You might’ve seen last month that the New York Times published a list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. It’s an impressive list, assembled with input from hundreds of ‘literary luminaries’, with great variety. I’ve read 17 of them, and there’s quite a few more on my to-read shelves. Still, it got me to thinking, there are a few very deserving novels that I think missed out in the NYT list – and a few others that wouldn’t have made the cut, if it were up to me. So here’s my best books of the 21st century, where the only literary luminary consulted is yours truly.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
2020
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Piranesi is a peculiar and enigmatic book, one that raises philosophical and psychological questions you would never have expected from its length and blurb. There is no doubt that the wait was worth it, for this carefully crafted sophomore offering from Clarke. Read my full review of Piranesi here.
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Such A Fun Age might look like a sweet summer read, but underneath lurks a serious critique of race, class, and good intentions. Itâs gripping without bloodshed, itâs insightful without being moralistic, and itâs the kind of book you wonât be able to stop thinking about after you reach The End. Read my full review of Such A Fun Age here.
Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No
At first glance, Fleishman Is In Trouble looks like your stock-standard New York divorce novel. A privileged couple sniping at each other and using their kids like battering rams in the dissolution of their marriage. But by the end of the first chapter, youâll realise that this is something different, something special. Read my full review of Fleishman Is In Trouble here.
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
2020
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Rodham isnât a schlocky fictional exposĂŠ. With equal care and attention, Sittenfeld addresses the Big Issues through the lens of Hillary Clinton’s life: sex, sexism, racism, and aging. It’s masterfully written, fascinating and shocking (at times), a pleasure to read and fuel for a lot of post-read musing. Read my full review of Rodham here.
My Year Of Rest And Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
2018
Did it make the New York Times list? No
My Year Of Rest And Relaxation is one of those literary page turners that just gets better and better, the more time passes and the more it lingers in your mind. The unnamed narrator has an intriguing idea, one we can all surely relate to: that she wants to sleep, for an entire year. It just so happens that, as she finally wakes up, the world will be waking up, too.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
2011
Did it make the New York Times list? Yes (it got the number one spot!)
My Brilliant Friend is incredibly complex and detailed. It covers everything â burgeoning womanhood, the politics of small communities, the ramifications of war, poverty, domestic violence, sexual violence, literacy, friendship, betrayal, revenge, how womenâs lives are shaped by class and status, maternity, familial obligation, social responsibility, intelligence⌠Read my full review of My Brilliant Friend here.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
2016
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Convenience Store Woman isnât some kind of odd-couple rom-com. In fact, itâs very satirical, almost dystopian, in tone â wry, matter of fact, and mournful, all at once. Itâs a class commentary, in the sense that it looks at social problems caused by class and gender inequity in Japan. Read my full review of Convenience Store Woman here.
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
2013
Did it make the New York Times list? No
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves set the standard for plot twists in the 21st century. There’s a reveal coming about a third of the way into this one that is guaranteed to knock your socks off, and throw everything you thought you knew into chaos. Read my full review of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves here.
Bonus: Karen Joy Fowler’s more recent novel, Booth (2022), is âan epic novel about the family behind one of the most infamous figures in American history: John Wilkes Boothâ. Itâs a fictionalised history of a family and a country. Read my full review of Booth here.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
2016
Did it make the New York Times list? Yes (number seven)
The Underground Railroad is a semi-speculative alternative history of the antebellum South, one that Barack Obama called âterrificâ and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017. Every chapter reveals some new horror. So much of what happens is gut-churningly awful, and yet itâs compelling, and propulsive. Read my full review of The Underground Railroad here.
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
2008
Did it make the New York Times list? No
The Slap revolves around a single event, one action that has ripple effects through the lives of everyone in attendance at an average suburban barbecue. It’s a book about âthe passions and malice that family loyalty can provokeâ, the bonds of friendship and community and everything that tests them.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
2021
Did it make the New York Times list? No
The Plot is a delightful take-down of the publishing industrial complex and the Writer As Martyr archetype, as well as a complex psychological portrait. As per the blurb, it’s âa psychologically suspenseful novel about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals itâ. Read my full review of The Plot here.
