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Burgess’s list covered 45 years, whereas mine covers a little less, of necessity. I can’t predict the future of the next seven years of publishing. Also, where Burgess appended excellent mini-essays on each text, I have spared you the tedium of my pontifications, though I am happy to elaborate briefly on my choices if there are any queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burgess’s book, a compendium of these mini-essays, is therefore a deft and succinct potted history of Anglophone literature’s greatest hits from the war and post-war period of the 20th<\/sup> century, as he saw it. Ninety Nine Novels<\/em> is a fascinating list in itself, and I don’t intend to comment on or critique it at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s certainly open to critique and has inspired much comment over the years. You should read it. Alternatively, you should consult the International Anthony Burgess Foundation’s website,<\/a> where they are celebrating this book with a series of podcasts. If you’re REALLY stuck for time, Adam Roberts has an excellent summary of the book’s merits (and faults) here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What were Burgess’s criteria? That they be a) novels, b) published between 1939 and 1983, and c) concerned with what he called ‘human character’. It is, as he wrote in the introduction to Ninety Nine Novels<\/em>, \u201cthe Godlike task of the novelist to create human beings whom we accept as living creatures filled with complexities and armed with free will.\u201d I have ignored his proscription against ‘comic strips’, which he himself in agreement with the critic Leslie Fiedler, felt was already an outdated exclusion in the Eighties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, he argues that novels should \u201cleave in the reader’s mind a sort of philosophical residue.\u201d Whether he intended that to be as didactic as it sounds is unclear, but it has been the guiding principle in selecting these books. They are therefore novels which I have read, which feature superbly drawn characters, and which have haunted my thoughts afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, they’re subject to the whims and prejudices of someone of my age, gender, class and race, raised in the place I grew up and educated in the way I was, and circumscribed by which books were available for me to encounter. There’s probably a lot of Irish fiction here. I’m Irish. There’s probably quite a lot of science fiction too. Well, I study it for a living. If there’s an especial density of texts from the late 90s, that’s probably because I was having to read umpteen novels a week as the Books Correspondent for Dublin’s Sunday Independent at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will likely disagree, and have your own list. And so you should. There are many astonishing books missing from this list, I agree. There are some choices you might find baffling. I can only reiterate how Burgess concluded his introduction to Ninety Nine Novels<\/em>: \u201cIf you disagree violently with some of my choices I shall be pleased. We arrive at values only through dialectic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1984 \u2013 Neuromancer \u2013 William Gibson<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Unbearable Lightness of Being \u2013 Milan Kundera<\/p>\n\n\n\n Empire of the Sun \u2013 JG Ballard<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1985 \u2013 Love in the Time of Cholera \u2013 Gabriel Garcia Marquez<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oranges are Not the Only Fruit \u2013 Jeanette Winterson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfume \u2013 Patrick Suskind<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Handmaid’s Tale \u2013 Margaret Attwood<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1986 \u2013 Watchmen \u2013 Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Old Devils \u2013 Kingsley Amis<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Light Fantastic \u2013 Terry Pratchett<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1987 \u2013 Norwegian Wood \u2013 Haruki Murakami<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency \u2013 Douglas Adams<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bonfire of the Vanities \u2013 Tom Wolfe<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beloved \u2013 Toni Morrison<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1988 \u2013 Foucault’s Pendulum \u2013 Umberto Eco<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Satanic Verses \u2013 Salman Rushdie<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel – Milorad Pavi\u0107<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1989 \u2013 Ripley Bogle \u2013 Robert McLiam Wilson<\/p>\n\n\n\n London Fields \u2013 Martin Amis<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy Bathgate \u2013 E.L. Doctorow<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the Ass Saw the Angel \u2013 Nick Cave<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1990 \u2013 Amongst Women \u2013 John McGahern<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vineland \u2013 Thomas Pynchon<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use of Weapons \u2013 Iain M. Banks<\/p>\n\n\n\n LA Confidential \u2013 James Ellroy<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Buddha of Suburbia \u2013 Hanif Kureishi<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1991 \u2013 American Psycho \u2013 Bret Easton Ellis<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Famished Road – Ben Okri<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maus \u2013 Art Spiegelman<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1992 \u2013 Snow Crash \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Mars \u2013 Kim Stanley Robinson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fatherland \u2013 Robert Harris<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1993 \u2013 The Shipping News \u2013 Annie Proulx<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Dead Man in Deptford \u2013 Anthony