Literary Mastery

There is no pleasing everyone with respect to the breadth (both culturally and historically) of great literature. I accept, however, my cultural and linguistic limitations. And to be frank about the “Classics”: I don’t like reading them. The following is an entirely subjective and idiosyncratic list of books that I think show marvelous moral clarity, beautiful use of language, and accessibility to those with a modern ear. In general, I’m a very big fan of the post-apocalyptic, and always welcome recommendations in the genre.