SEPT 5, 2024 | ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | By Greta Patterson
Over the summer, The New York Times published their top 100 books of the 21st century. The list, compiled by novelists, poets, critics, writers and New York Times staff, contains a diverse array of fiction, memoirs, historical novels, biographies and more. Primarily, Pulitzer Prize-winning books and Nobel Prize authors populated the list.
Earning the distinguished title of the best book of the century is “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante. The high classification goes to the first book of her series, the “Neapolitan Novels,” which follows two girls throughout their lives. Originally written in Italian and translated by Ann Goldstein, this story is a remarkable insight into growing up in poverty, womanhood, friendship and education. The true identity of Elena Ferrante is unknown as this name is a pseudonym, making this a particularly enticing choice for number one.
Along with the top 100 list, the New York Times put together a ballot section where viewers can see famous authors’ top picks. The books recommended by people whose entire careers are devoted to writing can tell you a lot, making this a valuable list in getting to know your favorite authors based on what they choose to read in their free time. Leave it to Stephen King to include himself on his list with his book “Under The Dome.” Stephanie Land was the only other author to include themselves in their top 10 list with her novel “Maid.” I’m all for taking pride in your work, but maybe this wasn’t the place to advertise.
Interestingly, many books that were highlighted frequently in authors’ top 10 weren’t included in the top 100 books. “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy was a frequent choice that didn’t make the top 100, but his “The Road” was featured at number 13. Other frequent choices amongst the ballots but not the top 100 were “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara, “NW” by Zadie Smith,” “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn and perhaps most popular was “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr.
As with anything, people had a lot to say. Scrolling through the comments in the article, many people were quick to point out all the books that weren’t featured in the list, claiming that the books chosen were not representative of the general public’s top book choices. The top comment wasn’t even about the book selection, but it was rather about encouraging readers to buy the books at independent bookstores rather than linking the Amazon and Apple sites for purchase.
Others were critical of the reality that most of the books on the list were American authors and English-published novels, showing a lack of diversity that readers felt when seeing what is supposed to be books of the 21st century, not American books of the 21st century. While there were some international books, the vast majority were not.
Soon after the release of the original list, The New York Times compiled a readers top 100. Based on comments from this article, people were in agreement that this list was more accurate than the critics list, possibly more to do with recency bias and popularity than anything else.
Fundamentally, the audience’s reaction to the two lists had to do with relatability. Many of the books that were on the readers choice list are very popular and read by a wider audience, thereby considering them better because they are more well-known, while the critics’ choice had more niche, unknown titles as the list focused on the fundamentals of “best book.”
For example, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins came in at 56. Don’t get me wrong, I love “The Hunger Games” as much as the next person, but it lacks the essence of high literature that many of the critics’ books contained. A good book is a good book, but it is important to consider what it means to rank something as the best book of this time. Perhaps my biggest personal qualm with the readers choice list was placing “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus anywhere on the list…but especially at 47, ahead of “James” by Percival Everett, which is far more deserving of praise.
Coming in at number one on the readers choice list was “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver, ranked at 61 on the critics’ list. This book is truly remarkable and deeply emotional, deserving of all the praise it may get. “All the Light We Cannot See” came in second, and “My Brilliant Friend” placed eighth. The only book on the list that aligned with the critics ranking was “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro at number nine on both lists. In total, 39 of the books from the original top 100 made it onto the reader choice top 100. While this is a decent amount, the sheer difference of 61 books goes to show how different the perception of “best” is when it comes to different audiences. Let’s just be glad “Fourth Wing” didn’t make the list or else serious faith would be lost in humanity.