Literature is not a matter of being “advanced” or “backward,” but rather of being pioneering or conservative. Since 1945, postmodernism has been the dominant current in world literature. While this movement has thrived in Europe and North America, and found significant expression in the Middle East, India, Africa, and Latin America, contemporary Chinese literature remains somewhat disconnected from these international trends. Its mainstream is still rooted in a 19th-century-style “realism” that often bears little resemblance to true reality. Even the so-called “avant-garde” Chinese writers of the last century eventually returned to this realist mode, and few have truly mastered the techniques of modernism, let alone postmodernism.
To understand the global literary landscape, it’s essential to look at the writers shaping it. In the US, rising talents include Ben Lerner and Rachel Kushner, while established figures like Jonathan Franzen and Donna Tartt continue to influence. The UK and Ireland have emerging voices like Sally Rooney alongside veterans like Zadie Smith. Other notable international writers include France’s Michel Houellebecq, Germany’s Jenny Erpenbeck, Russia’s Maria Stepanova, and Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
The best way to engage with literature is to read the original texts themselves, not rely on summaries or reviews. Based on their innovative approaches, I highly recommend the following works from the list above:
Rachel Kushner: The Flamethrowers
Maggie Nelson: The Argonauts
Donna Tartt: The Secret History
Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad
Ali Smith: Autumn
Zadie Smith: White Teeth
Leïla Slimani: The Ogre’s Garden
Jenny Erpenbeck: The End of Days
Maria Stepanova: In Memory of Memory
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
One of the most remarkable living examples of a literary pioneer is Orhan Pamuk. Despite being in his seventies, he has continually reinvented his style. Since his third novel, The White Castle, Pamuk has consistently abandoned traditional realist techniques to create masterpieces that are bold in their style, perspective, structure, and narrative. Each work is a distinct departure from the last, a continuous act of self-subversion that challenges readers to learn how to read anew. This relentless, high-intensity stylistic innovation is a rare feat, placing him in the company of a handful of other great formal innovators in Western literary history, such as Virginia Woolf and Vladimir Nabokov. His work is a testament to the power of artistic originality.
It is worth noting that the list of recommended works features a high number of female writers. This wasn’t intentional, but it reflects a broader trend in the contemporary literary world where female authors are becoming increasingly prominent. This phenomenon raises questions about the role of the literary establishment—comprising publishers, critics, and academics—which often holds more sway over a writer’s success than the quality of the work itself. If market and cultural trends favor specific demographics, it can be particularly challenging for others, such as white male authors, to get published and achieve recognition in today’s landscape. The Chinese publishing market may be one of the last large markets to treat male writers with relative parity, but even there, trends are shifting.