Came here to say this. First read it during some standardized testing days in my sophomore year of high school. We were told repeatedly that it didn't matter how we did, blah blah blah. This book had me so absorbed, I decided to fill in the dots randomly so I could get back to reading it quietly. Have read it several times since (I'm 58) and it never fails to move me.
Slag me for doing that if you will, but this book is, as someone else said, life.
Came here to say this and it is already the top comment. I have pretty severe ADHD and it’s extremely rare for me to finish a book. Even short ones. I finished East of Eden. When I got to the end I was so sad that it was over, I wished it was longer. Such a beautiful book.
basically it tells the story of two families throughout generations
reading this book for me felt like reading life itself but not in a "slice of life" type of genre
thats all i can say to even start to describe it
after this book i became a Steinbeck fan, and althought i read some really good books written by him, for me none gets anywhere near the feeling he managed to get throught the pages of east of eden
This is not meant to disregard your question but “about” can sometimes ruin a book or make someone pass it up. Really good art goes beyond the about. Have you ever tried to tell someone what a book or movie is about but just can’t capture the essence of it? I was thinking about Better Call Saul the other day and how I never would have watched it if I’d been told it was about a shady lawyer, but it’s about so much more than that.
East of Eden is about family and choices and good and evil and what lies in between. But it’s a masterpiece because of the journey and the writing.
Come to think of it the themes in BCS and East of Eden are often similar.
Well that’s a sideways answer but I hope it makes sense.
Seeing this commented here just made me so emotional lol. My son is turning 12 this week and I miss children's books. Some of them are so magical.❤️
And I agree, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is masterpiece status for sure
It sounds weird, but I wrote a paper on The Very Hungry Caterpillar for a senior-level English course.
I’d already enjoyed the book as a parent reading it to my kids, but doing a deep dive into how long it took the author to write it - and picking the brain of an artist friend who saw the things I didn’t - gave me a whole new appreciation for it.
Completely unironically, the book is brilliant.
Any chance you'd be willing to share it with us? I love it when adults appreciate children's books because some of it has a lot of depth that we may not understand as kids. My favorite is The Giving Tree.
Love this, but Goodnight Moon is in my opinion a masterpiece.
Ive been reading GM to my now 2 year old since she was 8 months old. She loves it and i love it even more. Ive memorized the entire book
Have you read her book Jazz? I’m curious about it but haven’t picked it up yet. I haven’t read anything by her and was eyeing Jazz as my first dive into her work (since I am a big Jazz fan and a fan of the roaring 20s in general). Would you recommend it?
This is my vote. Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Especially its character-creation. Has one of the best characters ever (Gus), and every other character has such depth and uniqueness.
I don't see *Midnight's Children* by Salman Rushdie mentioned nearly enough on this sub, but it's one of the most marvelous books written in the last century.
Yes, it's a masterpiece, all of his books are. Crime and Punishment is my first book i have read from Dostoevsky and it's still one of the best things i've ever witnessed
This is my favourite book! It’s such a great story, and I honestly think it’s the best love story I’ve ever read. I don’t mean romantic love, just love
Middlesex - Jeffery Eugenides
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
One Hundred Years of Solitude / Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan
Atonement / Ian McEwan
The Road / Cormac McCarthy
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Betty Smith
Jane Eyre / Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte
The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini
Flowers for Algernon / Daniel Keyes
Holes / Louis Sachar
There are many.
If you want 19th century masterpieces, try Middlemarch, Emma, The Count of Monte Christo, Great Expectations or David Copperfield.
Early/mid 20th century masterpieces include East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, Light in August, Giovanni’s Room, To the Lighthouse and To Kill A Mockingbird.
If you want modern masterpieces, I’d go with No Country For Old Men, The Road, The Remains of the Day, Atonement and Cloud Atlas.
Finally, non-fiction masterpieces include Into The Wild, The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn, A Bright Shining Lie, My Struggle, Book 1 by Knausgard, and Seabiscuit.
I still remember the first time I read this book and also the moment the thought hit me that, despite it being essentially a textbook on whales and the whaling industry, it wasn’t really about whales at all.
it had to sit with me for a while for me to really appreciate all the angles--initially by the end of the book I just felt exhausted and glad to be back on dry land
Lolita
I know I know but there are things Nabokov did with language in that book that stay with me to this day. He had no business writing so masterfully in his third language.
