I love a good Best Of list. There’s nothing more fun than reading through a list of the best novels or films of all time and then debating the order with a friend. Over the years there have been quite a few of these Best Novels lists, most notably Modern Library’s list in 1998 which was met with all kinds of criticism.
Well, yesterday I was researching a post for my other blog and I stumbled across this site, which has a different take on the Best Novels list. It’s of the best 100 novels and like many lists it’s voted for by readers (not critics) but unlike the others, it’s updated every few months and the voting is continual, so the chance of a non-deserving book being inflated is lessened.
I’ve had a good look and it’s not bad. Most of the books you’d expect are listed. The main ones missing are The Scarlet Letter, Midnight’s Children, The Call of the Wild and Mrs Dalloway, and there’s nothing by Henry James. And I wouldn’t have The Time Traveler’s Wife or The Da Vinci Code on the list, let alone above James Joyce and Cormac McCarthy.
But if you take the whole 100, it’s not bad for one of these lists (even Time Magazine left off John Irving) and the idea that it’s continually updated is kind of neat. It should keep evolving and while I’m not sure about the order of the top 10 (who is?), at least this time I could vote! So I did and I thought I’d include it below. I wonder what your top 10 would be? 
My List
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Readers’ List
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WOW! I’m truly astonished; The Lord of the Rings made it no the readers list?
Not trying to sound rude but the book seemed to confuse me a lot (maybe it’s just me). Don’t get me wrong J.R.R. Tolkien has a magnificent imagination; add drama and tension at the right moment. Other then that it did really appear to me as being “best novel of all time” material.
CJ: Hi shakz, I’m not sure LOTR surprises me as much. It’s not my favourite novel but it’s so detailed and well-realised that it’s almost more of a work of art than a work of literature. It also has so many fans to vote for it, I’d be surprised if it didn’t make the list. That Gene Wolfe’s books didn’t, though, now that’s a surprise; he’s almost as influential as Tolkien. Thanks for stopping by.
I’d leave off Lolita, Gatsby, and (sorry) Mockingbird. While not a top 10-er, Malamud’s A New Life is a favorite of mine that many people haven’t run across.
CJ: I’d have to agree about Lolita, P&P. I’ve always thought it’s a little overrated, particularly for its gratuity… you could make a strong case for Anna Karenina instead, which many authors think is the best novel ever written.
I haven’t read A New Life; I’ll have to check it out! Malamud’s books aren’t as widely read overseas; that might be one reason he didn’t feature in the 100. You’d think The Fixer would be in there otherwise.
Interesting lists and site. The only one that surprises me is that Catch-22 on both lists. I rally disliked that book. The other ones I get. Thanks for sharing.
CJ: Hi Stacy, it’s an interesting list, isn’t it? There are a couple of others missing now that I think about it (there’s nothing by Tom Wolfe or Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room) but on the whole it’s a pretty good list. I quite liked Catch-22, but perhaps you need to be in the right frame of mind for it. Thanks for stopping by.
I think both lists are pretty good for the most part. However, I don’t care for Joyce, Period.
CJ: Hi schildan, glad you liked the lists. I understand about Joyce; I found Portrait to be elegant at times but Ulysses just made my head hurt. I wouldn’t want to tackle that again for a long time!
Two points.
1. The two greatest American novels are not on the list. I mean, Moby Dick and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
2. Although lists are fun they can’t be taken seriously. Nor can people who spend a lot of time making them up.
CJ: Hi David, actually both books are on the list. Huckleberry Finn is at #42 and Moby-Dick is #57; both are lower than I’d like (should be top 25 at least) but they’re certainly there. The one which I just realised isn’t there is Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, which is unforgivable; its impact on 20th century literature is monumental. But it’s hard to cover every book; as I said, even Time Magazine seemed to misplace John Irving – and Ayn Rand.
You’re right, though, most of these lists are just for fun. I don’t take them too seriously; well, maybe a little bit, but just because I like to annoy people in debates.
Thanks for stopping by.
I just checked out the 1998 List of Modern Library and neither Twain nor Melville made the top 100. That’s laughable. I guess I’m taking this too seriously.
