Which Modern Book Will Become a Classic in the Future?

[Mary Bircher]

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

This is a great answer! It doesn't get enough attention.

[Mary Bircher]

I would have said HP a couple of years ago, but not now with the controversy. Maybe something like The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

[Sonia_Gonzalez]

I would have said HP a couple of years ago, but not now with the controversy. Maybe something like The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

I think it will still become a classic. I have never read them, as I never got interested and now I just know too much about them to enjoy them, but controversies have always been around. HP has a very large following I find it hard to believe it will not become a classic.

[Ash Subra]

I believe Harry Potter series and The Hunger Game series will be the classic in the future. Both the series has the fantasy element.

[Ben Madeley]

I'm not sure it will be the same, with media and popular culture these days, I think it will take longer for these books to stop being considered part of the current scene and therefor a classic.

[Catalina Isabel]

Definitely Harry Potter series. I don't think any books can compare, but I may be a bit bias as I grew up when they all came out and was always the same age as Harry Potter and his friends. It's the reason I love reading so much

[Rob Carr]

I agree with the others who said The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the Harry Potter series, and the Life of Pi.

I think what ends up making something a classic is either it is written in a way that makes it timeless or it is ahead of its time and attracts a future generation of readers which secures its place in time. I think it's interesting many of the classics today weren't the top seller of the year they were released but have outlasted the top sellers which faded into memory.

I love reading a classic dystopia like Brave New World or 1984 and I wonder what will end up becoming the next of their class. I really enjoy the work of Jeff Vandermeer, in particular Annihilation, and hope his work will survive through time.

[T J 6]

I think The Poisonwood Bible is an outstanding book well on its way to becoming a classic.

[Hitesh_12]

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison

[Susann Heidy Castro Garnica]

When I think about classic books, I tend to think that they will be selected by a group of highly intellectual critics and that makes me sad. I'd like to think that regardless what critics think, the "Ryanverse" series by Tom Clancy, the "Shadowhunters" series by Cassandra Clare and even Anne Bishop's series "The Others" will be classic books.

[liyifan]

I think the book 'Hundred Years of Solitude' is very classic. It uses the technique of Magic realism to combine reality with fantasy. It shows a colorful and sad world, which reflects the fate and dreams of mankind.

[deathrowboy_02]

It might be difficult to predict which contemporary work will eventually become a classic because literary masterpieces frequently develop over time as their significance and impact become more obvious. I recently read about a boy named death row. After meeting another victim, Du-seok, Ji-hoo, who lost his family to Kim Shin, is trained to be a human weapon. He then enters prison on his own and uses his bare hands to slay the murderer.

[Marquesa]

“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amir Towles has all the qualities to become a classic book in the future.

[Nidhi Sinha 1]

Beloved" by Toni Morrison. I think this book beautifully explores themes of slavery, trauma, and memory. Its lyrical prose and profound examination of the human condition make it a potentially good future classic.

[litcat]

I saw a lot of good mentions of Khaled Hosseini, Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston in this thread which I completely agree. I also get the feeling every time I read Margaret Atwood that this is a "classic" (in fact, the first time I read a book of hers I thought she had lived and died decades ago and that this was indeed a classic that I was reading).

I've seen mentions of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games and while I don't dispute that these series have touched many many hearts and have been important pieces of literature in the times we live in, for some reason (perhaps the literary elitist in me), has associated classic literature with literary fiction rather than YA genre fiction. So while I understand the sentiment, these don't fit into my understanding of what future generations will look back on and perceive as groundbreaking literature of the early 21st century.