As we come to closer to the end of 2025, there are many 'best of' lists being published, documenting the best books of the first 25 years of the 21st Century. I love a good list and have explored many of those on this blog, including:
- The New York Times '100 Best Books of the 21st Century'
- Readings '30 Best Australian Books of the 21st Century'
- ABC Radio National's 'Top 100 Books of the 21st Century'
The Sunday Times (UK) recently released their '25 Best Novels of the 21st Century'. This is another interesting list, which includes many books on the NYT list and some of my favourites. It also includes a number of novels I have not read or even heard of.
- 25. Zadie Smith - White Teeth (2000)
- 24. Philip Pullman - The Amber Spyglass (2000)
- 23. Matthew Kneale - English Passengers (2000)
- 22. William Boyd - Any Human Heart (2002)
- 21. Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (2003)
- 20. Zoe Heller - Notes on a Scandal (2003)
- 19. David Peace - Nineteen Eighty-Three (2008)
- 18. Edward St Aubyn - Mother’s Milk (2006)
- 17. Colm Toibin - Brooklyn (2009)
- 16. Eimer McBride - A Girl is a Half Formed Thing (2013)
- 15. Rachel Cusk - Outline (2014)
- 14. Anne Enright - The Green Road (2015)
- 13. Sebastian Barry - Days Without End (2016)
- 12. Francis Spufford - Golden Hill (2016)
- 11. Sally Rooney - Conversations With Friends (2017)
- 10. Pat Barker - The Silence of the Girls (2018)
- 9. Andrew Miller - Now We Shall Be Entirely Free (2018)
- 8. Anna Burns - Milkman (2018)
- 7. Douglas Stuart - Shuggie Bain (2020)
- 6. Paul Murray - The Bee Sting (2023)
- 5. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go (2005)
- 4. Ian McEwan - Atonement (2001)
- 3. Claire Keegan - Small Things Like These (2021)
- 2. Alan Hollinghurst - The Line of Beauty (2004)
- 1. Hilary Mantel - Bring Up the Bodies (2012)
* Bold = Read, Link is to my review
I have only read 10 of the 25 novels, and there are only about three or four left on the list which I have on my To Be Read pile. There are others that haven't been on my radar so it is good to add a few more to the pile.
Having said that, I am so pleased they put Philip Pullman on the list. While The Amber Spyglass is not my favourite in the His Dark Materials trilogy, its inclusion is warranted as the series is brilliant. I also happy to see Toibin, McEwan, Barker, Enright and Keegan on the list - although I admit I preferred Enright's The Wren The Wren (2023) to The Green Road. There are also few here that did not work for me - like Haddon and Ishiguro - which always pop up on 'best of' lists but I could not warm to.
I am sure there will be more of these lists published as we come to the end of the year. Looking forward to seeing what other lists there are.