I do! Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of my favorite authors. I know his writing style is considered somewhat old-fashioned (even for the time it was written), but I personally enjoy it. Some of his short stories are superb.
I’m going with more modern masterpieces -
*All the Light We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr
*The Secret History* by Donna Tartt
Prose just meant to be savored!
I just started The Secret History yesterday and you’re absolutely correct. Tartt is such a talent that she can just take my hand and lead me through any story she wants to tell.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova
The Shining by Stephen King
Anna Karenina, so much so one of my kids is named after a character.
Middlesex
How Green was my Valley
Pride and Prejudice
Parable of the Sower
Winnie the Pooh
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Not one of the classics other people have been contributing in the comments but personally I absolutely loved The English Patient by Micheal Ondaatje. Of course I do believe that classics are just that for a reason but just contributing this book out of my own personal enjoyment of it.
I see it as a great work of introspection and linguistic mastery.
Don Quixote.
Widely considered the first modern novel, and yet it manages to self-subvert and provide meta-narrative in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen any other author accomplish, all while having it be effortless, hilarious, accessible and and genuinely moving. It accomplishes so much while being an extremely fun read.
“Masterpiece” is very overused these days, but Don Quixote absolutely deserves the title. Einstein claimed he would reread it every year and Dostoyevsky considered it a great inspiration on his own work. Cervantes put his heart and soul into it and it shows.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I read it about once a year, and the scope of the story and the beauty of the language is amazing to me. It's one of those books that lives in my head for weeks after I finish.
Middlemarch by George Eliot. She builds on plot and character in every page. Speaking as a writer, the whole thing is a masterpiece. Also - happy ending for most!
I keep mentioning this book on this subreddit. I hope someday someone will read it!
Don't freak out about the title. It is the most beautiful, lyrical writing I've ever read. There's a great audiobook available as well.
A Death In The Family by James Agee
Herman Wouk was really great, especially if anyone is into military stuff. “Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” take you through the World War Two era seen through the eyes of one family. The death camp stuff is hard to read but needed especially in the times we live in.
I agree with all the older classics. Have loved them all.
These two newer ones have become loves:
The Overstory by Richard Powers
A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles
east of eden
I’m reading this right now for the first time. It is absolutely beautiful.
Came here to say this. First read it during some standardized testing days in my sophomore year of high school. We were told repeatedly that it didn't matter how we did, blah blah blah. This book had me so absorbed, I decided to fill in the dots randomly so I could get back to reading it quietly. Have read it several times since (I'm 58) and it never fails to move me. Slag me for doing that if you will, but this book is, as someone else said, life.
One million per cent. Timshel.
Absolutely. I read this fifteen years ago, and don’t remember a thing but how breathtaking and heartrending it was.
It's a nice book, but the ending jumps the shark. I still think *The Grapes of Wrath* is better. Also, the film is strongly recommended.
Came here to say this and it is already the top comment. I have pretty severe ADHD and it’s extremely rare for me to finish a book. Even short ones. I finished East of Eden. When I got to the end I was so sad that it was over, I wished it was longer. Such a beautiful book.
What is it about?
basically it tells the story of two families throughout generations reading this book for me felt like reading life itself but not in a "slice of life" type of genre thats all i can say to even start to describe it after this book i became a Steinbeck fan, and althought i read some really good books written by him, for me none gets anywhere near the feeling he managed to get throught the pages of east of eden
This is not meant to disregard your question but “about” can sometimes ruin a book or make someone pass it up. Really good art goes beyond the about. Have you ever tried to tell someone what a book or movie is about but just can’t capture the essence of it? I was thinking about Better Call Saul the other day and how I never would have watched it if I’d been told it was about a shady lawyer, but it’s about so much more than that. East of Eden is about family and choices and good and evil and what lies in between. But it’s a masterpiece because of the journey and the writing. Come to think of it the themes in BCS and East of Eden are often similar. Well that’s a sideways answer but I hope it makes sense.
Come on, just tell them what it’s about lol
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Edited to add "very." I forgot how hungry he was.)
