It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 17 years since we first toasted the new millennium. In January 2001, a litre of diesel cost ₹109.04. Facebook was three years from launching. 9/11 hadn’t happen. Huge political and cultural shifts were only months away… and some of the best books we’ve ever read were waiting in the wings. 

With the onset of the 21st century, a fresh new wave of people, thoughts, and ideas emerged which ultimately poured into the books we love and cherish today. Let’s take a look at some of the finest this generation has to offer.

#21. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

“Can you see me? All of me? Probably not. No one ever really has.”

Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides, and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City and the race riots of 1967 before moving out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

To understand why Calliope turns into Cal, a story to discover an astonishing genetic discovery and one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction, this book truly breaks all stereotypes. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

#20. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Ruth

“It’s easy to act like my past never happened, but it feels like I’ve put up this wall around my heart that stops me from being really close with him.”

A new kind of big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are. It starts with Amanda Hardy being the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she’s determined not to get too close to anyone. Then she meets sweet, easygoing Grant and all the walls she has kept around herself start crumbling. Because the secret Amanda’s been keeping? It’s that at her old school, she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life, and her new love? Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl is a universal story about feeling different, a thought provoking and eye-opening story of a transgender character by a transgender woman.

#19. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” 

An exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die. Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When they meet at the edge of the bell tower, they realise it’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. An intense, gripping, novel which makes you smile just as hard as it makes you cry.

#18. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

“Its funny how humans can wrap their minds around things and fit them into their versions of reality.”

The novel charts the adventures of modern-day twelve-year-old Percy Jackson as he discovers he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and the Greek god Poseidon. Percy and his friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood go on a quest to find Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. A children’s book that anyone with a decent sense of imagination can enjoy. From the surface, it may only seem like a novel to enjoy and put down but the characters stay with you long after the pages have ended and the ink has been put down. A refreshing, fun, book perfect for the kids and adults alike.

#17. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“There has to be more to life than just imagining a future for yourself. I can’t just wish for the future; I have to take risks to create it.”

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day. Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day.

#16. Where Rainbows End by Cecilia Ahern

“I don’t want to be one of those easily forgotten people, so important at the time, so special, so influential, so treasured, yet years later just a vague face and a distant memory.”

Where Rainbows End is a story told through letters, emails and instant messaging about the ever-changing relationship between the two main characters Rosie Dunne and Alex Stewart. Rosie and Alex are close friends from childhood but one day they are suddenly separated when Alex and his family move from Dublin to Boston. The book guides us through their relationship as it continues to change due to distance, new relationships and circumstances which seem determined to keep them apart. One question remains throughout the book, were they always meant to be more than friends and will they risk everything, including their friendship, on love? This book is interesting, funny, and swamped with cute-yet-awkward moments. A definite light read for all romantics out there.

#15. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”

The series that spawned seven novels, ten films (and counting), four amusement parks, two Broadway plays, and one author richer than the Queen of England already had three excellent novels to its name by the turn of the century. So, it’s easy to forget that in 2000, Harry Potter was still just another great young adult trilogy. That all changed when Harry Potter’s name flew out of the Goblet of Fire, forcing him to compete in the magical interscholastic sporting event known as the Triwizard Tournament. If you’re the one person in the world who has yet to read it, I won’t spoil it for you… but, predictably, things get extracurricular. This one is the best in the whole series. 

#14. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“Perhaps it is the greatest grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.”

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart. A gay retelling of The Illiad, it certainly is new and perfect for this new generation of readers.

#13. A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin

“One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth.”

A spoiled prince and his estranged grandfather compete for the highest throne of the kingdom Westeros. Meanwhile, the lord of a powerful northern city declares independence and threatens to secede. And if that weren’t enough, a band of natives from outside the kingdom’s walls launches an attack on Westeros, with only the scarce Night Watch in place to protect it. Like the rest of the series, A Storm of Swords is told from multiple perspectives following every significant character’s individual plot lines. This novel just happens to cover the best ones. The books have garnered a ravenous fanbase ever since the first installment came out in the ‘90s. In a series with hundreds of characters scattered across an entire medieval world, it’s probably hard for those fans to agree on much, but most will tell you that of the five books published so far, A Storm of Swords is the best.

#12. Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood

“Nature is to zoos as God is to churches.” 

Pigs with human brains. Men with glowing genitalia. A man named Snowman. In a dystopian future ravaged by rampant genetic engineering, he appears to be the last human alive, starving and alone but for a group of primitive humanoids. Set in both the past and future — before and after the collapse of a society run by monopolist corporations — there’s a lot about this novel that could categorize it as “science fiction.” Maybe that’s why it’s often overlooked when discussing 21st century classics. But the reason this novel stands apart from the dystopian fiction pack is the very same reason Margaret Atwood would push back against that label: like The Handmaid’s Tale, nothing is included in the novel that “we can’t yet do or begin to do.”

