17 best books of modern prose
The modern prose genre is very close to the reader, who in the characters can recognize themselves, their loved ones and neighbors, look at many problems from the outside, deal with them, plunge into relationships and experiences of people of similar spirit. Our rating is made up of 17 diverse works in which you can find books of any genres of interest to you. The list includes both new items, recently presented to the public, and works that have become bestsellers and keep their positions in the top of the best novels of modern times.
Top best books of modern prose
| Nomination | a place | Name of product | rating |
| Top best books of modern prose | 1 | Kite wind | 4.9 |
| 2 | Butterfly | 4.9 | |
| 3 | Shantaram | 4.8 | |
| 4 | The mysterious story of Billy Milligan | 4.8 | |
| 5 | My children | 4.8 | |
| 6 | A thousand shining suns | 4.8 | |
| 7 | And the ball will return ... | 4.7 | |
| 8 | Aviator | 4.7 | |
| 9 | Stigmalion | 4.6 | |
| 10 | Fear and awe | 4.6 | |
| 11 | Draft | 4.5 | |
| 12 | Honey paradise | 4.5 | |
| 13 | Coma | 4.5 | |
| 14 | Clockwork Orange | 4.5 | |
| 15 | Zuleikha opens her eyes | 4.5 | |
| 16 | I'm going to kill tomorrow | 4.4 | |
| 17 | Olivia Kitteridge | 4.4 |
Kite wind
Book author: Khaled Hosseini
Prose rating: 4.9
Published in 2003, the novel was the debut work of Khaled Hosseini and almost immediately won the love of readers and the approval of critics. He entered the top three bestsellers in the US and the top twenty of the best millennium works. Four years later, director Marc Forster made a film version of the same name. The work sharply raises questions about friendship and betrayal, kindness and cruelty, meanness and disinterestedness.
The main characters Amir and Hassan have been friends since early childhood, despite the fact that the first is the son of a rich man, and the second is the son of a servant. Amir was a Pashtun. They represented the national majority in Afghanistan. And Hassan is a Hazara, who was treated like a second-rate man. The rich heir tried to arrange the love of his father and often was jealous of his friend to him. Once during the traditional snake launch competition, Hassan was beaten and abused by local nationalists. Amir saw all this, but did not intervene himself, and did not call anyone for help.
Years will pass, the paths of the two families will diverge, they will live on different continents, but the feeling of guilt will still torment Amir. It would seem that nothing can be fixed: Hassan and his wife died during the ethnic cleansing. But they still have a little son who really needs help. Can the main character make the child happy and atone for his fault? You will find the answer in a book that made crying and empathize millions of readers around the world.
Butterfly
Book author: Henri Sharrier
Prose rating: 4.9
The basis of the adventure novel, which took the second place in our rating, was the autobiography of Henri Sharyer, who was accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. A twenty-five year old prisoner nicknamed Moth tells of his hard life in hard labor in French Guiana. Despite the incredible difficulties and trials, Henri was able to survive in inhuman conditions, and thanks to his stubbornness and desire for freedom, he still proves his innocence and turns out to be free.
Moth from the first day prepares to escape. But he is caught.He does not give up his intention, but again and again he is returned back. But even a transfer to another prison and a solitary cell does not stop a man who comes up with new ways to escape. The reader will see the life of prisoners from within, be able to enjoy real friendship and empathize with the hero at the time of loss and disappointment.
Cinematographers literally fought for the script. 1973 gave the audience a great film with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen. In 2017, the work was filmed by director Michael Noer. The main roles in the film were performed by Charlie Hannam and Rami Malek.
Shantaram
Book author: Gregory David Roberts
Prose rating: 4.8
The novel was published in 2003. The Russian reader was able to enjoy the incredible adventures of the protagonist in 2010, when the work had already become a superb bestseller, and the number of copies sold was more than one million books. The plot is based on events from the life of the author himself - Gregory David Roberts.
Many noted some mystical events occurring after familiarization with the creation of the writer, and more specifically: after reading it contributed to the release of prisoners from prison. This was repeatedly proved by real examples. The action takes place in the 80s of the last century. The protagonist escapes from an Australian prison after nearly twenty years in prison, and fake documents are left to live in Bombay. Locals call him Shantaram, which means "peaceful man." In his life will be everything: dwelling in slums, prison, drugs, crime, cooperation with the mafia.
The author very accurately described the experiences of the hero. Roberts was able to show the inner life of Bombay through the eyes of a criminal and at the same time a vulnerable person. It is noteworthy that all the characters are fictional, and the places are real.
The mysterious story of Billy Milligan
Author of the book: Daniel Keyes
Prose rating: 4.8
The documentary novel, included in the rating, tells the story of Billy Milligan, in which there were 24 personalities. He became the first person in the USA to be acquitted due to a dissociative disorder. In the mind of Billy, there were dissimilar personalities. These were men, women and even children of different nationalities, religions, and attitudes towards life. The 10 main ones most influenced a man.