Rabbits For Food by Binnie Kirshenbaum
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No
If you have a dark sense of humour, and appreciate searing insight into the ridiculousness of social niceties, Rabbits For Food will be the best book you read this century. From pretentious dinner parties to a prestigious psych ward, this book delves deep into the pathos of modern life. Read my full review of Rabbits For Food here.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
2022
Did it make the New York Times list? Yes (but far too far down the list in my opinion – number sixty-one)
Demon Copperhead is surely destined to become a contemporary classic, an essential component of the burgeoning canon of books about the generation of lost boys in 21st century America. Read my full review of Demon Copperhead here.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
2018
Did it make the New York Times list? Yes (number seventy-seven)
An American Marriage is not an ‘issue novel’. Itâs based on realistic ‘issues’, yes, but itâs ultimately about loyalty, how much we owe and to whom. Itâs about marriage, and what we can reasonably expect from our spouses and ourselves. And, best of all, itâs readable (stay-up-all-night-to-finish-it readable), and emotive (make-sure-youâve-got-tissues-handy emotive). Read my full review of An American Marriage here.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No
In Know My Name, Chanel Miller reclaims her name, her story, and the years lost to her silent battle. Prior to publication, she was known only as ‘Emily Doe’, the anonymous victim of the man whose name has become inextricable from conversations about sexual assault, sentencing, and the #MeToo movement. Read my full review of Know My Name here.
Empire Of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
2021
Did it make the New York Times list? No (but his previous book, Say Nothing, came in at number nineteen)
Opioid overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in America, and in Empire Of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe carefully examines how the actions of the Sackler family were the catalyst for this crisis. Itâs every bit as gripping and compelling as any fictional family saga. Read my full review of Empire Of Pain here.
Bonus: read my full review of Patrick Radden Keefe’s book that did get the gong, Say Nothing, here.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
2010
Did it make the New York Times list? No
To call The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks a âbiographyâ feels reductive. This masterpiece of journalistic non-fiction is much more than the dates and facts of a life. Itâs a study of bioethics, a masterclass in accessible science writing, and a testament to the human consequences of scientific discovery. Read my full review of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks here.
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No (and not enough Australian books did, tbh)
Reading The Weekend is an all-too-rare opportunity to see the complex interior worlds of older women reflected in contemporary fiction, and to see the lives of women in their seventies represented as something other than simply âoverâ. Read my full review of The Weekend here.
Sadvertising by Ennis ÄehiÄ
2022
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Sadvertising is a collection of short, sharp stories about modern life, technology, and marketing. Theyâre drenched in black humour, existential dread, and late-capitalist yearning. Theyâre quick to read, but deeply resonant. They linger. Read my full review of Sadvertising here.
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
2000
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Me Talk Pretty One Day is about astutely-observed adventures in seemingly mundane everyday activities. Sedaris occasionally exaggerates and over-emphasises for comic effect, it’s forgivable for the laughs he elicits – he’s the kind of writer that could derive side-splitting laughter from a shopping list. Read my full review of Me Talk Pretty One Day here.
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No (and I’m baffled as to why!)
A blurb that promises a book ârevolutionisesâ a genre, especially one as saturated as memoir, seems quite literally unbelievable, but Carmen Maria Machado has done it with In The Dream House. It is an intimate, horrifying, beautiful, defiant, heartfelt, multi-dimensional account of a formative â and abusive â love affair. Read my full review of In The Dream House here.
Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
2018
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Too Much Lip, on its face, sounds like a big ask. How can you take all of the worst stereotypes of First Nations families â drinking, crime, welfare, violence â and give them texture? Make them compelling? Heck, make them funny? Itâs a tall order, but Melissa Lucashenko pulls it off. Read my full review of Too Much Lip here.
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
2018
Did it make the New York Times list? No
Good Talk is âa memoir in conversationsâ, promises the blurb, âa bold, wry, and intimate graphic memoir about identity, interracial families, and the realities that divide usâ. Those conversations began for Jacob when her six-year-old son became obsessed with Michael Jackson, and an innocent line of childish enquiry turned tricky. Read my full review of Good Talk here.
She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
2019
Did it make the New York Times list? No
She Said is the untold story of what it takes to bring accusations against powerful men to light, and the revelations that forever changed the way we understand power and harassment in the #MeToo era. Read my full review of She Said here.
The Year Of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
2005
Did it make the New York Times list? Yes (number twelve!)
The Year Of Magical Thinking is a memoir from one of the most brilliant narrative non-fiction writers of a generation. She writes in her iconic, elegant prose about the sudden death of her husband, while her daughter is hospitalised in an induced coma for septic shock. It has become one of the must-read books about death and dying.
April 2, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Demon Copperhead and Empire of Pain are great books. The Slap was crap.
April 2, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Ahahahaha it rhymes!