50 forgotten novels, as nominated by 50 major writers and novelists. I'm sorry to say I haven't read very many of these, and the ones I have read I'd hardly describe as "forgotten." (A Good Man Is Hard to Find? Honestly?) Surely Nikita Lalwani wins the prize for her excellent and neglected pick, which I've talked about twice before:

Bear v. Shark (2001)

Chris Bachelder

Brattishly contemporary, post-ironic, mezzo-culture media satire full of footnotes and vignettes - you can see why Bachelder's debut could be the literati's idea of a perfectly formed personal hell. I love this book for its hyperactive genius, zippy cool, minutely observed humour, but above all its relevance. Whoever said that post-modern musing had to be vacuous and futile? This novel hits where it hurts when the time comes - its question-and-answer mayhem about our relationship to the media and infotainment leaving you with the odd, masterfully vague sensation at the end that you might just have lost something that could be everything.