Before the Decade Ends, Here Are the Best Novels of the 21st Century

Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner (2011)

At face value, Leaving the Atocha Station follows a young poet from Kansas, Adam Gordon, living in Spain during the 2004 terrorist bombings and suffering from imposter syndrome about his authenticity as a man and a poet. The title of Ben Lerner’s debut novel is a nod to the late John Ashbery; during the protagonist’s time spent on a prestigious poetry fellowship in Madrid, he is often carrying a copy of Ashbery’s Selected Poems.