Everyone knows what classic novels are. They are those old books that you are subjected to reading for high school English class. (Personally, I delighted in all books I read, but I know that this was a sore spot for a lot of people.) The question that always plagued my mind is, how does a book become a classic? What makes these books different from all the other novels published throughout the years? Why these ones in particular? In all honestly, I could write essays, papers, dissertations even, on the inner complexities of classic novels. There is no simple, straightforward answer.
So, if there isn't an easy formula or check-list to mark a classic, and the story hasn't been around for at minimum half a century, how do we find new classics? Basically, how the hell am I writing this article? I'll tell you. According to my own theories there are three main rules that put a novel in the running for being called a modern classic. First, the story has to have some kind of deeper meaning/commentary. All that "what does the color green represent here" discussions from high school were happening for a reason. These books are, yes, entertaining, but more importantly they are showing or saying something new about a social, political, or emotional concept. They have a message to convey. Second, the book was widely read within the first few years of its release. Nothing can be a classic if no one knows what it is. This is much harder to track now with how much is being published every year now, but numbers and talk still have a significant impact. Third, it has to be a stand-alone novel. Are there series that I would consider impactful and popular, absolutely! Do I think they will ever be classified as classic novels, absolutely not. The reason for this rule is easy, the hallmark of a classic novel having "made it" is the moment it starts being taught in schools. No one has the time to teach an entire series. It's just not done (at least at a high school level).
Now that we have the ground rules covered, here are two last stipulations for the list I have curated here: 1) to be considered a modern classic, the novel has to have been published in the last fifteen years and 2) I have to have read them.
Here is my list, in publication order. (The full book blurb is linked to the author's name for each book if you wanna check them out further.)
10: The Song of Achilles
This reimagining of the Iliad fills in some of the narrative blanks left by Homer. Miller writes from the prospective of Patroclus best friend, training partner, and eventual lover to Achilles. Playing in the sandbox of Greek mythology is not a new pastime for authors, but the choice to stick so closely to the original source material puts Miller's novel in a category all its own. I consider The Song of Achilles a modern classic because it emulates the structure of an epic while maintaining the pacing and tone of a contemporary fiction novel. It is a unique take on storytelling that I have yet to see anyone else come close to accomplishing.
9: Dreamsleeves
Twelve year-old Aislinn is a dreamer, but a lot is standing in her way. With her drunk father and her dead mother, when she should be enjoying her summer she is left in charge of her younger siblings with strict rules to follow. "A person, she says, should write their dreams on their sleeve, putting them out there for the world to see, because there's a good chance that someone might come along and help you make your dream come true. What begins as a plea for help for her father to stop drinking, turns into a spark that has the whole community making their own dreamsleeves." I consider Dreamsleeves a modern classic because it is a middle-grade novel that gently covers the heavy topics of childhood trauma, the consequences of addiction, and the possibilities of a community coming together. I read this book back when it came out (I would have been 13 at the time) and it has stuck with me all these years. Truly impactful.
8: All American Boys
Rashad and Quinn -- one black, one white, both American -- attend the same school, but live very different lives. After Quinn witnesses a brutal and unprovoked police beating happen to Rashad, both boys' lives are irrevocably changed. Facing down the truth that racism and prejudice didn't end with the civil rights movement, Rashad and Quinn have to figure out where they stand and what they are willing to stand up against. I not only think this novel is a modern classic along the lines of To Kill a Mocking Bird, but should be universally required reading for all American citizens. It shows the importance of being willing to question things you had previously considered to be immutable truths and the willingness to learn. The social and political commentary is there, but it is the choice to present these struggles from the prospective of teenagers that pushes the envelope.
7: The Book of Speculation
A fractured take on a family saga, Simon is presented with a book on his doorstep one day that seems to outline some missing history of his family and, more alarmingly, a possible cures on the women of this family line to all drown. Increasingly worried about his estranged sister, Simon is trying to unravel his family's secrets in time to save his sister's life. I consider this book a modern classic because it pulls on a variety of oral storytelling traditions and transfers them into the written word.
6: If We Were Villains
In the tradition of dark academia novels, this book follows a class of Shakespeare students during their senior year as tensions run high and soon boil over. With a death on campus and all the remaining students left as suspects, we watch friendships, academics, and sanity begin to unravel. I think If We Were Villains is a modern classic because of the way it turns genre expectations on their head. Rio takes a dark academia mystery and writes it with the structure of a Shakespeare tragedy. The unique twist to influences marks this novel as in a world all its own.
5: Where the Crawdads Sing
Following the isolated existence of Kya, we watch her carve a path all her own while still longing to belong. When trouble threatens to take her from the only place she has ever called home, Kya must figure out how to protect herself from the outside world she has always wanted to be invited into. I would consider this a modern classic because of the social commentary alone, but add in Owens complex narrative structure, lush scenic imagery, and vivid atmosphere and there is no doubt left behind. If you want the closest thing to a blueprint for a modern classic (in my opinion) this is the first place you should look.
4: The Starless Sea
After discovering a hidden book in the stacks of his university's library that mysteriously contains a story from his own childhood, Zachery Ezra Rawlins finds himself sucked into a world of magic, fairytales, and multiple universes hidden right below our world. As Zachery meets two companions and travels deeper into the twisting tunnels below, he begins to discover his purpose both in the book in his hands and in his own life. This book is a study in creating and honing atmosphere. While there is an overarching plot, the main focus of the novel is to submerge the reader into the world the author has created. I equate it to reading a fantastic version of something written by Dickens.
3: The Ten Thousand Doors of January
In the mansion of wealthy Mr. Locke, January feels no different than the other artifacts he collects, carefully maintained but largely ignored. When a mysterious book ends up in her position carrying the sent of other words and tales of secret doors, January becomes entangled in the mysteries of the past, the dangers of the present, and the possible adventures of the future. I consider this a modern classic because of the way Harrow creates this story as a study of familial connection. The story approaches the long standing debate of nature vs nurture by taking it to extremes.
2: Piranesi
Piranesi's house is an endless amount of rooms and corridors lined with thousands upon thousands of statues. Trapped within the labyrinth is an ocean whose tides and floods Piranesi has learned over his time here, although he doesn't know how long that time has been or even how he came to live here. When evidence of another person starts to emerge in the house, Piranesi's carefully stacked idea of existence starts to topple. There really is no way to describe this story to someone who hasn't read it, but it is also a story that changed the way I view every other story I have read since. The imagination, precision, and artistry Clarke must possess to have created a world like this one is almost immeasurable. Everything from the tone to the sentence structure, from the voice to the use of capitalization, brings the World, the House, to life in a way that average writing simply cannot. Characterization, plot development, and mystery drive this tale masterfully. Truly a modern classic.
1: Seven Days in June
After have an intense week-long relationship in high school, Eva and Shane are pulled apart. In the intervening twenty years, they have been writing to each other through the novels they publish while living their separate lives. A chance encounter has them sharing another seven days together leading them to confront their pasts and explore the possibility of their future. Williams' keen observations on Black life, the impact of generational trauma, modern motherhood, and the consequences of motherless-ness twist through this love story with the same smoothness as societal commentary done by Jane Austin.
I want to include three honorable mentions as well because I couldn't quite stick to 10:
Normal People by Sally Rooney
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Now that you've listened to me ramble, I want to know your opinions. If you have read any of these books, do you think they are modern classics? If not, why? Are there other books that you think should be considered classics in the future? Tell me everything.
In the mean time,
Keep wondering and stay wandering!
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