15 best books of the 20th century
Professional Editors know how important it is to work on your writing skills every day and improve your knowledge. We understand that students almost have no time to read books and write book reviews in the modern pace of life. That is why we are here to help you with your homework and academic writing. This extensive list includes the best works of literature published in the 20th century.
The rating was created by the users of the most authoritative web portal for book lovers GoodReads.com (https://www.goodreads.com/). It was created in accordance with the opinions of more than 40 million users, including critics, publicists, and contemporary writers.
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel. It describes the events of the 33–35 years of the last century that took place in Alabama. The main character Jean Louise Finch (Scout) tells her story about the difficult times of the Great Depression in the USA. During this period, all interracial and social conflicts intensified.
- “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell.
A dystopian novel tells about the life of Winston Smith, who is a member of the Outer Party, which deals with editing of the history. This party replies for propaganda and historical revisionism. Smith’s rebellion leads to terrible consequences. As the author predicted, nothing can be worse than a total lack of freedom.
- “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien.
“The Lord of the Rings” is a fantasy novel that was written as a sequel to the author’s previous novel “The Hobbit”, and developed into the best-selling novel of the 20th century. This book is a bright example of the modern literature.
- “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger.
This story has become a landmark for the world literature. The childhood of the main character has passed and adult life begins, but there are so many lies and hypocrisy in the adult world! There is no need to apply the laws of this cruel world! The protagonist of the book, Holden Caulfield, should act in all fairness, but it is so difficult to overcome his inner conflicts. Salinger’s novel has become a guidebook for teenage rebellion. An author describes difficult problems with identity, innocence, loss, belonging and connection.
- “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
It’s a story as old as time. It is a story about love, about conceit, about way to success. Strong and ambitious man achieves wealth and power. All these he achieves for the love of the desirable woman.
- “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone” by J. K. Rowling.
This is a 1st volume in the series about Harry Potter which became an author’s debut and brought her fame. The novel tells about adventures of a young wizard and his friends.
- “The Diary of a Young Girl” (also known as “The Diary of Anne Frank”).
Anne Frank wrote her diary not for fame and not for publication, but to cope with the nightmare and life circumstances that happened to her. This talented and very persistent girl was only 15 years old when her life was unfairly cut short. Anna died in concentration camp, but she made notes in her diary at Amsterdam, hiding from Nazis. These notes were turned into a book, which made cry every single reader.
- “Animal Farm” by George Orwell.
In this story, Orwell describes the metamorphosis of the revolutionary principles and programs, namely a gradual swift from the ideas of equality and creation of utopia to dictatorship and totalitarianism. Animal Farm is a parable, allegory of the revolution of 1917 and the subsequent events in Russia.
- “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Traveling around the World in search for the treasures that are guarded by a dragon armored with jeweled. On this way, we become the witnesses of the battle with the goblins, the meeting of elves under the leadership of Elrond, and bout with an ancient, vicious and insidious dragon Smaug. In this book, the readers meet the Magic Ring and its owner Gollum for the first time.
- “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
A deep philosophical and easy readable novella describes the great life adventures of a boy named Little Prince who came from another dimension. Each of these stories is not only interesting in itself, but also affects the awareness of the people, the essence of human beings and their morals.
- “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.
This novel brought an author a world fame. This philosophical dystopia written by Ray Bradbury describes the development of post-industrial society. The world described in a book is the world of the future where all written publications are destroyed by special detachment of firefighters, law prohibits the book storage and On-line TV shows dumb everyone down.
- “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck.
The novel is set in the late 30s during the Great depression. At that time, dust storms and severe dry season affected many US states. A lot of farmers went broke. They left their homes and went in search of a better life.
- “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis.
Hiding from an air raid during World War II in the house of the old professor, Susan, Peter, Edmund and Lucy were playing hide and seek. Having hidden in an old wardrobe, Susan gets into the magical lands of Narnia. A White witch reigns there and keeps the eternal winter. Only a coming of the lion Aslan may return Narnia its former beauty and prosperity.
- “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez.
The novel describes the birth, flourishing, decline and death of the multi-generational family Buendía. An author tells a story of loneliness, which appeared in the life of each member of the Buendía family. Loneliness of family members and their inability to understand each other and the other people infused the novel with mythological character.
- “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
This dystopia novel describes a distant future of the humanity, where the natural continuation of the human race is considered to be outdated and people are reproduced at the special factories. It is set in the future of London in AD 2540.
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