Modern Library's 100 Best Novels

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THE BOARD'S LIST

1. ULYSSESby James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBYby F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MANby James Joyce
4. LOLITAby Vladimir Nabokov
5. BRAVE NEW WORLDby Aldous Huxley
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURYby William Faulkner
7. CATCH-22by Joseph Heller
8. DARKNESS AT NOONby Arthur Koestler
9. SONS AND LOVERSby D.H. Lawrence
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATHby John Steinbeck
11. UNDER THE VOLCANOby Malcolm Lowry
12. THE WAY OF ALL FLESHby Samuel Butler
13. 1984by George Orwell
14. I, CLAUDIUSby Robert Graves
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSEby Virginia Woolf
16. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDYby Theodore Dreiser
17. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTERby Carson McCullers
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVEby Kurt Vonnegut
19. INVISIBLE MANby Ralph Ellison
20. NATIVE SONby Richard Wright
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KINGby Saul Bellow
22. APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRAby John O’Hara
23. U.S.A.(trilogy)by John Dos Passos
24. WINESBURG, OHIOby Sherwood Anderson
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIAby E.M. Forster
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVEby Henry James
27. THE AMBASSADORSby Henry James
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHTby F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGYby James T. Farrell
30. THE GOOD SOLDIERby Ford Madox Ford
31. ANIMAL FARMby George Orwell
32. THE GOLDEN BOWLby Henry James
33. SISTER CARRIEby Theodore Dreiser
34. A HANDFUL OF DUSTby Evelyn Waugh
35. AS I LAY DYINGby William Faulkner
36. ALL THE KING’S MENby Robert Penn Warren
37. THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REYby Thornton Wilder
38. HOWARDS ENDby E.M. Forster
39. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAINby James Baldwin
40. THE HEART OF THE MATTERby Graham Greene
41. LORD OF THE FLIESby William Golding
42. DELIVERANCEby James Dickey
43. A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series)by Anthony Powell
44. POINT COUNTER POINTby Aldous Huxley
45. THE SUN ALSO RISESby Ernest Hemingway
46. THE SECRET AGENTby Joseph Conrad
47. NOSTROMOby Joseph Conrad
48. THE RAINBOWby D.H. Lawrence
49. WOMEN IN LOVEby D.H. Lawrence
50. TROPIC OF CANCERby Henry Miller
51. THE NAKED AND THE DEADby Norman Mailer
52. PORTNOY’S COMPLAINTby Philip Roth
53. PALE FIREby Vladimir Nabokov
54. LIGHT IN AUGUSTby William Faulkner
55. ON THE ROADby Jack Kerouac
56. THE MALTESE FALCONby Dashiell Hammett
57. PARADE’S ENDby Ford Madox Ford
58. THE AGE OF INNOCENCEby Edith Wharton
59. ZULEIKA DOBSONby Max Beerbohm
60. THE MOVIEGOERby Walker Percy
61. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOPby Willa Cather
62. FROM HERE TO ETERNITYby James Jones
63. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLESby John Cheever
64. THE CATCHER IN THE RYEby J.D. Salinger
65. A CLOCKWORK ORANGEby Anthony Burgess
66. OF HUMAN BONDAGEby W. Somerset Maugham
67. HEART OF DARKNESSby Joseph Conrad
68. MAIN STREETby Sinclair Lewis
69. THE HOUSE OF MIRTHby Edith Wharton
70. THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTETby Lawrence Durell
71. A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICAby Richard Hughes
72. A HOUSE FOR MR BISWASby V.S. Naipaul
73. THE DAY OF THE LOCUSTby Nathanael West
74. A FAREWELL TO ARMSby Ernest Hemingway
75. SCOOPby Evelyn Waugh
76. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIEby Muriel Spark
77. FINNEGANS WAKEby James Joyce
78. KIMby Rudyard Kipling
79. A ROOM WITH A VIEWby E.M. Forster
80. BRIDESHEAD REVISITEDby Evelyn Waugh
81. THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCHby Saul Bellow
82. ANGLE OF REPOSEby Wallace Stegner
83. A BEND IN THE RIVERby V.S. Naipaul
84. THE DEATH OF THE HEARTby Elizabeth Bowen
85. LORD JIMby Joseph Conrad
86. RAGTIMEby E.L. Doctorow
87. THE OLD WIVES’ TALEby Arnold Bennett
88. THE CALL OF THE WILDby Jack London
89. LOVINGby Henry Green
90. MIDNIGHT’S CHILDRENby Salman Rushdie
91. TOBACCO ROADby Erskine Caldwell
92. IRONWEEDby William Kennedy
93. THE MAGUSby John Fowles
94. WIDE SARGASSO SEAby Jean Rhys
95. UNDER THE NETby Iris Murdoch
96. SOPHIE’S CHOICEby William Styron
97. THE SHELTERING SKYby Paul Bowles
98. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICEby James M. Cain
99. THE GINGER MANby J.P. Donleavy
100. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONSby Booth Tarkington