The story begins with Billy, who wakes up and realizes that he is in prison, but for what and how he got there, he does not remember. When it is reported that he was charged with rape and robbery, he is really shocked because he did not. And most importantly, he is told that he has already spent seven long years in these walls. Further questioning leads to nothing, because Billy is no longer here, he is gone. And who has captured the mind of a man, it will be interesting to learn more, plunging into the amazing and heartfelt creation of Daniel Keese.
When you read a book, you think that this is impossible. But this is a real fact, and such a patient really existed. Milligan died in December 2014, leaving a mark on the history of criminology and psychiatry.
My children
Book author: Guzel Yakhina
Prose rating: 4.8
Guzel Yakhina is recognized as the brightest debutante of modern domestic literature. Her next masterpiece proves it. The author's syllable is at the same time simple to understand and permeated with beautiful epithets and metaphors. The reader does not have difficulty memorizing foreign surnames of characters. He is completely immersed in the past, and with his own eyes he can observe the intricacies of the lives of various people.
The action of the book “My Children” takes place in the first half of the 20th century in the German settlement Gnadenthal in the Volga region. Teacher Jacob Bach, a complex and reserved person, loves literature and knows everything about it. He does not like children at all, but is obliged to teach them. One day a new student comes to his class, with whom Jacob has a lot in common.Bach writes fairy tales that mysteriously transform into reality.
The life and life of people, their tragedies and experiences, their bright original world, people who settled these lands more than a century ago, but could not accept the orders of a foreign country, are described very realistically. The plot has it all: love and hate, war and death, politics and history. If you liked the previous books of G. Yakhina, then this novel will not leave you indifferent.
A thousand shining suns
Book author: Khaled Hossein
Prose rating: 4.8
We are happy to include the second book of the American prose writer Khaled Hosseini in our rating. A week after publication, the number of copies sold reached one million. Critics and readers praised the novel, which soon became a bestseller on both sides of the ocean. As in the novel "Running for the Wind", the author raises ethical questions about friendship and betrayal, love and faith.
In the center of the plot are two heroines, so different that it would seem impossible for them to cross in this world. Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of an oligarch who has known misfortunes and humiliation from early childhood. Leila is a favorite in a big and friendly family. She has a bright future ahead, she always feels the support of her loved ones and relatives.
But the war was able to disrupt the plans of the girls, and it was at this tragic time that they meet to survive and withstand all trials. The scenes of violence and the consequences of hostilities are described very realistically. But the author, without reserve, wanted to show the truth of life, in which Muslim women had to fulfill all the whims of men, even the most disgusting and sadistic.
And the ball will return ...
Author of the book: Maria Metlitskaya
Prose rating: 4.7
The book of Maria Metlitskaya about love and disappointment, ups and downs, and most importantly - about the friendship of heroines, about their lives, which the author narrates, from childhood to quite mature age. Their youth passes in one yard. All girls are completely different, but this does not prevent them from being together. The dreams of childhood each so diverge from reality that you understand how far teenage fantasies are from real life. But no matter what, they will carry their friendship over the years. They are ready at any moment to rush to help each other, and this is their strength.
Vera is the daughter of a successful lawyer who lost her mother in childhood. She just had to be happy, but her love for the bully classmate crossed all bright prospects. Trips to prisons, childbirth were not evaluated by a criminal husband. Shura no one ever loved. Even the son can not give her a piece of heat, as he suffers from a serious illness. Her life is on the market, where she is begging along with her disabled son. Tanya and Svetik are also not easy, they will also face many challenges.
The book will appeal to readers of any age category: adolescents, their mothers and grandmothers, because the author was able to describe the experiences of each generation, which was another reason for the popularity of the novel.
Aviator
Book author: Evgeny Vodolazkin
Prose rating: 4.7
The novels of the Russian philologist and prose writer are not the first time in the ratings of the best works of our time. The incredible plot of "Aviator", immersion in different time periods, the bright main character and puzzles of the puzzle, which are combined at the end into a single whole, cause the reader to be in suspense from the first to the last page.
It's hard to imagine when you wake up once, and all your memories are erased. You cannot remember who you are and where you are from, and how difficult it is to refill a blank list with events in order to become a person again. For his identification, the hero begins to record suddenly visiting memories. Sketchy and chaotic, they confuse him even more.Because it is impossible to wake up in 1999, but to see the events of the October Revolution, study at the St. Petersburg gymnasium of the beginning of the 20th century, and much more that is not relevant to the present.