#11. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

“At New Year’s he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to eat with, not to stick in people.”

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? The writing of this book felt natural and even a bit wild in its audacity and confidence. This isn’t a casual reading experience — the book is long and you feel compelled to take it seriously, drawing it out in order to pay attention to and savor every word — but you will come away from it moved and profoundly changed. 

#10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

“Science and religion are not at odds. Science is simply too young to understand.”

Dan Brown has written many controversial yet intriguing books but this might just be his best. This book is about Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon, and gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, who were pushed together by circumstance and have to solve through the bizarre riddles, and are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever. I don’t know about authenticity but this sure contains as much creativity as you can get.

#9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

“We weren’t ourselves when we fell in love, and when we became ourselves — surprise! — we were poison. We completed each other in the nastiest, ugliest possible way.

Amy Dunn disappears on the day of her 5th wedding anniversary. All gradually uncovered evidence suggests that her husband, Nick, is somehow involved. Did he kill her? Was she kidnapped? What happened to Amy? One thing is clear, Nick and Amy’s marriage wasn’t as perfect as everybody thought. A fantastic, dark novel that pulls apart the heads of a husband and wife and the lives of rich, spoilt people with too many secrets and too much blood on their hands. The start is a little slow but trust me, its worth it.

#8. The Book Of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

“Of course, everybody on earth had the power to reshape reality. It was one of the things Peter and Beatrice talked about a lot. The challenge of getting people to grasp that life was only as grim and confining as you perceived it to be. The challenge of getting people to see that all the immutable facts of existence were not so immutable after all.”

It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. A monumental, genre-defying novel over ten years in the making, Michel Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents.

#7. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

“My thoughts are stars I can’t fathom into constellations.”

I don’t think there’s a young adult alive who hasn’t read this book or at least heard about it from various sources. But the true miracle is that this book manages to lives up to its outstanding popularity. The book starts off with Hazel who, despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

#6. I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

“Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.”

The novel follows a set of twins, Jude and Noah. Although they were incredibly close at thirteen, three years later they are hardly speaking to each other. The early years are narrated by Noah as he struggles with an enormous secret that affects his past, present, and future. The later years are narrated by Jude as her life changes when she meets an arrogant and broken, yet beautiful boy. Jude also encounters a tormented, mysterious artist—an even more unpredictable force that changes her life, and Noah’s, forever. I’ll Give You The Sun is a breathtaking and bright book that spills a ray of light on dreary circumstances and broken relationships. A must read.

#5. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

“I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background.”

Claudia Rankine’s bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person’s ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named “post-race” society.

#4. The Invented Part by Rodrigo Fresán

“I know now that what you said in ‘Tender Is the Night’ is true. Only the invented parts of our life—the unreal part—has had any scheme, any beauty.”

An aging writer, disillusioned with the state of literary culture, attempts to disappear in the most cosmically dramatic manner: traveling to the Hadron Collider, merging with the God particle, and transforming into an omnipresent deity—a meta-writer—capable of rewriting reality. With biting humor and a propulsive, contagious style, amid the accelerated particles of his characteristic obsessions—the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the music of Pink Floyd and The Kinks, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the links between great art and the lives of the artists who create it—Fresán takes us on a whirlwind tour of writers and muses, madness and genius, friendships, broken families, and alternate realities, exploring themes of childhood, loss, memory, aging, and death.

#3. A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

“There are so many ways to go wrong. All we’ve got are metaphors and they’re never exactly right. You can never just Say. The. Thing.”

What is it with these great novels telling loosely connected stories? This Pulitzer-Prize-winning work from Jennifer Egan could almost be considered a collection of short stories if the author herself didn’t insist it was a novel. But whether it’s a kleptomaniac confessing her vice to a therapist, a night of partying in NYC that ends in disaster, or an ill-fated gig for the punk band The Flaming Dildos, the 13 chapters of A Visit from the Goon Squad do eventually amalgamate into a single story: one of the connections made and lost in the world of rock and roll.

#2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

“I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you’re alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”

At last! A novel with a fairly straightforward plot! Days before his release from prison, Shadow’s wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break. Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You’ll be surprised by what – and who – it finds there… An amazingly engaging book, you won’t be able to put it down once you’ve got your hands on it.

#1. 1Q84 by Haruki Marukami

“Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren’t you just in another, larger one?”

As the first decade of the 21st century came to a close, the Japanese master of magical realism Haruki Marukami published 1Q84 — a novel that can only be defined as the Eastern version of 1984, but on acid. Marukami’s novel starts in 1984, when a woman named Aomame assassinates a guest at a glamorous hotel. Soon after, however, she faces a reality check — quite literally, as she finds herself in an alternate, dystopian Tokyo she calls 1Q84. Hundreds of pages long and published in three separate volumes, this epic story defies categorization. But it fills one category perfectly: that of a Great Novel.