Skip to main content

TML 200 Best Books 1950-1999

Description: Books and Series with entries in A Brief Guide to the The Modern Library by Colm Tóibín and Carmen Callil

1 2 3

Rank Title Author Added

1

To Kill a Mockingbird

78,890 members

1,434 reviews

½ 4.4

8 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

2

by Sylvia Plath

28,256 members

505 reviews

4

8 Members: ursula, elkiedee, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

3

The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

70,160 members

1,085 reviews

3.8

7 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

4

by Toni Morrison

22,986 members

409 reviews

3.9

7 Members: ursula, hipdeep, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

5

Wide Sargasso Sea

8,511 members

255 reviews

½ 3.5

7 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

6

A Thousand Acres

6,188 members

137 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: ursula, elkiedee, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

7

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

21,471 members

477 reviews

3.9

6 Members: ursula, hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

8

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

20,795 members

434 reviews

3.8

6 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

9

The Secret History

20,515 members

559 reviews

4.1

6 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

10

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

19,836 members

342 reviews

4.1

6 Members: ursula, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

11

The Joy Luck Club

17,653 members

199 reviews

3.9

6 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

12

13,011 members

289 reviews

4

6 Members: merrystar, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

13

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

by John le Carré

8,652 members

240 reviews

4

6 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

14

Go Tell It on the Mountain

by James Baldwin

5,800 members

112 reviews

3.9

6 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

15

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

30,856 members

508 reviews

3.8

5 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, steller0707

16

Interview with the Vampire

22,958 members

333 reviews

3.8

5 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

17

The Shipping News

by E. Annie Proulx

13,475 members

250 reviews

3.9

5 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

18

by Rohinton Mistry

9,194 members

255 reviews

½ 4.4

5 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, steller0707

19

by Marilynne Robinson

6,387 members

214 reviews

3.9

5 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, steller0707

20

Ragtime: A Novel

by E. L. Doctorow

6,277 members

125 reviews

3.9

5 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

21

The Long Goodbye

by Raymond Chandler

5,254 members

114 reviews

4.2

5 Members: merrystar, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

22

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

by Muriel Spark

5,252 members

172 reviews

½ 3.7

5 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

23

A Murder Is Announced

by Agatha Christie

4,704 members

92 reviews

3.8

5 Members: merrystar, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

24

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

49,897 members

747 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

25

by Joseph Heller

40,165 members

528 reviews

4.1

4 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

26

by Vladimir Nabokov

31,845 members

565 reviews

4.1

4 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

27

by John Steinbeck

23,531 members

425 reviews

½ 4.4

4 Members: ursula, NinieB, quondame, steller0707

28

by Ralph Ellison

16,258 members

212 reviews

4

4 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, NinieB, quondame

29

by Stephen King

15,425 members

208 reviews

4

4 Members: ursula, hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

30

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

by Louis De Bernières

8,014 members

156 reviews

3.9

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

31

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

by Jeanette Winterson

6,279 members

145 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

32

The Talented Mr. Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

6,244 members

199 reviews

3.9

4 Members: ursula, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

33

by Kingsley Amis

5,822 members

155 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

34

The Day of the Jackal

by Frederick Forsyth

5,317 members

90 reviews

4

4 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, NinieB, quondame

35

My Cousin Rachel

by Daphne Du Maurier

4,116 members

145 reviews

4

4 Members: ursula, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

36

by Katherine Anne Porter

1,145 members

18 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

37

American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

13,979 members

290 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

38

Midnight's Children

by Salman Rushdie

13,969 members

244 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

39

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

12,716 members

257 reviews

3.8

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

40

by Margaret Atwood

11,917 members

259 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

41

Master and Commander

by Patrick O'Brian

9,330 members

217 reviews

4

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

42

The Bonfire of the Vanities

8,984 members

132 reviews

3.8

3 Members: NinieB, quondame, steller0707

43

by Larry McMurtry

8,372 members

239 reviews

½ 4.6

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

44

Schindler's Ark

by Thomas Keneally

8,271 members

97 reviews

4.2

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

45

by Sebastian Faulks

6,104 members

156 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

46

The Golden Notebook

by Doris Lessing

5,413 members

93 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

47

Breathing Lessons

4,260 members

74 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

48

Oscar and Lucinda

4,148 members

68 reviews

3.8

3 Members: ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

49

Flaubert's Parrot

by Julian Barnes

3,951 members

73 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

50

An Artist of the Floating World

by Kazuo Ishiguro

3,890 members

103 reviews

3.8

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

51

A House for Mr Biswas

by V. S. Naipaul

3,462 members

69 reviews

3.8

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

52

The Human Factor

by Graham Greene

3,265 members

44 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

53

by Robertson Davies

3,233 members

88 reviews

4.2

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

54

The Grand Sophy

by Georgette Heyer

2,987 members

134 reviews

4.2

3 Members: merrystar, ahef1963, quondame

55

2,975 members

42 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

56

The Sportswriter

by Richard Ford

2,933 members

61 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

57

The Confessions of Nat Turner

by William Styron

2,736 members

39 reviews

3.9

3 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

58

The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

by Carson McCullers

2,500 members

56 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

59

What a Carve Up!

