The 50 Greatest Novels of the 21st Century (so far)

From sweeping historical drama to post-apocalyptic dystopia, and from Booker to Pulitzer and Murakami to McEwan, here is a countdown of the best novels of the first two decades of the 21st century.

Note: Whilst Irene Nemirovsky’s magisterial Suite Francaise was published in 2004, the text was written during World War II, and is therefore not included in this list.

50
Life After Life - Kate Atkinson (2013)

49
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong (2019)

48
The Tiger’s Wife - Tea Obreht (2011)

47
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre (2003)

46
Leaving the Atocha Station - Ben Lerner (2011)

45
The Fifth Season - NK Jemisin (2015)

44
IQ84 - Haruki Murakami (2010)

43
Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders (2017)

42
Small Island - Andrea Levy (2004)

41
The Sellout - Paul Beatty (2015)

40
Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (2009)

39
The Flamethrowers - Rachel Kushner (2013)

38
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood (2003)

37
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt (2013)

36
The Plot Against America - Philip Roth (2004)

35
The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton (2013)

34
Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout (2008)

33
True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey (2000)

32
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (2012)

31
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk - Ben Fountain (2012)

30
The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (2011)

29
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber (2002)

28
A Death in the Family - Karl Ove Knausgaard (2009)

27
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke (2004)

26
Mother’s Milk - Edward St Aubyn (2006)

25
Normal People - Sally Rooney (2018)

24
The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst (2004)

23
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo (2019)

22
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters (2002)

21
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara (2015)

20
The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead (2016)

19
The Sympathizer - Viet Thanh Nguyen (2015)

18
A Visit From the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan (2011)

17
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson (2004)

16
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (2004)

15
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)

14
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr (2014)

13
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon (2003)

12
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon (2000)

11
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)

10
The Road - Cormac McCarthy (2006)

9
White Teeth - Zadie Smith (2000)

8
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)

7
My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante (2012)

6
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen (2001)

5
Austerlitz - WG Sebald (2001)

4
Atonement - Ian McEwan (2001)

3
2666 - Roberto Bolano (2004)

2
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (2007)

1
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (2009)