Top 5 Wednesday #25: Future Classics

Woah! It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts.

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by GingerReadsLainey and now managed by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. For more information on this meme, visit the Goodreads group.

This week’s topic:

Future classics: What books do you think with stand the test of time?

I don’t think all books that are considered a classic have withstood the test of time. Some of them have aged and do not appeal to modern readers and clash with modern sensibilities (thinking of She by H. Rider Haggard. Hate that book).

However, I do believe that classics are books that are not only a product of its time but remains relevant throughout the years and, in some cases, is also a forerunner or has sparked a change in some way. So for me, here are the books I think will be considered classics.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This was the first book to come to mind. It’s a family saga about the progeny of two half-sisters from West Africa in what is now Ghana. One sister became a slave and the other married an Englishman. The story stretches over 300 years and gives us the story of the peoples of the African diaspora.

It’s epic, yet there is a simplicity to the craft of this story so that at times it felt as if I was reading a folktale. I love it for how it’s told and how it’s written and I can’t wait to sample more of Gyasi’s work.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

There has been much debate about whether or not these middle-grade fantasy novels should be considered classics. I think they should and I will always include them in lists such as these. Not all classics are highbrow art or well written. Some are considered classics because of the changes they wrought during their time and such is the case with the Harry Potter books.

I think they are well written, but I love them more for the story than the writing. The Harry Potter books enlivened children’s book publishing and forced the world to pay more attention to such books.

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

I love this book for what it accomplished. It’s a historical fiction family saga set in Uganda about how a curse has affected a family over generations. It’s well written and the story is captivating. Though it touches on some historical events that took place in Uganda over the years 1750 to 2014, it doesn’t go into detail about them. Even so, this is a story about Uganda written for Ugandans but one that all people can read, understand, and enjoy. I consider it a classic too.

…That’s it.

I tried to think of 5 books for this post but only 3 came to mind. For now, these are the books I think will probably be considered classics in the future.

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