As you read, you realize that the hero was the victim of an experiment, and all of his present is precisely the past. Having overslept all the events, he awakens to understand that all his friends and relatives have long been resting in the cemetery, and he, like an aviator, is floating in his airless space called time.
Stigmalion
Book author: Christina Stark
Prose rating: 4.6
The work of Christine Stark tells about a seriously ill girl suffering from a rare skin disease. Dolores McBride will pass the way from a little girl, driven into captivity by her fears and pain, to a completely self-confident woman who is revealed to meet happiness and love. All touches to other people cause terrible and painful burns, so she never hugged mom and dad, could not leave the house without gloves, knew that in the future she could not start a family.
Dolores is like a princess, sharpened in a tower, the name of which she came up with in her early childhood. But she never ceases to hope that someday she will leave her prison and never return to Stigmillion. One day her life changes, and the girl meets Him. The story is on behalf of two heroes. The reader will be able to look at the events through the eyes of a man and a woman, which adds to the emotionality and interest of this story.
This is not just another romantic story. After reading the book, you can understand how valuable everything is, how you can live happily, despite illnesses and difficulties, and most importantly, overcome your fear and go forward to meet your future.
Fear and awe
The author of the book: Amelie Nothomb
Prose rating: 4.6
The novel selected for rating is an autobiographical story of Belgian prose writer Amelie Nothomb. According to critics, this particular work revealed the talent of the writer, thanks to which she gained fame throughout the world. In 2003, "Fear and Awe" was filmed. The film was as successful as the book.
After graduating from university, she goes to Japan, where she gets a job in a large corporation. She is not afraid of difficulties and is confident that the adaptation period will be avoided, as she was born in the Land of the Rising Sun and wants to stay in her homeland forever. But trying to follow Japanese laws and traditions, she finds herself in various unpleasant situations. Violent life lessons force the Notombes to leave Tokyo and return to Belgium, where she begins her writing career.
The author in all colors shows the coloring of a distant country and at the same time destroys the myth of a fairy tale. In a society of misogynists, discrimination flourishes, and everyone is accustomed to constant insults. Amelie had to do unacceptable dirty work for European office workers, which in Japan is considered to be in the order of things, and a woman has no right to refuse her regardless of her status.
Draft
Author of the book: Sergey Lukyanenko
Prose rating: 4.5
The novel of the Russian writer is written in several genres. It has science fiction, adventure and fantasy intertwined. It was successfully adopted by European readers and critics. Published in 2005, the work immediately found fans among fans of this direction. The main character is a young man from Moscow, who suddenly became a nobody, as if someone had struck him out of life. Friends, acquaintances and even parents do not recognize him. Another person lives in his apartment, and his passport and other documents turn into dust in his eyes.
Next, the hero awaits an incredible adventure. He becomes the border guard between the worlds, the functional belonging to the class of the elect. In every parallel there are rebels trying to destroy the system.After the destruction of the tower, Kirill becomes an ordinary person without supernormal abilities and he needs to learn how to live in reality again.
The author philosophizes on various sensitive topics and shares his opinion, which is hard to disagree with. If you are interested in parallel worlds, a fan of Tolkien, Orwell and Martin, then, we are sure, the book of Sergey Lukyanenko will like you 100%.
Honey paradise
The author of the book: Valery Bochkov
Prose rating: 4.5
Psychological thriller Valery Bochkova takes a worthy place in our ranking. The plot, starting as a normal criminal story, is gradually twisted into an exciting action that keeps the reader in suspense until the very end. And even the most attentive book lover will not be able to guess that the most notorious happy ending.
Eighteen year old girl sentenced to life imprisonment. Sophia Belkina arrives at the honey colony Honey Paradise to spend the rest of her life in a terrible place with such a delectable name. She is a former Muscovite who moved to permanent residence in the United States and killed a policeman for taking the life of her father. In turn, he simply shot in the air and threatened the local drug lord who raped his daughter. But everything is possible for the gangster, he is the master of life, so Sonya finds herself in Arizona and is waiting for the death penalty to be carried out. "Red Gertrude" - is an electric chair, which is prepared for every prisoner of this prison.
Barrels-artist (who, by the way, graduated from the art-graphic faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute) describes events so skillfully that it seems that he is painting a novel with bright colors, and not just carrying his thoughts on paper. Our experts recommend the novel for mandatory reading.
Coma
Book author: Alex Garland
Prose rating: 4.5
Alex Garland is a British novelist whose books invariably become bestsellers. He wrote such works as “The Beach” and “Tesseract”. The third book, published in 2004, also brought fame to the author, and, despite the rather cool attitude of critics, it was enthusiastically accepted by readers. At the core of the work is the usual story of an unremarkable office worker.
Going down to the subway at a later time, he interceded for a girl who nearly fell victim to four scumbags. Karl finds himself in a hospital bed. Waking up after a coma, he cannot remember anything, but only intuitively feels that he will be able to return the memory to his briefcase, which has disappeared from the scene in an unknown way.
