Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 2000

House of Leaves (because I liked it but also because I finished it - there are a couple of books on this list like White Teeth that I couldn’t really get more than a few pages into).

House of Leaves (because I liked it but also because I finished it - there are a couple of books on this list like White Teeth that I couldn’t really get more than a few pages into).

(I don’t think Zadie Smith is a bad writer; she may just not be for me, or maybe I’m not fully ready for her. The only book of hers I’ve read all the way is NW. It was OK.)

'the last samurai' is perhaps my most successful book gift ever; the recipient read it twice within six months

and now i'm fucked because nothing will ever measure up but i still want to try

feast of the goat is very solid late Vargas Llosa. voted for it because no-one else will.

Joining in the votes for The Last Samurai.

Kavalier and Clay was pretty good too, Chabon's best book I think, but the middle section with the South Pole and all those dead dogs really dragged it down.

Strongly disliked The Amber Spyglass.

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The Human Stain was one of my favorite novels after reading it twice. Now falls into the realm of problematic 90s art that might be best in memory. But I still think of it often.

Voted The Last Samurai, probably my favorite book of the 21st century. When We Were Orphans drove me nuts, though it at least feels more like a real novel than The Buried Giant.

Voted The Last Samurai, probably my favorite book of the 21st century. When We Were Orphans drove me nuts, though it at least feels more like a real novel than The Buried Giant.

argh sorry about that

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Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 2001

Little surprised at only one vote for White Teeth, guess she's never been an ILX fave (I haven't read).

Same here, thought there would be more.

The Human Stain is a pretty troubling book but it has a superb closing set piece on the ice that comes to mind fairly often.

Didn't see this on the list but Popular Music from Vittula is GREAT, not so great it makes me regret my vote for Kelly Gang, but seriously, people, read this really good traditional coming-of-age novel set in Northern Sweden, it's just plain good

Love Smith but she got much better after White Teeth, On Beauty will be a serious contender for me depending on what it's up against

thankfully the other Beauty novel is from the previous year

i like white teeth a lot, probably would have voted for it if it came out in a different year than last samurai

i haven’t read anything else of hers but i once read an interview where she says that she was embarrassed by white teeth and how young and naive and reckless she was when she wrote it and how brazenly she assumes the voices of all these different perspectives and my rxn like nooo that’s what was so good about it