Ninety-nine Novels
Cover art Richard Willson
Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice is an essay by British writer Anthony Burgess, published by Allison & Busby in 1984. It covers a 44-year span between 1939 and 1983. Burgess was a prolific reader, in his early career reviewing more than 350 novels in just over two years for the Yorkshire Post. In the course of his career he wrote more than 30 novels.
The list represents his personal choices.
In an interview with Don Swaim,[1] Burgess reveals that the book was originally commissioned by a Nigerian publishing company, and written in two weeks.
The List
Podcast
In January 2022, the International Anthony Burgess Foundation began a podcast examining each of Burgess's Ninety-Nine Novels.[2]
Series One
1. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce (with Enrico Terrinoni)[3]
2. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (with Alison Arant)[4]
3. Giles Goat-Boy by John Barth (with David Morrell)[5]
4. Heartland by Wilson Harris (with Michael Mitchell)[6]
5. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (with Simon Malpas)[7]
6. The Bell by Iris Murdoch (with Avril Horner)[8]
7. A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul (with Will Ghosh)[9]
8. Party Going by Henry Green (with Marius Hentea)[10]
9. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (with James Walker)[11]
References
- ^ 1985 interview with Anthony Burgess Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Burgess Foundation Podcast".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Finnegans Wake by James Joyce".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Giles Goat-Boy by John Barth".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Heartland by Wilson Harris".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: The Bell by Iris Murdoch".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Party Going by Henry Green".
- ^ "Ninety-Nine Novels: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe".