Some Great Twenty-First Century Novels (So Far)
Discover the best twenty-first century novels with our curated list of must-read books. Explore top literary works that define modern storytelling and captivate readers worldwide.
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Peony in Love
by Lisa See
âI finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.â For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she âŠ
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The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
This limited edition volume includes art work painted by the author. This is the story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily âŠ
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Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson
In 1956, toward the end of his life, Reverend John Ames begins a letter to his young son, sharing the story of his life and âŠ
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Digging to America
by Anne Tyler
This luminous novel brims with tender observations about what it is to be an American, and about Iranian-born Maryam Yazdam, who after 35 years in âŠ
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Saturday
by Ian McEwan
NATIONAL BESTSELLER âą The Booker Prize winner and bestselling author of Atonement follows an ordinary man through a Saturday whose high promise gradually turns nightmarish âŠ
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The Keep
by Jennifer Egan
"Two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank whose devastating consequences changed both their lives, reunite twenty years later to renovate a medieval castle in âŠ
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Desperation Moon
by Ken Douglas
When racecar driver Sara Hackett arrives home from a desert road race, she finds her niece and another girl have been kidnapped and a dead âŠ
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The God of Animals
by Aryn Kyle
Based on the author's short story titled "The Foaling Season," the tale of rancher's daughter Alice Winston finds her helping to support the family business âŠ
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The Sea
by John Banville
Following the death of his wife, Max Morden retreats to the seaside town of his childhood summers, where his own life becomes inextricably entwined with âŠ
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The Whole World Over
by Julia Glass
From the author of the beloved novel "Three Junes" comes a rich and commanding story about the accidents, both grand and small, that determine our âŠ
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Suite Française
by IrnÌe NmÌirovsky
In 1940, several families and individuals are thrown together as they flee Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion and struggle to stay alive âŠ
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Good Grief
by Lolly Winston
Thirty-six-year-old Sophie Stanton desperately wants to be a good widow-a graceful, composed, Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. Alas, she is more of the Jack Daniels âŠ
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Happiness Sold Separately
by Lolly Winston
"The marriage of a seemingly perfect couple dissolves into a complicated dance of affairs, lovers, and admirers"--Provided by the publisher.
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The Last Days of Dogtown
by Anita Diamant
Gloriously reviewed nation-wide, named one of the best books of 2005 by "The Boston Globe," and now available in paperback, this is Diamant's heralded return âŠ
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Arthur & George
by Julian Barnes
Tells the alliance of George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur a shabby genteel Edinburgh, their adventures, triumphs, and set-backs.
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The Yiddish Policemen's Union
by Michael Chabon
For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of âŠ
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Tangerine Dream
by Ken Douglas
Best friends Haley and Taylor must deal with a terrible loss when Taylor's twin sister, Dylan, is killed in a car crash. Meanwhile, Taylor and âŠ
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One Mississippi
by Mark Childress
Struggling with his outsider status after moving to a small Mississippi town at the beginning of his junior year, 1970s teen Daniel Musgrove befriends fellow âŠ
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The Madonnas of Leningrad
by Debra Dean
In this sublime debut novel, set amid the horrors of the siege of Leningrad in World War II, a gifted writer explores the power of âŠ
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Beachglass
by Wendy Blackburn
Self-depreciating and bitingly smart, Delia is a recovering addict who forges her own brand of hard won wisdom on her journey in sobriety. Following a âŠ
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The Brambles
by Eliza Minot
This is the story of the Bramble family--Margaret, Max, and Edie--three adult siblings careening through wildly different byways of adult life. Margaret, mother of three, âŠ
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Only Revolutions
by Mark Z. Danielewski
Moving back and forth in American history, a kaleidoscopic novel follows Hailey and Sam, two wayward teenagers, as they crash New Orleans parties, barrel up âŠ
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
Lily is haunted by memoriesâof who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, âŠ
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The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
NATIONAL BESTSELLER âą WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE âą A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, this "tale of survival âŠ
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The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai
In a crumbling house in the remote northeastern Himalayas, an embittered, elderly judge finds his peaceful retirement turned upside down by the arrival of his âŠ
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The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards
A #1 New York Times bestseller by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeperâs Daughter is a brilliantly crafted novel of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the âŠ
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Labyrinth
by Kate Mosse
July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling âŠ
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History of Love
by Nicole Krauss
Sixty years after a book's publication, its author remembers his lost love and missing son, while a teenage girl named for one of the book's âŠ
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Astrid and Veronika
by Linda Olsson
"Readers of Anne Tyler and Jodi Picoult will appreciate the lyrical prose and expert rendering of the themes of heartbreakk and loss."âBooklist An unforgettable novel âŠ
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Intuition
by Allegra Goodman
Hailed as âa writer of uncommon clarityâ by the New Yorker, National Book Award finalist Allegra Goodman has dazzled readers with her acclaimed works of âŠ
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The Girls
by Lori Lansens
Rarely has the experience of being a sister been so poignantly and memorably captured as in Lori Lansens's triumphant novel. The Girls celebrates life's fundamental âŠ