Best Australian books of the 21st century – Part 3
The literary world has been buzzing with conversations about The New York Times’ recently announced 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. As fierce advocates for Australian literature we were disappointed not to see any of our own remarkable writers on the list . . . and as fierce advocates for Australian literature we’ve decided to do something about it.
We reached out to members of the Australian literary community, from writers to publishers and our own passionate booksellers, asking them to nominate their favourite Australian books, published since 2000. The result is this list of the 30 best Australian books of the 21st century. We hope it will encourage you to pick up a local book that you haven't read yet, or to shout out your own favourite – we're excited to see the community's response to these rankings!
From over 600 votes, here are the titles that made it to the top of the list. Keep an eye on our website and social media over the next couple of days as we count down to number one.
– Joe Rubbo
Don't forget to see the books that make up numbers 11-20 and 21-30 on the list!
#10
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
This fierce debut from award-winning writer Evelyn Araluen confronts the tropes and iconography of an unreconciled nation with biting satire and lyrical fury. This innovative mix of poetry and essay offers an eloquent witness to the entangled present, an uncompromising provocation of history, and an embattled but redemptive hope for a decolonial future.
#9
The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper
The Tall Man is the story of Palm Island, the tropical paradise where one morning Cameron Doomadgee swore at a policeman and forty minutes later lay dead in a watch-house cell.
It is the story of that policeman, the tall, enigmatic Christopher Hurley, who chose to work in some of the toughest and wildest places in Australia, and of the struggle to bring him to trial.
Above all, it is a story in luminous detail of two worlds clashing – and a haunting moral puzzle that no reader will forget.
#8
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
A novel about the relationship between life and art, and between language and the inner world – how difficult it is to speak truly, to know and be known by another, and how much power and friction lies in the unsaid.
Cold Enough for Snow is a reckoning and an elegy: with extraordinary skill, Au creates an enveloping atmosphere that expresses both the tenderness between mother and daughter, and the distance between them.
#7
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
After a childhood of poverty and petty crime in the slums of London, William Thornhill is transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. With his wife Sal and children in tow, he arrives in a harsh land that feels at first like a death sentence. But among the convicts there is a whisper that freedom can be bought, an opportunity to start afresh. As Thornhill stakes his claim on a patch of ground by the Hawkesbury River, the battle lines between the old and new inhabitants are drawn.
'In this elegant and profound novel, Grenville lays bare the complexities and contradictions of colonization.'
– Mark Rubbo, Readings Chairman
#6
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
This savagely beautiful novel is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth.
August, 1943. In the despair of a POW camp on the Thai-Burma death railway, Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans struggles to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings. Through it all, he's haunted by his old love affair with his uncle's young wife.
'The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a deeply personal, moving and harrowing account of a time in history that we should never forget. Written by a masterful storyteller.'
– Kate Hoy, publisher
#5
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott
In the heat of a long summer Ned hunts rabbits in a river valley, hoping the pelts will earn him enough money to buy a small boat.
His two brothers are away at war, his father and older sister struggle to hold things together on the family orchard, Limberlost. Desperate to ignore it all – to avoid the future rushing towards him – Ned dreams of open water.
'Limberlost for me is a near-perfect book. It's a realist story of a boy growing up the hard way in rural Australia but it also resonates with an almost mystical observation of and connection to nature, and there are many finely nuanced and subtly revealing scenes. And the structure is so clever. The end took my breath away.'
– Jane Sullivan, author
#4
Breath by Tim Winton
When paramedic Bruce Pike is called out to deal with another teenage adventure gone wrong, he knows better than his colleague, better than the kid’s parents, what happened and how. Thirty years before, that dead boy could have been him.
'Breath is my favourite Winton novel and the perfect distillation of everything he does well – coming of age, surfing, relationships and really sharp, beautiful writing. I found this novel immensely satisfying and have read it a number of times since it was published.'
– Joe Rubbo, Readings Managing Director
#3
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
In northern Iceland, 1829, authorities condemn Agnes Magnusdottir to death for her part in the brutal murder of two men.
Based on a true story, Burial Rites is a profoundly moving novel about the ultimate price of freedom and the risks we take for love.
'Burial Rites is so incredibly evocative of a place, a landscape and a time. One can visualise the cramped interiors as much as the wild weather and countryside. A totally compelling and very haunting story that stays with you. Beautiful writing, a very accomplished piece that you get lost in as a reader.'
– Kirstie Armiger-Grant, publicist
#2
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It is 1939, Nazi Germany. By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.
This is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
'The Book Thief is a wonderful book with such a haunting narrative. It's one that's stayed with me some twenty years since its publication.'
– Julia Jackson, bookseller
'This is a near perfect novel, that captures the heart of the characters against the horrific backdrop of war, showing us the best of humanity – and written in absolutely beautiful prose.'
– Kylie, publisher
#1
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century. What unfolds is a powerful, haunting novel about love, sex and marriage, parenting and children, and the fury and intensity – all the passions and conflicting beliefs – that family can arouse.
'The Slap is a portrait of Melbourne life that remains unique in its honesty and pathos.'
– Chris Gordon, bookseller