THE READER'S LIST

1. ATLAS SHRUGGEDby Ayn Rand
2. THE FOUNTAINHEADby Ayn Rand
3. BATTLEFIELD EARTHby L. Ron Hubbard
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGSby J.R.R. Tolkien
5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRDby Harper Lee
6. 1984by George Orwell
7. ANTHEMby Ayn Rand
8. WE THE LIVINGby Ayn Rand
9. MISSION EARTHby L. Ron Hubbard
10. FEARby L. Ron Hubbard
11. ULYSSESby James Joyce
12. CATCH-22by Joseph Heller
13. THE GREAT GATSBYby F. Scott Fitzgerald
14. DUNEby Frank Herbert
15. THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESSby Robert Heinlein
16. STRANGER IN A STRANGE LANDby Robert Heinlein
17. A TOWN LIKE ALICEby Nevil Shute
18. BRAVE NEW WORLDby Aldous Huxley
19. THE CATCHER IN THE RYEby J.D. Salinger
20. ANIMAL FARMby George Orwell
21. GRAVITY’S RAINBOWby Thomas Pynchon
22. THE GRAPES OF WRATHby John Steinbeck
23. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVEby Kurt Vonnegut
24. GONE WITH THE WINDby Margaret Mitchell
25. LORD OF THE FLIESby William Golding
26. SHANEby Jack Schaefer
27. TRUSTEE FROM THE TOOLROOMby Nevil Shute
28. A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANYby John Irving
29. THE STANDby Stephen King
30. THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMANby John Fowles
31. BELOVEDby Toni Morrison
32. THE WORM OUROBOROSby E.R. Eddison
33. THE SOUND AND THE FURYby William Faulkner
34. LOLITAby Vladimir Nabokov
35. MOONHEARTby Charles de Lint
36. ABSALOM, ABSALOM!by William Faulkner
37. OF HUMAN BONDAGEby W. Somerset Maugham
38. WISE BLOODby Flannery O’Connor
39. UNDER THE VOLCANOby Malcolm Lowry
40. FIFTH BUSINESSby Robertson Davies
41. SOMEPLACE TO BE FLYINGby Charles de Lint
42. ON THE ROADby Jack Kerouac
43. HEART OF DARKNESSby Joseph Conrad
44. YARROWby Charles de Lint
45. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESSby H.P. Lovecraft
46. ONE LONELY NIGHTby Mickey Spillane
47. MEMORY AND DREAMby Charles de Lint
48. TO THE LIGHTHOUSEby Virginia Woolf
49. THE MOVIEGOERby Walker Percy
50. TRADERby Charles de Lint
51. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXYby Douglas Adams
52. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTERby Carson McCullers
53. THE HANDMAID’S TALEby Margaret Atwood
54. BLOOD MERIDIANby Cormac McCarthy
55. A CLOCKWORK ORANGEby Anthony Burgess
56. ON THE BEACHby Nevil Shute
57. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MANby James Joyce
58. GREENMANTLEby Charles de Lint
59. ENDER’S GAMEby Orson Scott Card
60. THE LITTLE COUNTRYby Charles de Lint
61. THE RECOGNITIONSby William Gaddis
62. STARSHIP TROOPERSby Robert Heinlein
63. THE SUN ALSO RISESby Ernest Hemingway
64. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARPby John Irving
65. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMESby Ray Bradbury
66. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSEby Shirley Jackson
67. AS I LAY DYINGby William Faulkner
68. TROPIC OF CANCERby Henry Miller
69. INVISIBLE MANby Ralph Ellison
70. THE WOOD WIFEby Terri Windling
71. THE MAGUSby John Fowles
72. THE DOOR INTO SUMMERby Robert Heinlein
73. ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCEby Robert Pirsig
74. I, CLAUDIUSby Robert Graves
75. THE CALL OF THE WILDby Jack London
76. AT SWIM-TWO-BIRDSby Flann O’Brien
77. FARENHEIT 451by Ray Bradbury
78. ARROWSMITHby Sinclair Lewis
79. WATERSHIP DOWNby Richard Adams
80. NAKED LUNCHby William S. Burroughs
81. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBERby Tom Clancy
82. GUILTY PLEASURESby Laurell K. Hamilton
83. THE PUPPET MASTERSby Robert Heinlein
84. ITby Stephen King
85. V.by Thomas Pynchon
86. DOUBLE STARby Robert Heinlein
87. CITIZEN OF THE GALAXYby Robert Heinlein
88. BRIDESHEAD REVISITEDby Evelyn Waugh
89. LIGHT IN AUGUSTby William Faulkner
90. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NESTby Ken Kesey
91. A FAREWELL TO ARMSby Ernest Hemingway
92. THE SHELTERING SKYby Paul Bowles
93. SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTIONby Ken Kesey
94. MY ANTONIAby Willa Cather
95. MULENGROby Charles de Lint
96. SUTTREEby Cormac McCarthy
97. MYTHAGO WOODby Robert Holdstock
98. ILLUSIONSby Richard Bach
99. THE CUNNING MANby Robertson Davies
100. THE SATANIC VERSESby Salman Rushdie