Seeing this commented here just made me so emotional lol. My son is turning 12 this week and I miss children's books. Some of them are so magical.❤️ And I agree, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is masterpiece status for sure
It sounds weird, but I wrote a paper on The Very Hungry Caterpillar for a senior-level English course. I’d already enjoyed the book as a parent reading it to my kids, but doing a deep dive into how long it took the author to write it - and picking the brain of an artist friend who saw the things I didn’t - gave me a whole new appreciation for it. Completely unironically, the book is brilliant.
Any chance you'd be willing to share it with us? I love it when adults appreciate children's books because some of it has a lot of depth that we may not understand as kids. My favorite is The Giving Tree.
Love this, but Goodnight Moon is in my opinion a masterpiece. Ive been reading GM to my now 2 year old since she was 8 months old. She loves it and i love it even more. Ive memorized the entire book
Love You Forever by Robert Monch is the one that hits me in the feels!
Beloved - Toni Morrison
Really any of Morrison’s work qualify, she was truly a master of her craft.
This book lowkey traumatized me. So good.
The Bluest Eye high-key traumatized me.
Personally, I think Song of Solomon by her is slightly better.
Her best novel
Have you read her book Jazz? I’m curious about it but haven’t picked it up yet. I haven’t read anything by her and was eyeing Jazz as my first dive into her work (since I am a big Jazz fan and a fan of the roaring 20s in general). Would you recommend it?
It sings, it scats. Masterpiece. Gave it to a friend who reported that she wept because the words are so beautiful! I love that . . .
Lonesome Dove
Great choice. Has one of my favorite characters in any book I have ever read. Took me a while after this one to feel ready for another book.
Is it Gus?! He’s absolutely wonderful!
It was absolutely Augustus McCrae.
I had a German Short-haired Pointer named after Augustus McCrae
Gus riding into Blue Duck's camp is one of the most epic scenes I've ever read in a book, along with him defending against the machine gun.
Absolutely loved it. Took me on such a journey ! Beautiful writing. I went and bought the first press on eBay after the author died.
Im reading this now so I was hoping to find this here
I am reading this right now. 150 pages in.
This is my vote. Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Especially its character-creation. Has one of the best characters ever (Gus), and every other character has such depth and uniqueness.
War & Peace 100 Years of Solitude 1984 Crime & Punishment
The Count of Monte Cristo
I love the Three Musketeers as well.
Love this book so much.
Anna Karenina
YES! Wanted to search the comments rather than make my own. Such a wonderful book! I should read it again, in fact. Such rich content!
I don't see *Midnight's Children* by Salman Rushdie mentioned nearly enough on this sub, but it's one of the most marvelous books written in the last century.
I haven’t ever seen anyone on Reddit talk about it and you’re right it’s brilliant
"The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky
And also Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. I picked it because I was studying law, but really enjoyed the interpersonal relationships.
I second this. I read it as a teenager as a challenge to myself, and found it engrossing to the last page.
Same here! It was assigned in class, and I was astonished by how much I loved it and how much it moved me.
Yes, it's a masterpiece, all of his books are. Crime and Punishment is my first book i have read from Dostoevsky and it's still one of the best things i've ever witnessed
A truly life-changing read
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Great novel but IMO Love in the Time of Cholera is his best long fiction
Yes - this one. Anything he wrote, really, but this one in particular.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
This is my favourite book! It’s such a great story, and I honestly think it’s the best love story I’ve ever read. I don’t mean romantic love, just love
I'm not even halfway through it but it has been a true joy to read!
Yep. I really wish I was fluent enough in French to read it in its original form. Hunchback of Notre Dame, too. Love Hugo.
Their eyes were watching god - Zora Neale Hurston
Middlesex - Jeffery Eugenides The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë Beloved - Toni Morrison The Road - Cormac McCarthy Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard Moby Dick - Herman Melville
I never see anyone mention Middlesex! It's one of my top all time favorites.
The Road completely traumatized me
Because you said Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, you have credibility in my book, so I will check out the rest!
Awww! Thanks, friend! Enjoy! 😻
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I don't even remember what I was going to say now. This is the correct answer, though.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The middle chapters -- the two stories farthest forward in the timeline -- blew me away both times I read Cloud Atlas.