by Jonathan Coe

2,344 members

54 reviews

3.9

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

60

by L. P. Hartley

2,341 members

39 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

61

by Mary McCarthy

2,339 members

54 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: elkiedee, quondame, steller0707

62

by Bernard Malamud

2,037 members

39 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

63

Jeeves in the Offing

by P. G. Wodehouse

2,026 members

37 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

64

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

by Oscar Hijuelos

1,964 members

31 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: ursula, ahef1963, quondame

65

The Jewel in the Crown

1,522 members

33 reviews

4

3 Members: ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

66

1,461 members

30 reviews

3.9

3 Members: ahef1963, quondame, steller0707

67

by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

1,255 members

35 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

68

A Dark-Adapted Eye

by Barbara Vine

1,244 members

44 reviews

3.8

3 Members: ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

69

The Balkan Trilogy

by Olivia Manning

1,112 members

31 reviews

4.1

3 Members: elkiedee, ahef1963, quondame

70

1,097 members

12 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

71

A Book of Common Prayer

1,063 members

13 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

72

by John McGahern

1,002 members

25 reviews

3.9

3 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

73

Train to Pakistan

by Khushwant Singh

988 members

27 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

74

The Regeneration Trilogy

803 members

14 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

75

by Margaret Laurence

746 members

20 reviews

4

3 Members: elkiedee, ahef1963, quondame

76

Girl with Green Eyes

by Edna O'Brien

522 members

11 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

77

by Cormac McCarthy

11,685 members

274 reviews

4.2

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

78

11,042 members

184 reviews

4.2

2 Members: ursula, quondame

79

by Thomas Harris

10,093 members

103 reviews

3.8

2 Members: ursula, quondame

80

8,000 members

85 reviews

3.9

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

81

by Irvine Welsh

7,775 members

79 reviews

4

2 Members: quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

82

5,217 members

61 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

83

by Flannery O'Connor

3,878 members

112 reviews

3.8

2 Members: quondame, steller0707

84

The Adventures of Augie March

3,871 members

73 reviews

3.8

2 Members: ursula, quondame

85

Empire of the Sun

by J. G. Ballard

3,753 members

71 reviews

4

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

86

The Cement Garden

3,568 members

99 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: ursula, quondame

87

by Kaye Gibbons

3,455 members

64 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

88

Money: A Suicide Note

3,308 members

56 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

89

Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories

by Raymond Carver

3,297 members

38 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: ursula, quondame

90

A Bend in the River

by V. S. Naipaul

3,202 members

57 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: ursula, quondame

91

Last Exit to Brooklyn

by Hubert Selby Jr.

3,017 members

34 reviews

3.8

2 Members: ursula, quondame

92

The Executioner's Song

by Norman Mailer

2,906 members

50 reviews

4

2 Members: ursula, quondame

93

by Graham Swift

2,810 members

44 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

94

by Elmore Leonard

2,365 members

48 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: ahef1963, quondame

95

The Siege of Krishnapur

by J. G. Farrell

2,093 members

68 reviews

4

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

96

The Blue Flower

by Penelope Fitzgerald

1,973 members

54 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: elkiedee, quondame

97

by Angela Carter

1,925 members

40 reviews

4

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

98

by Anthony Burgess

1,797 members

39 reviews

4.2

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

99

A Boy's Own Story

by Edmund White

1,757 members

25 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: ursula, quondame

100

On the Black Hill

by Bruce Chatwin

1,630 members

43 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

1 2 3

About This List

Started: quondame
June 2021
Type: Unnumbered, Adding restricted

Related Lists

Hidden Classics

Thrillers About Writers

Anthony Burgess 99 Post War Novels

The Atlantic's The Great American Novel

United States (seen from Europe)

Short and Sweet

Current Discussions

None

Related Tags

1001 (3,506) 1001 books (3,733) 20th century (9,692) American (6,862) American literature (10,105) classic (11,123) classics (10,802) coming of age (2,849) crime (2,641) fiction (113,595) historical fiction (9,333) horror (3,949) humor (2,999) India (3,203) literature (13,209) mystery (4,372) novel (20,320) own (3,629) Pulitzer Prize (2,707) read (11,338) thriller (2,565) to-read (44,528) unread (4,029) USA (3,426) WWII (3,536)

Verdana Standard Verdana Small The Lorax System Standard System Large Georgia Large Text Atkinson

This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.