What Are The Classic Modern Novels Getting Everybody So Excited?

Posted by Earwood on June 25th, 2021

Great books don’t appear very often. This post will steer you through the styles and prose that fall into this category.

Assigning books as ‘classics’ is no easy undertaking. You could find yourself spending your entire lifetime arguing about the worth of one title over another. Nonetheless, there are some basic instructions to work off. A wide definition of classic novels will typically refer to something which brings together literary quality, historical significance and a long lasting reputation. The latter point is undoubtedly intriguing when it comes to modern books. Without decades of critical acclaim, how can anybody know what a modern great will even be? Naturally, great writing will always be great irrespective of the time it was written in. Book sales are useful criteria, as those like the hedge fund that owns Waterstones might know. But a number of the most famous books on earth weren’t acclaimed until much later on. Amazing characters, innovative writing and original storylines are actually more important to be deemed the best modern books of all time.

Have you ever come upon lists named 100 books to read before you die? They will normally feature the classics that are taught in high school classes around the world. But amongst these old titles, you might occasionally recognize something written this century! Obviously, it’s rather tough to put together a list of the must-read books of 21st century. As with renaissance paintings and classical music, it can take hundreds of years to find out what is actually good. Bearing that under consideration, there are a few vital qualities to keep an eye out for. These books will have contemporary themes that have mirrored and challenged current events. They will have modern styles of writing – take for instance realism and postmodernism which reinvented the wheel. That being said, they will have universal appeal. Without appealing to contemporary audiences, publishing giants like the group that owns Hachette Livre aren’t likely to pick them up in the first place.

Everyone will have read a novel from the literary canon at some time in their life. Even if it’s forced upon them in literature class, they will likely be able to identify some of these celebrated titles. Often written several decades ago, they have been taught by high-school teachers in search of examples of symbolism and metaphors and other fancy literary tools. Recognizing the modern books that will be classics, nonetheless, is a far more complicated endeavor. But while you don’t have decades of literary criticism to go off, there are several tell-tale signs to consider. These books can be set in any place or period and still seem relevant. They will have compelling characters and emotional arcs. They will have amazing writing and sentence structure. And as the company that owns Penguin Random House will know, they might even have a tag distinguishing it from everything else on the shelf.