BBC评21世纪最伟大12本小说[1]
BBC文化专栏作者Jane Ciabattari向几十位书评家发出了问卷，请他们列出在他们心目中，新千年以来出版的最棒的英文小说。他们总共列出了156本小说，根据投票BBC选出了12本最优秀的小说。
1. Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)
朱诺·迪亚斯，《奥斯卡·瓦奥短暂而奇妙的一生》（2007年）
The winner in this BBC Culture critics' poll is Junot Diaz's first novel, about New Jersey ghetto-nerd Oscar, who dreams of being the Dominican-American Tolkien and finding love. It also was named as the number-one book by the most critics. "It is a big deal for me to fall in love with a book when its DNA is science fiction, fantasy and testosterone," says Elizabeth Taylor, The Chicago Tribune's literary editor-at-large. "This was only the second book by a Latino author to receive the Pulitzer Prize in fiction," notes critic and author Rigoberto Gonzalez. "Oscar Wao reaffirmed the strong connections Latinos maintain with their ancestral homeland's culture, language and history. It also re-energised these questions: Who is American? What is the American experience?" (Riverhead)
这次BBC文化栏目评选的最佳小说是朱诺·迪亚斯的处女作，该书主人公名叫奥斯卡，他是来自新泽西贫民窟的多米尼加裔美国宅男，他渴望与异性接触，并梦想着成为美国的托尔金。大多数评论员将其列为书单中的第一名。《芝加哥论坛报》的文学特约编辑伊丽莎白·泰勒评价道：“我从未想过，我会如此钟爱一本充满白日梦和男性荷尔蒙的科幻小说。”评论家、作家里戈伯特·冈萨雷斯表示：“迪亚斯是第二位荣获普利策奖的拉丁裔小说作家。”评论家、剧作家格雷格·巴里奥斯同样盛赞：“奥斯卡·瓦奥重新确认了拉丁美洲人与家乡的文化、语言和历史之间根深蒂固的联系。这也让我们重新思考：什么样的人才是美国人？美国印象到底是什么？”（Riverhead出版社）
2. Edward P Jones, The Known World (2003)
爱德华·P·琼斯，《已知的世界》（2003年）
Set in 1855 on the plantation of Henry Townsend – born a slave, now a slave-owner – The Known World is a triumph of empathy, immersing readers in a complex moral time without making simple judgments. Facing an early death, Townsend ponders the future of his 50-acre Virginia plantation and the slaves he treats the way his former owner, now his mentor, taught him. "In my reading, The Known World is the best American novel published in the 21st Century – a stunning work about humans experiencing and surviving American slavery," notes critic Walton Muyumba, author of The Shadow and the Act. C Max Magee, founder and editor of The Millions writes, "Jones's novel has an epic, complex sweep and takes an unflinching and engrossing view of America's messy history." (Amistad)
故事发生在1855年的一个种植园，主人公亨利·汤森德生为奴隶，现为奴隶主。此书是激起共情的典范之作，面对复杂的道德情感，读者感同身受，不会妄下定论。汤森德拥有弗尼吉亚州50英亩种植园和一些奴隶，他对待奴隶的方式与自己曾经的奴隶主如出一辙。面对早逝的命运，对于将来如何处置他的财产，汤森德总是诸多考量。《阴影和艺术》的作者沃尔顿·穆永巴评价说：“在我读过的书中，《已知的世界》是21世纪出版的最优秀的美国小说——关于人生阅历和美国奴隶生存的惊人之作。”电子杂志《百万》的创始人兼编辑C·马克斯·麦基写道：“《已知的世界》以史诗般的宏大视角，直面美国那段不堪回首的历史，引人入胜。”（Amistad出版社）
3. Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (2009)
希拉里·曼特尔，《狼厅》（2009年）
Mantel's boldly reimagined saga of 16th Century Europe, told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, won the Man Booker and National Book Critics Circle awards, was adapted to the stage and has been filmed as a new BBC miniseries. "The brilliance of retelling an oft-told tale is beautifully illustrated in Mantel's flawless examination of power through the rise of Thomas Cromwell," notes critic Karen R Long. Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times book editor and co-host of Well Read TV, writes: "I have never felt so completely catapulted into a character's mind, not to mention a long ago and far away place." Mantel's sequel, Bring in the Bodies, also gathered votes. (Picador)
本书从托马斯·克伦威尔的视角，大胆畅想，再现了16世纪欧洲传奇，赢得了布克奖和美国国家图书评论界奖，后来被改编成舞台剧，还被BBC改编成了迷你剧。评论家凯伦·R·朗称赞：“曼特尔用他的才华和智慧形象生动、天衣无缝地讲述了这个老生常谈的故事——托马斯·克伦威尔的权臣之路。”《西雅图时报》图书编辑和《好好读书》电视的搭档主持玛丽·安·格温也写道：“我从未如此深入一个人物的灵魂，更何况这个人物早已作古，离我很遥远。”（Picador出版社）
4. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (2004)
玛丽琳·罗宾逊 ，《吉利德》（2004年）
The Rev John Ames, a small-town Iowa minister, describes his life and anti-slavery heritage to his young son in dazzling lyrical language in this first instalment of Robinson's trilogy (along with Home and Lila)."I can't think of a living novelist who writes more seriously and profoundly about religious faith," writes critic and author Dawn Raffel, who ranked Gilead first on her list. "Robinson is both an 'ideas' writer and an exquisite prose stylist, investigating the big questions within the intimate space of family and community. She is also a supremely good storyteller." Karen R Long, former book editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer who now manages the Anisfield-Wolf book awards, adds, “This multi-generational story inculcates a desire for transcendence, and makes a case for spiritual life in the 21st Century – its own kind of miracle. Gilead will be read in 100 years.” (Picador)
这是罗宾逊三部曲中的第一部（另外两部是《回家》和《莱拉》），小说中，约翰·艾姆斯是爱荷华州一个小镇上的传教士，他用令人印象深刻的抒情语言给小儿子讲述了自己的一生以及他们这个家族为废奴运动所做的努力。评论家、作家道恩·拉斐尔将《吉利德》列为其书单中的第一名，他这样评价：“所有在世作家中，罗宾逊在宗教信仰题材的创作上最为严谨、立意最为深刻。”《克利夫兰平原商报》前图书编辑、安斯菲尔德·沃尔夫图书奖现任负责人凯伦·R·朗也盛赞：“罗宾逊不仅是一个‘有想法’的作家，同时也是一个优秀的散文家，擅于描写家庭和社区私密空间中的重大问题。她非常擅长讲故事。这个故事涉及好几代人，反复灌输一种卓然超越的信仰，为21世纪的精神生活提供了一个范本——这本身就是一个奇迹。《吉利德》将是百年不朽的著作。”（Picador出版社）