The Guardian's Top 100 English-Language Novels; From 'Jane Eyre' to 'Wuthering Heights'

Almost a week has passed since The Guardian website published its list of the top 100 English-language novels. Robert McCrum, a writer for The Observer - The Guardian's sister newspaper - who compiled this list, states that behind this collection of names lies a two-year effort. However, some believe that this list is not only incomplete but also overlooks female authors and many non-white writers who write in English. Of the 100 books on The Guardian's list, only 21 belong to female authors, and it notably lacks works by writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin), Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and Erica Jong (Fear of Flying). Additionally, most names on this list belong to British or American authors, with very few from other English-speaking writers. Even the renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood did not make it onto this list. McCrum explains that he is not to blame if most of the works considered significant in English literature have been written by upper-middle-class white men. In his personal list of ten favorite English books, only three notable female authors are represented: Emma (Jane Austen), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), and Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf). In the published list, women make up only one-fifth of his selected authors. Some critics argue that even if the recent claim regarding the early centuries under review (the 17th and 18th centuries) is correct, it does not hold for the late 19th century, and McCrum could have included more works by prominent contemporary female authors among the sixty or so books from those years in his list. One critic of this list wrote in a separate article in The Guardian that this oversight either means McCrum does not recognize recent female authors or can be interpreted as his belief that female writers cannot write as well as men. In defense, McCrum states that while there are criteria for identifying top works in fiction, a significant portion of people's opinions about fiction comes down to personal taste; thus, it is impossible to satisfy everyone. By clicking on each name in this top 100 list on The Guardian's website, readers are directed to a page where they can read more about the book in question and the reasons for its inclusion in the top list. According to Robert McCrum, this top 100 list and the accompanying reviews, although made him the target of various criticisms, ultimately received a warm reception from audiences, with between one to two million users reading or commenting on the relevant pages in The Guardian and The Observer. Some of the classic works mentioned in this list have been translated into Persian years ago, and Iranian audiences are familiar with them, including the novels 'Jane Eyre', 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Grapes of Wrath', and 'The Call of the Wild'. However, others, such as 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov, have always faced obstacles for publication in Iran. Salman Rushdie's brilliant 'Midnight's Children' is another book on this list that was released decades ago with a fluent translation by Mehdi Sahabi but was banned after the controversy surrounding Rushdie's next book, 'The Satanic Verses'. One characteristic of the discussed list is its chronological order, starting from the 17th century with John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress' (1678) and then referencing significant English-language fictional works in order of their publication until it concludes with Peter Carey's 'True History of the Kelly Gang' (2000). A point McCrum emphasizes is the need to understand the limitations of this list, including the three-century time frame it covers. McCrum states that selecting the top works written in the first hundred years was not particularly difficult, but it became more challenging for the subsequent two centuries; so much so that deciding on books written in the years leading up to the end of the second millennium sometimes seemed almost impossible. Perhaps this is why most of the writers who, according to literary circles, have been overlooked belong to later decades, including Kurt Vonnegut and his notable work 'Slaughterhouse-Five' or Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Foster Wallace. Furthermore, McCrum states that he was determined to select only one book from each author for his list and chose works that best showcase the artist's personal style and unique language rather than their most famous book. This decision led to, for example, 'Emma' being included in his best list instead of the more popular 'Pride and Prejudice'. Although most of the books mentioned in this list are written by British and American authors, several of the most important English-language novels written by Irish authors are also included, such as 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker, or 'Ulysses' by James Joyce. However, a group of critics believes that including only nine books from Irish authors does not do justice to Irish literature. The Irish Times recently invited experts from that country to share their opinions on this list and recall names that were overlooked. Among the 27 writers, researchers, critics, publishers, and booksellers who responded positively to this invitation, a significant number believe that McCrum overlooked important names in Irish literature - including 'The Country Girls' (by Edna O'Brien), works by Maeve Brennan, or books by Booker Prize-winning Irish author William Trevor. A few days ago, The Guardian website, shortly after publishing this list, asked its readers to add names they believe were missed on a separate page dedicated to this task. To add your favorite book to this list, simply write the author's name and the desired work on this page and briefly explain why you think this book deserves to be included in the list.