The definitive angsty teenage read, The Catcher in the Rye is unmissable. Although written in the 50's, Salinger's stream-of-consciousness novel perfectly captures the confusion of adolescence right up to the present day. Agonisingly alienated, protagonist Holden Caulfield is beautifully and realistically portrayed, making The Catcher in the Rye as moving as it is memorable.9. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD- HARPER LEE
Another incredible work of American fiction, Lee's groundbreaking book has become essential GCSE reading everywhere. However, outside the stilted work of academia, To Kill a Mockingbird is an incredible book, both humorous and heartbreaking. Focusing on the small-town Deep South, To Kill a Mockingbird is brilliantly told through the eyes of six-year old Scout, giving a poignantly innocent slant on racism and prejudice in a rape case overseen by her lawyer father.
Perhaps one of the greatest children's authors, Roald Dahl's books are unremittingly hilarious, imaginative and brilliant. Although his entire catalogue is essential reading, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is my personal favourite. Eccentric, magical, and perfectly illustrated with the scrawling drawings of Quentin Blake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the story of penniless boy Charlie Bucket, who wins the opportunity to visit the mysterious and fantastical confectionary factory of Willy Wonka. Expect madness and hilarity in this enduring modern classic.
7. ENDURING LOVE- IAN MCEWAN
6. HARRY POTTER SERIES- J.K.ROWLING
It may be something of a cliched choice, but Harry Potter has revolutionised modern reading. Never has a book been so heavily anticipated, or had crowds queuing up for the next installment, and for good cause. In what was originally intended to be a children's book about a boy who finds out he is a wizard, Rowling's books develop into increasingly well-written adult novels across the series, spanning a truly incredibly developed magical world. Absorbing escapist fiction, the Harry Potter books are both dark and scary, and warm and funny in varying shades, striking a perfect balance.
A beautiful yet devastating nostalgic portrayal of the nineteenth-century US Deep South, Gone with the Wind is epic historical romance at its very best. Based during and following the American Civil War, Mitchell's only novel focuses on the destruction of the idyllic old money plantation families as a result of war. Featuring one of the most famous, temptuous love stories in literature, Gone with the Wind follows headstrong heroine Scarlett O'Hara through the struggles of rebuilding a life when the charming values and wealth of the Deep South is lost.
4. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Although there's a lot of debate as to whether or not Shakespeare is 'overrated,' I've always strongly disagreed, and firmly believe that his complete works deserves its place in my top ten. A rich catalogue of plays and poems, Shakespeare's complete works is an incredibly complex and extraordinarily well-written collection, extending beyond the thematic and literary achievements of almost any writer I've encountered. Although many of Shakespeare's works are remoulded versions of pre-existing stories, his interpretations are intensely thoughtful, displaying the entire spectrum of human thought and emotion in glaring, unimaginable detail. Particularly noteworthy are his tragedy plays, with works such as Othello, Romeo and Juliet and King Lear being some of his most devastating and revealing works.
3. EAST OF EDEN- JOHN STEINBECK
Another truly wonderfully penned book, East of Eden is a novel which contains prose so sensory, intelligent and poetic it barely needs its equally great plot to keep it readable. Focusing on the lives of two families living in the Salinas Valley in California, perhaps the reason why East of Eden ranks so highly in my books is that it contains a character who, in my opinion, is the most incredibly portrayed in American fiction. Cathy Ames, a fascinating and deeply, almost unmitigatingly, evil woman is plotted from childhood to middle age, developing almost monstrously from twisted child to a sexually sadistic seductress and murderess. She is so intently and realistically portrayed, Steinbeck's fantastic creation is what makes this book the masterpiece it remains.
An incredibly moving work, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the story of three generations of a family from the Dominican Republic. Opening with the novel's title character, an overweight, science fiction obsessed geek living in New Jersey and obsessed with finding love, this epic book moves on to his rebellious sister, the Dominican upbringing and gangster love affair of his mother, and the fate of his grandfather under tyrannical dictator Trujillo. Culturally rich and endlessly exciting, the novel is charmingly punctuated with rambling footnotes and Spanish dialogue, making it a novel reading experience. Although not well known, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a genuinely breathtaking book.
1. WUTHERING HEIGHTS- EMILY BRONTE
Perhaps my inclusion of this book is slightly bias considering it's the major topic of my dissertation and thus more or less consuming my life at the minute. However, irrespective of my own favour, Emily Bronte's soaring Gothic novel is a defining work of Victorian fiction. Divided into two sections broadly focusing on two generations of two interlinked families, it is perhaps most famous for the tempestuous affair between doomed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. Wuthering Heights is a brutal and tumultuous novel, exploring class and marriage in the nineteenth century. Passionate and unforgiving in its treatment of love and death, it is one of the great dramatic reads.
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