Unlock the Secrets of Gen X: 13 Books That Define a Generation Like Never Before
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In his final novel, Styron tackled one of the darkest and most painful subjects imaginable: the Holocaust. The book follows Stingo, a young aspiring writer, and his complicated relationship with a Jewish scientist, Nathan Landau, and Landau’s girlfriend, the titular Sophie, a Polish survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. The novel’s explicit sex and profanity, alongside Styron’s controversial take on the subject, led to bans and censorship in certain parts of the world, but didn’t prevent it from becoming an award-winning bestseller, whose impact, especially when coupled with the popular film adaptation, is such that the phrase Sophie’s choice has become synonymous with impossible decisions. British Conservative politician Baroness Arminka Helic is just one Gen Xer who was bowled over by the emotional power of Sophie’s Choice, which was her pick as “the book that changed my life.”
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X—which was based on 50 interviews between Malcolm X and journalist Alex Haley—was released nine months after the activist’s assassination, and proved a tremendous influence on the Black arts and civil rights movements. Critical appraisals of the book —which was framed around Malcom’s personal journey of self-discovery and made especially poignant by his death—have only grown more positive over time. In 1998, it featured in TIME‘s roundup of the 10 most influential nonfiction works of the 20th century.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X remains a vital document for anyone attempting to understand the Black American experience and the turbulent nature of those times. Jennifer Porter Gore writes at Word in Black that “as Black Gen Xers came of age amid the civil rights movement’s broken promises … they rediscovered, and embraced, the philosophy and teaching of Malcolm X, a.k.a. El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Scholars, historians, and pop-culture experts say El-Shabazz is arguably one of the most influential figures in the lives of Black Gen Xers, now known as the hip-hop generation.”
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) // Douglas Adams
Inspired by the author’s own adventures hitchhiking around Europe, this deeply funny book endures thanks to its elegant style, memorable characters, and the profound human truths that lie wrapped up in its humorous heart. Arthur Dent, the last human in the universe (possibly), embarks unwillingly on a wild ride across galaxies in the company of his best friend Ford Prefect, the two-headed fugitive ex-president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, astrophysicist Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android. Much of the fun stems from the author’s unique ability to parody everyday life in highly unusual ways. Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so. Gen Xers like Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty) have worked elements of this wonderful novel into their art.
Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) // by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut’s influence on a generation of writers is such that several works of his could have easily made this list, but Slaughterhouse-Five makes the cut due to its heavy-hitting anti-war message and captivating blending of history with science fiction elements. And, as former Science Fiction Book Club editor Andrew Wheeler put it, “it was for my generation, a book actually read by millions of Gen Xers as teens—some because it was assigned in relatively progressive schools, but most because they actually wanted to read it.”
Vonnegut uses black humor, irony, and wide-eyed imagination to convey the psychological and material horror that conflict leaves in its wake—and it’s all framed against a believable and recognizable backdrop, partly inspired by the author’s own experience as a prisoner of war in World War II. Vonnegut’s brisk, readable style, matched with his eclectic knowledge and brave unconcern for literary boundaries, remains startling, and the psychic disruption of combat depicted in this novel later resonated deeply with those suffering through the turmoil of the Vietnam War, many of whom were parents of Gen X children. Some of those Gen Xers went to war themselves: The Yellow Birds author and Iraq War veteran Kevin Powers wrote that Slaughterhouse-Five “has few if any equals in creating the kind of distance that can offer insight into the mass insanity of modern warfare … I’ve relied on it as a touchstone in my life. You can have Job. I’ll throw in my lot with Billy Pilgrim.”
Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) // Rita Mae Brown
American feminist writer Rita Mae Brown’s debut novel broke boundaries with its portrayal of Molly Bolt as she navigates her way through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood as a lesbian in a world largely hostile to the very notion of her existence. Brown’s depiction of difficult inter-family relationships is striking, but it’s the heroine, Molly, who makes this story special—an uncompromising, single-minded woman who refuses to be defined by anyone other than herself. One of the first lesbian coming-of-age books, Rubyfruit Jungle stands as more than just historically important—it’s a singular work that stuck in the minds of countless Gen X readers.
Kindred (1979) // Octavia Butler
