A Journey Through Literary Excellence: Ranking the Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction

The Pulitzer Prizes, first awarded in 1917 through the will of Joseph Pulitzer, are some of the most prestigious awards in American journalism and the arts. These annual awards celebrate outstanding achievements across various categories.

One of the awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel)* holds a special place in the literary world. First awarded in 1918, this prize recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. Over the years, it has become a beacon for readers seeking exceptional storytelling and literary craftsmanship.

From Ernest Poole’s “His Family” in 1918 to the most recent winner, “Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips, the award showcases great American literature. Notable recipients include Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Toni Morrison, among many others. Interestingly, the prize is not awarded in some years when the jury feels no book meets the standard of excellence.

Earlier this year, I decided to read each of the winners. At that time, I had read eight of the winners. Why did I decide to read the remaining books? Because these books offer more than mere entertainment. They speak to American society, culture, and history, and they do so over numerous decades. They challenge readers with complex themes, innovative writing techniques, and deep insights into the human condition. Reading these works can broaden one’s perspective, enhance empathy, and deepen understanding of the diverse American experience. For example, I appreciation of American life surrounding the Civil War and the Vietnam War has changed immensely. Similarly, I have a heightened appreciation for the lives of Americans with life experiences, which differ from mine.

Moreover, considering these novels chronologically offers a glimpse into the evolutions of both American literature and society over the past century-plus. From Antebellum to the Digital Era, these books collectively paint a vivid picture of America’s cultural journey.

As an avid reader who recently finished reading each of the ninety-eight Pulitzer Prize winners for Fiction, I have developed an appreciation for this literary legacy. My journey through these works has been challenging and rewarding. It has allowed me to trace the threads of American storytelling through the decades, experiencing the power of these celebrated works.

In an effort to share my experience and possibly guide others in their reading choices, I decided to rank these works. If you read five to ten books from this list, I think you will be pleased. That said, there are some books I will discourage you from reading. My ranking is, of course, subjective, based on my preferences and the impact each book had on me.

Ranking ninety-eight members of any can be challenging. I made the task more management by organizing the books into several groups:

1.     Top-notch books that I wholeheartedly recommend and look forward to reading again

2.     Great books that narrowly missed the top-notch category

3.     Good books that I enjoyed but might not revisit

4.     Books that I will discourage others from reading

5.     Books that require a re-read for fair assessment**

Without further ado, here is the list.

Top-Notch Books

1 1961 Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird

2 1945 John Hersey A Bell for Adano

3 2015 Anthony Doerr All the Light We Cannot See

4 2014 Donna Tartt The Goldfinch

5 1967 Bernard Malamud The Fixer

6 1980 Norman Mailer The Executioner’s Song

7 2001 Michael Chabon The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

8 2016 Viet Thanh Nguyen The Sympathizer

9 1982 John Updike Rabbit Is Rich

10 1981 John Kennedy Toole A Confederacy of Dunces

11 2002 Richard Russo Empire Falls

12 1986 Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove

13 1937 Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind

14 2003 Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex

15 2013 Adam Johnson The Orphan Master’s Son

16 2023 Barbara Kingsolver Demon Copperhead

17 1919 Booth Tarkington The Magnificent Ambersons

18 1960 Allen Drury Advise and Consent

19 1944 Martin Flavin Journey in the Dark

20 1952 Herman Wouk The Caine Mutiny

21 1932 Pearl S. Buck The Good Earth

22 1983 Alice Walker The Color Purple

23 2008 Junot Díaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

24 1997 Steven Millhauser Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer

25 1998 Philip Roth American Pastoral

26 2022 Joshua Cohen The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family

27 2020 Colson Whitehead The Nickel Boys

28 2023 Hernan Diaz Trust

29 1962 Edwin O’Connor The Edge of Sadness

30 1993 Robert Olen Butler A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

31 1987 Peter Taylor A Summons to Memphis

Great Books Falling Short of Top-Notch

32 1972 Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose

33 1927 Louis Bromfield Early Autumn

34 1922 Booth Tarkington Alice Adams

35 2019 Richard Powers The Overstory

36 1926 Sinclair Lewis Arrowsmith

37 1938 John Phillips Marquand The Late George Apley

38 1930 Oliver La Farge Laughing Boy

39 1996 Richard Ford Independence Day

40 1991 John Updike Rabbit At Rest

41 1953 Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea

42 1940 John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath

43 1948 James A. Michener Tales of the South Pacific

44 1968 William Styron The Confessions of Nat Turner

45 1933 T. S. Stribling The Store

46 1928 Thornton Wilder The Bridge of San Luis Rey

47 1931 Margaret Ayer Barnes Years of Grace

48 1918 Ernest Poole His Family

49 1921 Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence

50 1975 Michael Shaara The Killer Angels

51 1963 William Faulkner The Reivers

Good Books, Deserving of the Pulitzer Prize but Not Warranting a Second Read

52 1936 Harold L. Davis Honey in the Horn

53 1959 Robert Lewis Taylor The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters

54 2024 Jayne Anne Phillips Night Watch

55 2011 Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad

56 1924 Margaret Wilson The Able McLaughlins

57 1923 Willa Cather One of Ours

58 1929 Julia Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary

59 1990 Oscar Hijuelos The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

60 1939 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings The Yearling

61 1958 James Agee A Death in the Family

62 1965 Shirley Ann Grau The Keepers of the House

63 1989 Anne Tyler Breathing Lessons

64 1955 William Faulkner A Fable

65 2018 Andrew Sean Greer Less

66 2000 Jhumpa Lahiri Interpreter of Maladies

67 2017 Colson Whitehead The Underground Railroad

68 1995 Carol Shields The Stone Diaries

69 1925 Edna Ferber So Big

70 1943 Upton Sinclair Dragon’s Teeth

71 1970 Jean Stafford Collected Stories

72 1947 Robert Penn Warren All the King’s Men

73 1979 John Cheever The Stories of John Cheever

74 1966 Katherine Anne Porter Collected Stories

75 1992 Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres

76 1973 Eudora Welty The Optimist’s Daughter

77 1978 James Alan McPherson Elbow Room

78 2007 Cormac McCarthy The Road

I Did Not Care for the Following Books

79 1988 Toni Morrison Beloved**

80 1984 William Kennedy Ironweed

81 1950 A. B. Guthrie The Way West

82 1935 Josephine Winslow Johnson Now in November

83 1951 Conrad Richter The Town

84 2005 Marilynne Robinson Gilead

85 2009 Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge

86 2006 Geraldine Brooks March

87 1934 Caroline Miller Lamb in His Bosom

Books Deserving a Second Chance

88 2010 Paul Harding Tinkers

89 1994 E. Annie Proulx The Shipping News

90 2021 Louise Erdrich The Night Watchman

91 2004 Edward P. Jones The Known World

92 1985 Alison Lurie Foreign Affairs

93 1976 Saul Bellow Humboldt’s Gift

94 1999 Michael Cunningham The Hours

95 1969 N. Scott Momaday House Made of Dawn

96 1942 Ellen Glasgow In This Our Life

97 1949 James Gould Cozzens Guard of Honor

98 1956 MacKinlay Kantor Andersonville

I wish to elaborate on the final category of books. For various reasons, some of the books did not receive my full attention. For example, I enjoy listening to audio books at 2x-3x the recorded speed. It works for me. I find myself distracted listening to books at 1x. As a result, Audible and Libby work well for me. Books on compact discs that I listen to in the car do not work as well. I listened to House Made of Dawn this way. The combination of the author’s rich prose and the slow narration made it challenging for me to focus. By way of another example, I wanted to finish Guard of Honor before visiting France. I had a few days to read the book, which is nearly 700 pages long. I skimmed this book and did not give it the attention it deserves.

In subsequent posts, I will offer further insight into the books and trends that I observed. For example, the more recent books (i.e., year 2000 forward) were almost all fantastic reads that I could not put down. The first twenty-five books—which consisted of several top-notch books—included several less interesting books. This divide could be a result of changing preferences and the fact that I have grown up with the more recent books. My hunch, however, is that the consistent high-quality of the recent winners is a result of greater competition. Moreover, there is probably greater literary analysis and availability for writers to push themselves to greater heights.

I hope my rankings provide a useful guide or spark interesting discussions. I look forward to sharing this post and my list with my friends in two books clubs soon.

Stay tuned for future posts regarding these books.

* The Pulitzer Prize for Novel was renamed to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948. This change was made to broaden the scope of eligible works beyond just novels, allowing for the inclusion of short story collections and other forms of fiction. The shift reflected a growing recognition of diverse storytelling formats in American literature. That year, the winner was Tales of the South Pacific, which consists of several short stories about WWII in the South Pacific.

** Regarding “Beloved” by Toni Morrison: Beloved is one of seven/eight of the winners, which I read prior to this year. Specifically, I read “Beloved” during my last summer in college. My ranking reflects my reactions to the book when I first read approximately fifteen years ago. I found the book challenging and it did not resonate with me at that time. However, I acknowledge that Beloved is widely regarded as a masterpiece of American literature, and my initial reaction may not do justice to its profound cultural and literary significance. I am open to revisiting this work in the future, recognizing that my perspective and understanding may have evolved since that earlier reading. Perhaps I have miscategorized Beloved, and should move it to the category of books deserving a second chance.