10 great books from the last 20 years

I highly recommend these novels:

• Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
• Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• The Sellout by Paul Beatty
• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

For this list I have chosen books that are compelling, entertaining, and have that elusive “worthiness” (example: interesting perspective, social awareness, thought-provoking, exceptional writing, etc). The list somewhat favors books I have read recently. I did not include two books by the same author (otherwise Michael Chabon would have two).

Want more? Here is a shortlist of runners-up:

• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• Everything is Illuminated By Jonathan Safran Foer
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Or going out beyond 20 years:

• Possession by AS Byatt
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut