Best Of British (And Irish. And Commonwealth.)
Another issue of the Observer, another list. The ten best British/Irish/Commonwealth novels of the last twenty five years. The usual key: bold means read, italics mean own.
1) Disgrace by JM Coetzee
2) Money by Martin Amis
3=) Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess *
3=) Atonement by Ian McEwan
3=) The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
3=) The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
3=) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie **
8=)The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
8=) Amongst Women by John McGahern
8=) That They Might Face The Rising Sun by John McGahern
I'll be honest: I had never even heard of McGahern and feel very bad about this. I have been meaning to read Disgrace for some time though. I am now going to nominate it every month for the instant_fanzine book club. I highly doubt it will ever win but, you know, it's worth a try.
As an added bonus they include the New York Times Book Review list of best American novels of the last twenty five years:
1) Beloved by Toni Morrison
2) Underworld by Don DeLillo
3=) Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
3=) Rabbit Anstrom: The Four Novels by John Updike ***
5) American Pastoral by Philip Roth
I really should get round to re-reading American Pastoral.
* This was published in 1980. As far as I know that does not count as "the past 25 years".
** This Booker of Booker went down very poorly round these points.
*** This is cheating, surely?
1) Disgrace by JM Coetzee
2) Money by Martin Amis
3=) Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess *
3=) Atonement by Ian McEwan
3=) The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
3=) The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
3=) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie **
8=)The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
8=) Amongst Women by John McGahern
8=) That They Might Face The Rising Sun by John McGahern
I'll be honest: I had never even heard of McGahern and feel very bad about this. I have been meaning to read Disgrace for some time though. I am now going to nominate it every month for the instant_fanzine book club. I highly doubt it will ever win but, you know, it's worth a try.
As an added bonus they include the New York Times Book Review list of best American novels of the last twenty five years:
1) Beloved by Toni Morrison
2) Underworld by Don DeLillo
3=) Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
3=) Rabbit Anstrom: The Four Novels by John Updike ***
5) American Pastoral by Philip Roth
I really should get round to re-reading American Pastoral.
* This was published in 1980. As far as I know that does not count as "the past 25 years".
** This Booker of Booker went down very poorly round these points.
*** This is cheating, surely?