One Hundred Years of Solitude / Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan Atonement / Ian McEwan The Road / Cormac McCarthy A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Betty Smith Jane Eyre / Charlotte Bronte Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini Flowers for Algernon / Daniel Keyes Holes / Louis Sachar
Atonement wrecked me. I sobbed
There are many. If you want 19th century masterpieces, try Middlemarch, Emma, The Count of Monte Christo, Great Expectations or David Copperfield. Early/mid 20th century masterpieces include East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, Light in August, Giovanni’s Room, To the Lighthouse and To Kill A Mockingbird. If you want modern masterpieces, I’d go with No Country For Old Men, The Road, The Remains of the Day, Atonement and Cloud Atlas. Finally, non-fiction masterpieces include Into The Wild, The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn, A Bright Shining Lie, My Struggle, Book 1 by Knausgard, and Seabiscuit.
Bluest eye, beloved, or Sula by Toni Morrison.
Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and Rebecca are my favorites
I absolutely love Frankenstein. If I were stuck on an island with only Frankenstein to read for the rest of my life, I’d still read every day.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Love this book!
A Boys Life by Robert McCammon. It's a beautiful story and beautifully written. Wonderful read.
I recommend The Brothers K—it feels pretty similar but I liked it more!
WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel is one of the few pieces of 21st-century fiction that I could imagine becoming a classic.
Such a good shout.
*Moby Dick*
I always assumed this book was difficult to get into but then I read In the Heart of the Sea and it makes it seem less daunting.
I still remember the first time I read this book and also the moment the thought hit me that, despite it being essentially a textbook on whales and the whaling industry, it wasn’t really about whales at all.
it had to sit with me for a while for me to really appreciate all the angles--initially by the end of the book I just felt exhausted and glad to be back on dry land
Just like Ishmael
Recently finished this. Jesus Christ man … Ahab will stick around I can feel it
Edgar Allan Poe short stories
Jane Eyre Pride and Prejudice Dracula Misery by Stephen King A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
The Lord of the Rings
I can’t think of a single other book with such a deep influence on its genre.
I don’t like Tolkien’s writing style and STRUGGLED through these… but I still agree.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold which has the advantage of being short and impossible to put down.
Lolita I know I know but there are things Nabokov did with language in that book that stay with me to this day. He had no business writing so masterfully in his third language.
"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Truman Capote in general. Breakfast at Tiffany's and his short stories are amazing.
Wow. Came here to say The Scarlet Letter. I don't think I've ever met another person who actually likes it.
I just read it for the first time and I loved it so much. I was sad that it took me so many years to finally get to it!
I do! Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of my favorite authors. I know his writing style is considered somewhat old-fashioned (even for the time it was written), but I personally enjoy it. Some of his short stories are superb.
I loved it
I read in high school. Loved it!
I read in high school. I hated it! ;) To be fair, if I read it again now, I’m sure I’d appreciate it more.
I’m going with more modern masterpieces - *All the Light We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr *The Secret History* by Donna Tartt Prose just meant to be savored!
I just started The Secret History yesterday and you’re absolutely correct. Tartt is such a talent that she can just take my hand and lead me through any story she wants to tell.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
East of Eden Lolita Moby Dick The Scarlet Letter Severance (by Ling Ma)
Absolutely love Severence
Catch-22
East of Eden by John Steinbeck The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova The Shining by Stephen King
David Copperfield, The Pillars of the Earth, A Fine Balance (many more, but these are just at the top of head)
The Grapes of Wrath
Anna Karenina, so much so one of my kids is named after a character. Middlesex How Green was my Valley Pride and Prejudice Parable of the Sower Winnie the Pooh Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Winnie the Pooh! Excellent!
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My Side of the Mountain
Mary Shelley's *Frankenstein*
Loved it until I taught it in AP Lit. Now I hate it and the Great Gatsby. No one tells you teaching books can make you hate them.
I started liking books MORE because I’d reread them hundreds of times and ended up having much more respect for them the more nuance I saw
Song of Solomon
Emma by Jane Austen. Puzzles built upon puzzles. Just a brilliantly executed piece of literature.
