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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

78,942 members

1,434 reviews

½ 4.4

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

2

by Sylvia Plath

28,287 members

505 reviews

4

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

3

The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

69,853 members

1,086 reviews

3.8

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

4

by Toni Morrison

23,023 members

409 reviews

3.9

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

5

Wide Sargasso Sea

8,519 members

255 reviews

½ 3.5

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

6

A Thousand Acres

6,191 members

137 reviews

½ 3.7

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

7

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

21,486 members

477 reviews

3.9

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

8

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

20,816 members

435 reviews

3.8

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

9

The Secret History

20,540 members

559 reviews

4.1

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

10

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

19,880 members

342 reviews

4.1

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

11

The Joy Luck Club

17,671 members

199 reviews

3.9

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

12

13,017 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

8,649 members

240 reviews

4

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

14

Go Tell It on the Mountain

by James Baldwin

5,803 members

112 reviews

3.9

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

15

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

30,881 members

508 reviews

3.8

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

16

Interview with the Vampire

22,984 members

333 reviews

3.8

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

17

The Shipping News

by E. Annie Proulx

13,480 members

250 reviews

3.9

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

18

by Rohinton Mistry

9,198 members

255 reviews

½ 4.4

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

19

by Marilynne Robinson

6,397 members

214 reviews

3.9

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

20

Ragtime: A Novel

by E. L. Doctorow

6,282 members

125 reviews

3.9

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

21

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

by Muriel Spark

5,256 members

172 reviews

½ 3.7

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

22

The Long Goodbye

by Raymond Chandler

5,249 members

114 reviews

4.2

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

23

A Murder Is Announced

by Agatha Christie

4,712 members

93 reviews

3.8

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

24

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

49,930 members

749 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

25

by Joseph Heller

40,189 members

529 reviews

4.1

4 Members: ursula, hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

26

by Vladimir Nabokov

31,849 members

565 reviews

4.1

4 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

27

by John Steinbeck

23,551 members

425 reviews

½ 4.4

4 Members: ursula, NinieB, quondame, steller0707

28

by Ralph Ellison

16,270 members

212 reviews

4

4 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, NinieB, quondame

29

by Stephen King

15,451 members

208 reviews

4

4 Members: ursula, hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

30

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

by Louis De Bernières

8,017 members

156 reviews

3.9

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

31

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

by Jeanette Winterson

6,282 members

145 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

32

The Talented Mr. Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

6,252 members

199 reviews

3.9

4 Members: ursula, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

33

by Kingsley Amis

5,826 members

155 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

34

The Day of the Jackal

by Frederick Forsyth

5,318 members

90 reviews

4

4 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, NinieB, quondame

35

My Cousin Rachel

by Daphne Du Maurier

4,121 members

145 reviews

4

4 Members: ursula, ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

36

by Katherine Anne Porter

1,146 members

18 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

37

American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

13,992 members

290 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: ursula, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

38

Midnight's Children

by Salman Rushdie

13,979 members

245 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

39

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

12,725 members

257 reviews

3.8

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

40

by Margaret Atwood

11,927 members

259 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

41

Master and Commander

by Patrick O'Brian

9,338 members

217 reviews

4

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

42

The Bonfire of the Vanities

8,993 members

132 reviews

3.8

3 Members: NinieB, quondame, steller0707

43

by Larry McMurtry

8,378 members

239 reviews

½ 4.6

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

44

Schindler's Ark

by Thomas Keneally

8,274 members

98 reviews

4.2

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

45

by Sebastian Faulks

6,108 members

156 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

46

The Golden Notebook

by Doris Lessing

5,415 members

93 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: ursula, quondame, steller0707

47

Breathing Lessons

4,264 members

74 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

48

Oscar and Lucinda

4,149 members

68 reviews

3.8

3 Members: ahef1963, NinieB, quondame

49

Flaubert's Parrot

by Julian Barnes

3,953 members

73 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

50

An Artist of the Floating World

by Kazuo Ishiguro

3,891 members

103 reviews

3.8

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

51

A House for Mr Biswas

by V. S. Naipaul

3,465 members

69 reviews

3.8

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

52

The Human Factor

by Graham Greene

3,267 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

2,990 members

134 reviews

4.2

3 Members: merrystar, ahef1963, quondame

55

2,981 members

42 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

56

The Sportswriter

by Richard Ford

2,936 members

61 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

57

The Confessions of Nat Turner

by William Styron

2,739 members

39 reviews

3.9

3 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

58

The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

by Carson McCullers

2,488 members

56 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

59

What a Carve Up!

by Jonathan Coe

2,346 members

54 reviews

3.9

3 Members: ursula, PaulCranswick, quondame

60

by L. P. Hartley

2,345 members

39 reviews

4

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

61

by Mary McCarthy

2,341 members

55 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: elkiedee, quondame, steller0707

62

by Bernard Malamud

2,039 members

39 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: hipdeep, PaulCranswick, quondame

63

Jeeves in the Offing

by P. G. Wodehouse

2,027 members

37 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

64

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

by Oscar Hijuelos

1,965 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

1,463 members

30 reviews

3.9

3 Members: ahef1963, quondame, steller0707

67

by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

1,256 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

1,113 members

31 reviews

4.1

3 Members: elkiedee, ahef1963, quondame

70

1,098 members

12 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, quondame

71

A Book of Common Prayer

1,066 members

13 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame, steller0707

72

by John McGahern

1,003 members

25 reviews

3.9

3 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

73

Train to Pakistan

by Khushwant Singh

989 members

27 reviews

3.9

3 Members: PaulCranswick, ahef1963, quondame

74

The Regeneration Trilogy

805 members

14 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: elkiedee, PaulCranswick, quondame

75

by Margaret Laurence

747 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

11,678 members

274 reviews

4.2

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

78

11,049 members

184 reviews

4.2

2 Members: ursula, quondame

79

by Thomas Harris

10,101 members

103 reviews

3.8

2 Members: ursula, quondame

80

8,004 members

86 reviews

3.9

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

81

by Irvine Welsh

7,777 members

79 reviews

4

2 Members: quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

82

5,219 members

61 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

83

by Flannery O'Connor

3,884 members

112 reviews

3.8

2 Members: quondame, steller0707

84

The Adventures of Augie March

3,872 members

73 reviews

3.8

2 Members: ursula, quondame

85

Empire of the Sun

by J. G. Ballard

3,755 members

71 reviews

4

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

86

The Cement Garden

3,571 members

99 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: ursula, quondame

87

by Kaye Gibbons

3,456 members

64 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: quondame, ManWithAnAgenda

88

Money: A Suicide Note

3,309 members

56 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

89

Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories

by Raymond Carver

3,299 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.

3,020 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

2,813 members

44 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

94

by Elmore Leonard

2,369 members

48 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: ahef1963, quondame

95

The Siege of Krishnapur

by J. G. Farrell

2,098 members

68 reviews

4

2 Members: PaulCranswick, quondame

96

The Blue Flower

by Penelope Fitzgerald

1,974 members

54 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: elkiedee, quondame

97

by Angela Carter

1,926 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

1,758 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

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