Best of the Millennium
October 13, 2009
Dissecting the List: An Excursus 1
by Garth Risk Hallberg
It’s probably its hospitality to debate that makes the “Best Of” list so popular in the first place. One can agree – yes! great list! – or dissent – Where is x? Why no y? – or inveigh against list-making itself, but in any case, the list holds up a mirror to one’s own preoccupations. As with any mirror, it is fearsomely hard to look away.
October 2, 2009
Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far): The Longlist 13
by Garth Risk Hallberg
A list of all of the titles nominated by our “Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far)” panel that did not appear on our Top 20 or Honorable Mention lists.
September 30, 2009
Top 20 Alternative: Manjushree Thapa’s The Tutor of History 5
by Sonya Chung
There is certainly something to be said for heady novels written by women, when so much of “women’s fiction” is about inner emotional lives and domestic relationships. But it does make me ask the question of why we write and why we read.
September 29, 2009
Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far): Honorable Mention 5
by Garth Risk Hallberg
As we sifted through the ballots, what struck us was not a “unified sensibility,” but an exhilarating diversity, which we plan to share with you in the coming days.
September 25, 2009
Best of the Millennium, Pros Versus Readers 83
by C. Max Magee
Our distinguished panel selected 20 incredible books as their Best of the Millennium (So Far). What were our readers’ favorites from the decade now coming to a close?
September 25, 2009
#1: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen 35
by Margot Livesey
In the spring and summer of 2001, people who were listening could hear The Corrections coming.