
By Jessica L. Smith
For me, modernity means a new era of literature.
Every year new novels are released, new authors rise to prominence, and readers are enchanted by a new defining year of literature. The possibilities feel endless and overwhelming, like the feeling when you step into a bookshop and have no idea where to start searching.
At face value, discussions of modernity tend to overlook the art of writing and authorship with a focus instead on technology and media, making it easy to forget how the art of literature continues.
Three defining books of this modern era of literature that have struck a chord with me include Elena Ferrante’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’, Bernardine Evaristo’s ‘Girl, Woman, Other’, and Hanya Yanagihara’s ‘A Little Life’. It is quite telling of this new era of literature we find ourselves in that, although unintentionally, the novels I selected as a few of my favourites have exclusively female authors. Voices that have previously been marginalised and overlooked in literature are now being explored in greater depths. Ferrante, Evaristo, and Yanagihara are all important authors doing just that.
Ferrante’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’ is the first of four novels following the lives of female protagonists Lila and Elena growing up in a poverty-stricken area of Naples from the 1950s onwards. The novel primarily explores their friendship, which is often full of jealousy and rivalry, but Ferrante also touches upon ideas of class and gender inequalities, as well as the politics of post-World War II Italy. In some ways the novel could be labelled as a coming-of-age, yet to simply label it as this would undermine the complexities Ferrante tackles. For me, Ferrante’s honest tone was what I found striking. As readers we are able to recognise the honest adolescent experiences of the novel and take comfort in translating them to our own personal experiences. It’s therefore easy to see why ‘My Brilliant Friend’ was voted the best book of the 21st century in this year’s New York Times poll, with Ferrante giving a voice to these young, underprivileged female characters.
Another distinctive book of the 21st century is Bernadine Evaristo’s ‘Girl, Woman, Other’. Evaristo powerfully explores the black female experience in modern Great Britain through twelve interconnected female and non-binary characters. The novel not only gives a voice to those who experience marginalisation in society, but also allows for insight into their differing identities and backgrounds. Evaristo’s characters range from Amma, a black lesbian woman, to gender non-conforming Morgan who grapples with societal expectations in the search for their identity. The novel is a brilliant example of modern-day literature because it both gives a voice to these complex characters and uses innovative techniques, such as a lack of punctuation that creates the sense of being close to the interiority of the characters.
Yanagihara’s ‘A Little Life’ is one of the most intense, upsetting, and emotional books I have ever read. Spanning over 700 pages, the novel explores the friendship of four male characters, but mainly focuses on the life of emotionally and physically troubled Jude St Francis. Yanagihara gives a voice to Jude, a queer, disabled man, and uncovers his incredibly disturbing and traumatic past. Despite reading the book years ago, I still think about Jude and his story often. The Guardian described ‘A Little Life’ as a ‘modern-day classic’ and rightfully so, as Yanagihara enters uncharted waters to deliver a bold and emotionally challenging story that has a powerful, lasting impact on the reader.
I ultimately believe in the future of literature within our modern era. Whilst it’s enjoyable to read and reflect on the older classics that still grip us today, there is nothing quite like finding a modern novel that speaks to you. The books we are reading now may well endure the test of time to be deemed as classics in the future, and we can say that we discovered them first.
Image: Susan Q Yin on Unsplash