RANKINGS AND RATINGS

I understand that the impulse to rank novels is an odd one. Oh well!

I try to strike a balance between recognizing the objective worth of the novels (via the rating) and my own response to them (via the ranking). In some cases there’s a divergence; there are great books that I could not connect with. Conversely, there’s The Sun Also Rises, a flawed novel that I love.

The novels below are those I've read since mid-2017, when I decided to start reading novels more carefully, as I'm trying to write one. Below the list is a key to the numeric ratings.

TIER 1: GLOBE-CONQUERING “HOLY SHIT” NOVELS
1) The Great Gatsby (11)
2) Crash (11)
3) Handmaids Tale (9)
4) The Sun Also Rises (10)
5) Border Districts (10.5)
6) The First Bad Man (9) 
7) The Crying of Lot 49 (10)
8) Blindness (9)
9) Austerlitz (9.5)
10) All For Nothing (9.5)

TIER 2: VERY GOOD NOVELS!
The Last of Mr. Norris
White Noise (5)
The Hobbit (10)
High Rise (10) I seem to have not reviewed this : (
The Friend (8.5)
Lord of the Flies (8)
Bright Lights, Big City (8)
I Served the King of England (8)
Day of the Locust (8)
20) Beloved (8)
Our Man in Havana (7.5)
God’s Wife (7)
My Phantoms (7.5)
The Long Take (7)

TIER 3: GOOD
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (6.5)
Junky (6)
The Old Man and the Sea (8)
Things Fall Apart (7)
The Plague (7)
Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont (7)
Dept. of Speculation (7)

TIER 4: GENERALLY SOLID, OCCASIONALLY GREAT
Warlight (6)
The Overstory (6)
The Third Hotel (6)
Manhattan Beach (6)
Slaughterhouse-Five (6)
The Baron in the Trees (5.5)
Census (6)
Underground Railroad (6)
40) Ice (6)
Artist of the Floating World (6)
The Hunters (5.5)
The Hawkline Monster (6.5)

TIER 5: INTERESTING MATERIAL, NOT MANDATORY READING
Ask the Dust (6)
Interior Chinatown (6)
The Sellout (5.5)
My Search for Warren Harding (5.5)
My Sister, The Serial Killer (5.5)
Beasts of No Nation (5)
50) On Tangled Paths (4.5)

TIER 6: CONSIDER SKIPPING IT
Lake Success (5.5)
I Pass Like Night (5.0)
The Tower Treasure (4.5)
Under The Volcano (Put it down) (5)
Housekeeping (5.5) (Put it down)
Speedboat (Put it down) (5)
A House for Mr. Biswas (Put it down) (5)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (5)
The Appointment (3)
On The Road (3)
Montpellier Parade (3)
Title starts with “S”, male author (3)
Roundhouse (3)
A Shining (3)
Possession (4)
Lightning on the Sun (2.5)
Shadowbahn (Put it down) (3.5)
A Tale for the Time Being (Put it down) (2)
House Gun (Put it down) (4)
70) Catch-22 (Put it down) (2)
Half of a Yellow Sun (4)
As I Lay Dying (2.5)
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age (2.5)
Love in the Days of Rage (Put it down) 2.5

TIER 7: THESE ARE TERRIBLE NOVELS
Homegoing (Put it down) (2)
The Freelance Pallbearers (2)
Asymmetry (Put it down) (2)
The Piano Teacher (Put it down) (2)
Less (3)
Across (Put it down) (2)
Normal People (Put it down) (2)
Visitation (Put it down) (2)
Title starts with “F”, male author (Put it down) (1)
The Ask (Put it down) (1.5)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (Put it down) (1.5)
Title starts with I (Put it down) (1)
87) Manhattan Transfer (Put it down) (0)

11 = flawless, among the best of the century
10 = exceptional, among best of the decade
9 = excellent, among the best of the year
8 = very good
7 = very good, with minor defects
6 = good, some minorish flaws
5 = good, but with considerable flaws, finishable; maybe worth reading
4 = Sporadically great but not could not finish due to boredom
3 = OK; got through the book but not much in terms of razzle-dazzle, not worth reading
2 = Subpar; a couple of interesting elements, serious problems, could not get through the book
1 = Egregiously bad
0 = Complete garbage, devoid of merit