The Most Memorable Literary Moments of the Last 25 Years
While the selections for our 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list were wowing critics and winning awards, other books were making news in different ways. A look back at some of the most memorable moments of the century — so far.
2000
PHILIP ROTH, SAUL BELLOW AND JOHN UPDIKE — “America’s leading literary icons,” as The Times dubs them — all publish books in 2000, “yet notwithstanding generally strong reviews and tremendous coverage of the daring literary conceits of the works,” sales are dismal. Is it because of the shrinking number of independent bookstores or the generation gap between most book buyers and the three authors? Does it have anything to do with the success of the Harry Potter novels? Roger Straus, the president of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, has another theory. He tells The Times, “They’re all getting old, and critics and the public look for something really delicious, groundbreaking. By the 34th novel, the fourth sequel, they say, ‘So what.’”
2001
Reviewing JONATHAN FRANZEN’s novel “The Corrections” in the Book Review, David Gates calls it “a conventional realist saga … with just enough novel-of-paranoia touches so Oprah won’t assign it and ruin Franzen’s street cred.” However, Oprah Winfrey does pick it for her famous book club, though when Franzen skewers her taste (“She’s picked some good books, but she’s picked enough schmaltzy, one-dimensional ones that I cringe”) she promptly rescinds the invitation.