What secrets will be revealed to the reader, and whether Karl is really a modest clerk, you will learn after reading, and the final will really surprise you. The book was illustrated by the father of the writer - the famous English cartoonist and graphist Nicholas Garland.
Clockwork Orange
Book author: Anthony Burgess
Prose rating: 4.5
Included in the rating book was recognized as a classic of modern prose. Anthony Burgess created it in the most difficult period of his life, when he was diagnosed with a fatal disease, and according to the forecasts of doctors, he could live no more than a year. As the author confessed, he tried to put the tragic events connected with his first wife on paper to permanently get rid of the memories. "A Clockwork Orange" - so once British workers called something unusual, incomprehensible, with the inability to interpret its meaning.
The narration is conducted on behalf of the main character - a teenager Alex, whose world is full of violence and cruelty, and he himself and his young friends who do not stop at nothing act as criminals. In the second part, the teenager will still be sent to a correctional institution, where he is offered to participate in the experiment in exchange for release.
After consent, he is not capable not only of violence, but he cannot simply stand up for himself. When they are released, not only the victims of the youngster will take advantage of this, but also passers-by who have seen Alex for the first time.After a suicide attempt as a result of a concussion, he becomes healthy again. But what will end this fascinating story, you will learn by reading the novel.
Zuleikha opens her eyes
Book author: Guzel Yakhina
Prose rating: 4.5
Young Russian writer Guzel Yakhina was always interested in the theme of dispossession since her grandmother survived a link to Siberia and often told her granddaughter about the difficult life of people in those difficult times. The heroes have no real prototypes. The author collected information bit by bit, as a result collective images appeared based on the memoirs of dispossessed people. Russian critics were surprised by the style and manner of writing the young author, while Tatar accused Guzel of betraying and distorting the facts.
The action begins with the events of 1930, when the main character is killed by her husband, and she and other settlers are sent to Siberia. Deaf taiga, no food, no clothes, no roof over your head - this is how a special settlement looks for new residents. The novel will tell about the difficult fate of completely different people, but who together have to fight for a place under the sun. Here you will meet Christians and Muslims, Russians and Germans, Chuvash and Tatars, uneducated peasants and metropolitan intelligentsia, criminals and depressed drunkards.
But, despite many trials and difficulties, many have not forgotten simple human feelings. The book will have everything: love, loyalty, loyalty, friendship. The author will show the other side of the medal, when many began to follow the base feelings and did not disdain anything.
I'm going to kill tomorrow
Book author: Bih Ishmael
Prose rating: 4.4
Bih Ishmael's acclaimed book, included in the ranking, allows the reader to look at the war through the eyes of a teenage boy, who at 13 had to take up arms and go kill. The author showed without embellishment all the horrors that civilians and soldiers have to experience. Very scary and at the same time true descriptions can be shocking. The writer thus wanted to show how the fate of people is broken, and some can never be the same again. But many do not lose hope and remain people to the very end.
The novel describes the events of the civil war in Sierra Leone. After the euphoria of recognizing independence from Great Britain, an awareness of their own power came, and the struggle for money and privileges began, which led to the events described. Many adolescents, quite children, are forced to stand in line and serve in the same way as adults. It is very scary to read when the horror of the first days gives way to madness. The fragile children's psyche breaks down, and the teenagers are ready to kill, and no matter whom, the main thing is, there is an order and it must be obeyed.
Very heavy work left no one indifferent. On the example of a small African country, the writer was able to show all the horrors of war, especially when children are involved in it.
Olivia Kitteridge
Author of the book: Elizabeth Straut
Prose rating: 4.4
All books by Elizabeth Straut invariably become bestsellers. For the novel "Olivia Kitterydzh" she was awarded several prestigious awards. Readers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic were fascinated by the colorful characters, great style and psychological tension that kept attention until the very end. The 13 novels that make up the novel are miraculously intertwined with each other, forming an interesting and fascinating story, in the center of which is a woman with a strong and contradictory character.
The former teacher of mathematics, and now pensioner Olivia knows all the inhabitants of her small town. In a quiet, seemingly calm Crosby, serious passions are simmering. Here are secret novels, gossip, theft, betrayal, and even murder. It’s just that the residents skillfully hide everything behind external morality.
Olivia lives with her husband and son, and although she loves them very much, she does not know how to ask for forgiveness and does not show her feelings. Despite her character, Olivia aroused sympathy and understanding among many readers.The main motive of the book is the relationship between mother and child. The author has paid a lot of attention to the problem of parents and children, so the work is interesting to all generations who, after reading it, can finally understand each other.
Attention! This rating is subjective, is not advertising and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you should consult with a specialist.