Burgess<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainspotting \u2013 Irvine Welsh<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1994 \u2013 How Late It Was, How Late \u2013 James Kelman<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dead Lagoon \u2013 Michael Dibdin<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1995 \u2013 Independence Day \u2013 Richard Ford<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1996 \u2013 Fight Club \u2013 Chuck Pahlaniuk<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infinite Jest \u2013 David Foster Wallace<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Tailor of Panama \u2013 John Le Carre<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bridget Jones’s Diary \u2013 Helen Fielding<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1997 \u2013 The God of Small Things \u2013 Arundhati Roy<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mason & Dixon \u2013 Thomas Pynchon<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enduring Love \u2013 Ian McEwan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quarantine \u2013 Jim Crace<\/p>\n\n\n\n Underworld \u2013 Don DeLillo<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1998 \u2013 My Name is Red \u2013 Orhan Pamuk<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Catastrophist \u2013 Ronan Bennett<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1999 \u2013 Q \u2013 Luther Blissett<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghostwritten \u2013 David Mitchell<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motherless Brooklyn \u2013 Jonathan Lethem<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2000 \u2013 Atomised \u2013 Michel Houellebecq<\/p>\n\n\n\n White Teeth \u2013 Zadie Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n Persepolis \u2013 Marjane Satrapi<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perdido Street Station \u2013 China Mieville<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2001 \u2013 The Eyre Affair \u2013 Jasper Fforde<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Constant Gardener \u2013 John Le Carre<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Other Wind \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2002 \u2013 Any Human Heart \u2013 William Boyd<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything is Illuminated \u2013 Jonathan Safran Foer<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2003 \u2013 Millennium People \u2013 JG Ballard<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brick Lane \u2013 Monica Ali<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2004 \u2013 River of Gods \u2013 Ian McDonald<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloud Atlas \u2013 David Mitchell<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell \u2013 Susanna Clarke<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2005 \u2013 Never Let Me Go \u2013 Kazuo Ishiguro<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo \u2013 Stieg Larsson<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2006 \u2013 The Road \u2013 Cormac McCarthy<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Book of Dave \u2013 Will Self<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2007 \u2013 On Chesil Beach \u2013 Ian McEwan<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Yiddish Policeman’s Union \u2013 Michael Chabon<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2008 \u2013 Bad Day in Blackrock \u2013 Kevin Power<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bog Child \u2013 Siobhan Dowd<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2009 \u2013 1Q84 \u2013 Haruki Murakami<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wolf Hall \u2013 Hilary Mantel<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2010 \u2013 Room \u2013 Emma Donohue<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suicide – \u00c9douard Lev\u00e9<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2011 \u2013 11\/22\/63 \u2013 Stephen King<\/p>\n\n\n\n My Brilliant Friend \u2013 Elena Ferrante<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2012 \u2013 Capital \u2013 John Lanchester<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2013 \u2013 Journalists \u2013 Sergei Aman<\/p>\n\n\n\n City of Bohane \u2013 Kevin Barry<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2014 \u2013 Annihilation \u2013 Jeff VanderMeer<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bone Clocks \u2013 David Mitchell<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Three-Body Problem \u2013 Cixin Liu<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2015 \u2013 Seveneves \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2016 \u2013 The Underground Railroad \u2013 Colson Whitehead<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Association of Small Bombs – Karan Mahajan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Central Station \u2013 Lavie Tidhar<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2017 \u2013 Lincoln in the Bardo \u2013 George Saunders<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2084: The End of the World \u2013 Boualem Sansai<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2018 \u2013 Circe \u2013 Madeleine Miller<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milkman \u2013 Anna Burns<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Black Prince \u2013 Adam Roberts<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2019 \u2013 This is How You Lose the Time War \u2013 Amal El-Mohtar<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2020 \u2013 The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again \u2013 M. John Harrison<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utopia Avenue \u2013 David Mitchell<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2021 \u2013 Klara and the Sun \u2013 Kazuo Ishiguro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week, I was asked to produce my own list of Ninety Nine Novels that I might recommend to others. The criteria were that the books must have been published in the past 38 years and be available to read in English. It’s an odd request, but didn’t sound odd to me. Allow me to … <\/p>\n