CJ: The Modern Library list was atrocious for many reasons. That Twain and Melville were missing is ridiculous, but also that there were very few female authors on the list and even fewer authors (if any) from outside the US and UK. How can any serious list be complete without Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Leo Tolstoy or Fyodor Dostoevsky? It also seemed that almost all of the books on the list were available to buy through Modern Library; it felt more like a sales stunt than a serious exercise.
The list has been criticised again and again by critics but the problem is that ML’s list was one of the earliest compilations and is often quoted as being the “definitive” list, which it obviously isn’t. That’s why I quite like the idea of this site; it’s not perfect but even if it gets a few wrong, it’s continually updated and in theory should evolve to reflect more contemporary novels as well. These other lists are static and will be obsolete in 20 years; it’ll be interesting to see how this one evolves.
Good list. Though I can’t stand Tolkien. Too many details give me a headache. I love J.K.Rowling, though. Vivid imagination.
And I didn’t like Heller – I read it since it sounded like a cool book.
“Madame Bovary”, “Wuthering Heights” and “The Old Man & the Sea” may make it to the list – but not Jane Austen. I love her, but won’t put her in the top 10.
R.K.Narayan’s “Swamy & Friends” would be there. A simple, fresh, charming novel – and Narayan’s first. And the most erudite Indian novelist ever – Raja Rao – is missing in this list.
And Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” & Somerset Maugham’s “Razor’s Edge”.
A resounding yes to “Lolita”, “Animal Farm”, “1984″, “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, “The Great Gatsby”, “The Catcher in the Rye” & “100 Years of Solitude”.
I’m surprised that Tennessee Williams & Steinbeck didn’t make it to this list.
CJ: Glad you liked the lists, Priya. So you’re another who doesn’t like Tolkien? Interesting! I’ve always found LOTR more like reading an encyclopaedia than a novel but I thought I was outnumbered; good to know others feel the same way. I’m glad Rowling’s on the list; you could make a case for having Roald Dahl on there as well.
You’re right about Tennessee Williams; I’m surprised he’s not on there somewhere, although perhaps because he was more of a playwright? Of Mice and Men is there at #66 but should definitely be higher. Having another look now, the one that jumps out at me is Ender’s Game; it’s good but I wouldn’t have it over Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, which isn’t even on the list.
Swami & Friends should be there but I’m not that familiar with Raja Rao. I’ll have to look for The Serpent and the Rope; sounds interesting and definitely something I should read.
And I quite liked Catch-22; I thought the paradox was clever. But Heller’s definitely something of an acquired taste.
Even I don’t like the Modern Library list. Ulysses made my head hurt. I didn’t Like Portrait much either. I quite liked Dubliners though. And I stopped reading the Readers’ List after the first two names. Ayn Rand is extremely overrated in my opinion.
I was impressed by Orwell’s thought process in 1984 but the book’s tone was a tad too overbearing for me. I don’t like Tolkien either, it really is like a textbook written in an old fashioned manner. There is much better fantasy fiction around. I quite liked the streak of insanity running through Catch-22. I even wrote a short paragraph called The Mediocre Man and later when I read it I realised how extremely similar it is to the beginning of the Major Major Major Major chapter. To say the book has influenced me would be an understatement.
I agree with Priya Raju about Swami and Friends. It is a fantastic book and it’s so deceptively simple.
I couldn’t stand Pride and Prejudice. I tend to avoid Victorian literature like the plague. The only Victorian age novel I like would be Three Men In A Boat.
Lord of the Flies shouldn’t be on 14. That is a seriously overrated book and I was surprised to find out it is taught as part of graduation course syllabuses.
Looking at these list made me realise how poorly read I am. Really should read more. I spent all of the last two years reading trashy fantasy novels. Novels I knew were bad, at times even inadvertently hilarious, but still read compulsively.
I’m glad you liked The Sun Also rises too!
The Old Man And The Sea should be higher up in my opinion.
Hi CJ,
I am the owner of Best100Novels.com. I’m glad that you liked the list, or at least found it worthy of discussion. I appreciate all the votes that people submit. Hopefully in time the list can be something that we can all be happy with.
Also if/when anyone feels the need to flame the list remember that these are not my personal favorites on the list. The list is generated solely by the votes that are submitted through the site. If you feel that something is missing, vote for it.
Thanks Again
Tk