The New York Times has ranked the best books of the XXI century: what is in the top 100

The New York Times has published a list of the 100 best books published in the 21st century. More than five hundred writers, critics, poets, and reading enthusiasts contributed to the list.

The editors of the publication turned to world-famous personalities, including Stephen King, Bonnie Garmus, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jonathan Lethem, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Roxane Gay, and many others, with a request to name their personal top 10 books to read, the NYT reports. The project developers created the rating to identify the most influential works of the era.

"My Brilliant Friend" by Elena Ferrante

The ranking is headed by the novel My Brilliant Friend by Italian writer Elena Ferrante, which was first published in 2012. The book tells the story of two friends, Elena and Lila, who have been friends since childhood, living in the criminal district of Naples. The main emphasis of the work is on the contradictory and competing friendship that arose after growing up.

"The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of the Great American Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson

In the book by an American journalist, readers can learn about the Great Migration and read the stories of people who suffered because of Jim Crow segregation laws.

"The Warmth of Other Suns reads like a novel. However, it rushes at the reader like a locomotive," journalist Dwight Garner described his impressions of the book.

"Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel

The Booker Prize-winning author has created a novel that depicts England in the twenties of the sixteenth century, on the brink of disaster due to the civil war that may begin after the death of King Henry VIII. Thomas Cromwell, the son of a rebel blacksmith, appears on the political scene and wants to completely change the England of that time using all methods.

"The Known World" by Edward Paul Jones

Henry Townsend, a black farmer, had long been a local slave. After years of hard work, the man managed to build an estate and become the owner of his employees. However, he achieved this goal shortly before his death. When the protagonist passed away, his wife lost her temper due to severe sadness, and as a result, all the plantations began to collapse.

"The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen

Enid Lambert, 50, decided to change her boring life by bringing her three grown children home. She wanted to celebrate Christmas with her family because it could be the last for her husband Alfred, who has long since lost his sanity. The book reveals all the details of human shortcomings.

"The novel jumps deftly from character to character, and the reader's sympathies jump with it; in a novel as attentive to human flaws as this, Franzen's constant merit is his genuine affection for all the characters," noted the editors of The New York Times.

"2666" by Roberto Bolaño

The eerie novel describes five different stories that took place in the Mexican city of Santa Teresa. Mysterious serial murders are taking place on the streets of the town, killing women. Despite the abundance of evidence, the killer is still at large.

"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead

This is the story of an American slave named Cora, whose character embodies the essence of slavery and the desire to achieve freedom. The book reveals the power of human motivation to change terrible circumstances despite obstacles and lack of justice.

"Austerlitz" by Winfried Georg Sebald

The book tells the story of the childhood memories of war refugee Jacques Austerlitz, who hid from the horrific events in Prague and later ended up in Wales.

"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

The protagonists of the novel with elements of science fiction and dystopia, Katie, Ruth, and Tommy, study at the elite English school Hailsham. Under the supervision of their teachers, the friends live an ordinary life, sharing rumors, secrets, and heartbreak. The characters had to face the era of scientific progress and economic development of late capitalism, which directly affected their lives.

"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson

The book consists of letters from a 76-year-old priest, John Ames, in which he shares philosophical advice with his seven-year-old son. The man is convinced that he will not have time to help his offspring go through all the stages of growing up, so he writes instructive stories about love, devotion, courage, and resilience.

The full list of works included in the rating of the best books of the XXI century can be found here.

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