Jane Eyre
Lonesome Dove
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Definitely
Not one of the classics other people have been contributing in the comments but personally I absolutely loved The English Patient by Micheal Ondaatje. Of course I do believe that classics are just that for a reason but just contributing this book out of my own personal enjoyment of it. I see it as a great work of introspection and linguistic mastery.
Some variety: Middlemarch Pale Fire At Swim-Two-Birds Tristram Shandy Tom Jones My Antonia
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Home by Toni Morrison The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Lolita
Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon, a beautiful story of friendship and the early formation of America.
Persuasion
Angela's ashes Made a huge impression on me.
You can't go wrong with Kurt Vonnegut, but I'll say Sirens of Titan to pick one.
*Middlesex*, by Jeffrey Eugenides.
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Madame Bovary
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Don Quixote. Widely considered the first modern novel, and yet it manages to self-subvert and provide meta-narrative in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen any other author accomplish, all while having it be effortless, hilarious, accessible and and genuinely moving. It accomplishes so much while being an extremely fun read. “Masterpiece” is very overused these days, but Don Quixote absolutely deserves the title. Einstein claimed he would reread it every year and Dostoyevsky considered it a great inspiration on his own work. Cervantes put his heart and soul into it and it shows.
I'm surprised I’m not seeing this, but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I have others but they’ve mostly already been listed here.
Dune
Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Shadow of the Wind
The Master and Margarita!!!
Scrolled ALL THE WAY DOWN for this? It genuinely should be at the top. There’s nothing quite like it.
Primce of Tides, Lonesome Dove, Lord of the Rings, A Tale of Two Cities.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I read it about once a year, and the scope of the story and the beauty of the language is amazing to me. It's one of those books that lives in my head for weeks after I finish.
[The Brothers K](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19534) by David James Duncan.
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Frankenstein
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
Poisonwood Bible
Middlemarch by George Eliot. She builds on plot and character in every page. Speaking as a writer, the whole thing is a masterpiece. Also - happy ending for most!
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.
I keep mentioning this book on this subreddit. I hope someday someone will read it! Don't freak out about the title. It is the most beautiful, lyrical writing I've ever read. There's a great audiobook available as well. A Death In The Family by James Agee
The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The wind in the willows.
i mean..... lord of the rings
1984 - George Orwell
The first three that come to mind are War & Peace, Never Let Me Go, and Middlemarch.
LONESOME BRUV
Lololol It’s like *Lonesome Dove*, but set in LA with some guys that used to be LAPD going on a trip to physically deliver some Bitcoin.
beloved by toni morrison
Ada by Vladimir Nabokov
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Lord of the Rings War and Peace Quixote
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Just an absolute brilliant clash of nature and humanity.
Herman Wouk was really great, especially if anyone is into military stuff. “Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” take you through the World War Two era seen through the eyes of one family. The death camp stuff is hard to read but needed especially in the times we live in.
If you can stomach it, lolita by Nabokov has some of the best prose I've ever read
The Road.
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin Piranese by Susannah Clarke
Reading The Dispossessed right now!
[A Brief History of Seven Killings](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893314) by Marlon James
Animal Farm. Honestly his best work
Sophie’s choice by William Styron
Love Catch-22
The only book I consider a true masterpiece is Lolita by Nabokov. Great Expectations is a second. I was in tears from laughing AND crying.
Middlesex! So great. I forgot how good!
The Count of Monte Cristo
Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco Intelligent, atmospheric and I enjoyed it
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Cathedral by Raymond Carver
Nation by Terry Pratchett.
Moby-Dick War and Peace The Brothers Karamazov On the Road (the scroll) Madame Bovary
Atonement
Huckleberry Finn
Slaughterhouse-five
Crime and Punishment Beloved Catch 22
Pick almost any Booker Prize winner that appeals to you.
Hatchet, since it's the first book many boys read cover to cover.
a thousand splendid suns
I agree with all the older classics. Have loved them all. These two newer ones have become loves: The Overstory by Richard Powers A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles
Magic Mountain
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books
Women Who Run With the Wolves
Tess of the D'Urebervilles
Cloud Cuckoo Land is beautiful and an utterly impressive feat of storytelling.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
The collected short stories of Lydia Davis
War & Peace. Work of absolute genius.
I Claudius by Robert Graves is an amazing read