal warfare is the price of bleak prosperity in this satire of totalitarian barbarism.
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
A Confederacy of Dunces Cover
Book

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

Set in New Orleans, the protagonist is nearly arrested for being a suspicious character and encounters many unfortunate events.
The Sun Also Rises Cover
Book

The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway

A group of expatriates travel from Paris to the Pamplona bullfights.
The Catcher in the Rye Cover
Book

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

The "brilliant, funny, meaningful novel" (The New Yorker) that established J. D. Salinger as a leading voice in American literature--and that has instilled in millions …
The Grapes of Wrath Cover
Book

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the …
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
As I Lay Dying Cover
Book

As I Lay Dying

by William Faulkner

A true 20th-century classic from the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Sound and the Fury: the famed harrowing account of the Bundren family’s odyssey across …
The Good Earth Cover
Book

The Good Earth

by Pearl S. Buck

A Chinese peasant overcomes the forces of nature and the frailties of human nature to become a wealthy landowner.
The Magic Mountain Cover
Book

The Magic Mountain

by Thomas Mann

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • A monumental work of erudition and irony, sexual tension and intellectual ferment, The Magic Mountain is an enduring classic. With this …
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
The Tin Drum Cover
Book

The Tin Drum

by GĂĽnter Grass

A dwarf drummer found guilty of a crime he did not commit writes his memoirs from a mental hospital in postwar Germany
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
Ulysses Cover
Book

Ulysses

by James Joyce

This revised volume of the acclaimed novel follows the complete unabridged text as corrected in 1961. Set entirely on one day, 16 June 1904, Ulysses …
One Hundred Years of Solitude Cover
Book

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the …
Brave New World Cover
Book

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

Huxley's story shows a futuristic World State where all emotion, love, art, and human individuality have been replaced by social stability. An ominous warning to …
The Lord of the Rings Cover
Book

The Lord of the Rings

by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Three-volume boxed set edition lavishly illustrated in full color by Alan LeeOne Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to …
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
Johnny Got His Gun Cover
Book

Johnny Got His Gun

by Dalton Trumbo

For use in schools and libraries only. The powerful story of a young boy and his tragic fate in World War I makes a terrifying …
Cat's Cradle Cover
Book

Cat's Cradle

by Kurt Vonnegut

“A free-wheeling vehicle . . . an unforgettable ride!”—The New York Times Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. …
Growth of the Soil Cover
Book

Growth of the Soil

by Knut Hamsun

The story of an elemental existence in rural Norway.
Book Cover
Book

[No Title]

 

No summary available.
White Noise Cover
Book

White Noise

by Don DeLillo

The National Book Award-winning classic from the author of Underworld and Libra—an “eerie, brilliant, and touching” (New York Times) family drama about mass culture and …
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Cover
Book

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

Ken Kesey's bracing, inslightful novel about the meaning of madness and the value of self-reliance, and the inspiration for the new Netflix original series Ratched …