Modern Classics

Modern classics have been defined as books published after the first World War during a time when new ideology about gender, race, and class began emerging. However, generally, a modern classic refers to a book that has timeless elements set in a more modern environment.

Showing 1 - 15 of 15  There are a total of 15 valid entries on the list.

1. 1984

Book cover for "1984"
Star rating for 1984
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Portrays life in a future time when a totalitarian government watches over all citizens and directs all activities. Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever... "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."...
Book cover for "The alchemist"
Star rating for The alchemist
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
"A special 25th anniversary edition of Paulo Coehlo's extraordinary international bestselling phenomenon--the inspiring spiritual tale of self-discovery that has touched millions of lives around the world. Combing magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical...
Book cover for "Brave new world"
Star rating for Brave new world
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom. First published 70 years ago, the classic, prophetic novel capturing the socialized horrors of a futuristic utopia remarkably explores the now-timely themes of cloning, individual creativity and freedom, and the role of science, technology, and drugs in humankind's future.
Book cover for "Fahrenheit 451"
Star rating for Fahrenheit 451
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Description:
Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevant than ever before. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and...
Book cover for "Homegoing"
Star rating for Homegoing
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Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort in the sprawling, palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle, raising half-caste children who will be sent abroad to be educated in England before returning to the Gold Coast to serve as administrators of the Empire. Her sister, Esi, will be imprisoned beneath...
Book cover for "The kite runner"
Star rating for The kite runner
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Description:
Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son, in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day. An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present day. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy Afghan youth and the...
Book cover for "Normal people"
Star rating for Normal people
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:
NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • “A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships” (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, “a master of the literary page-turner” (J. Courtney Sullivan).
 
“[A] novel that demands to be read compulsively, in one sitting.”—The...
Book cover for "The overstory"
Star rating for The overstory
Average Rating:
3.6 stars
Description:
A novel of activism and natural-world power presents interlocking fables about nine remarkable strangers who are summoned in different ways by trees for an ultimate, brutal stand to save the continent's few remaining acres of virgin forest.
Book cover for "Parable of the sower"
Star rating for Parable of the sower
Series:
Parable books volume 1.
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy,...
Book cover for "Prodigal summer"
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Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Wildlife biologist Deanna is caught off guard by an intrusive young hunter, while bookish city wife Lusa finds herself facing a difficult identity choice, and elderly neighbors find attraction at the height of a long-standing feud.

11. Rebecca

Book cover for "Rebecca"
Star rating for Rebecca
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
A young girl becomes the second Mrs. Max de Winter, only to find that she is not the mistress of Manderley. Instead the house and its occupants are dominated by the memory of Rebecca, her predecessor.
Book cover for "The remains of the day"
Star rating for The remains of the day
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
An English butler reflects--sometimes bitterly, sometimes humorously--on his service to a lord between the two world wars and discovers doubts about his master's character and about the ultimate value of his own service to humanity The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second...
Book cover for "The secret history"
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Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.
Book cover for "Siddhartha"
Star rating for Siddhartha
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
The tale of a young man's journey of self discovery. Blends elements of psychoanalysis and Asian religions to probe an Indian aristocrat's efforts to renounce sensual and material pleasures and discover ultimate spiritual truths.
Book cover for "Sons and lovers"
Star rating for Sons and lovers
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:

Widely regarded as D.H. Lawrence's masterpiece, Sons and Lovers is a sprawling, multi-generational look at family relationships, class dynamics, and the intimate ties with others that pull young adults toward independence. This largely autobiographical novel made Lawrence's reputation as a writer—it's a must read for fans of classic literary fiction.