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10 Modern Masterpieces
The Autumn of the Patriarch (International Writers)The Autumn of the Patriarch (International Writers) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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The final days of a Caribbean tyrant. Long, dense, experimental, stunning.
Nights at the CircusNights at the Circus by Angela Carter
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Carter's indisputed masterpiece tells the picaresque tale of Fevvers, a winged trapese artist, and her journeys from London through to Siberia and back again.
Gravity's RainbowGravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
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Probably the greatest novel of the 20th century. Bemusing, funny, brilliant.
Journey to the End of the NightJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
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Celine's semi-autobiographical novel based around his experiences in the first world war.
Our Lady of the FlowersOur Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet
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Genet's first novel, written while still in prison, is an erotic, and dreamlike reimagining of his past.
The Atrocity ExhibitionThe Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard
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Ballards' most experimental work, fully of gross, fractured images
Red Shift (Collins Voyager)Red Shift (Collins Voyager) by Alan Garner
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Clipped and sparse in form, this is a cruel and beautiful novel
The Ticket That ExplodedThe Ticket That Exploded by William Burroughs
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Burroughs takes the novel into a completely new area. Liberating
As I Lay DyingAs I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
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Faulkner seems to be undergoing something of a renaissance - and about time too. This mixes experimental prose along with astonishing narrative power.
Midnight's ChildrenMidnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
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Rushdie's never come close to bettering this magic realist reimagining of India's rebirth