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Exclusive Books: Top 10 Bestsellers of 2000

100-Best-Sellers-Revisited-03

Remember this? Fanatics celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007. Fanatics celebrated every fanatical year of their first decade by going back in time, through the Top 10 books from each and every year.

We picked our favourites from the bestselling titles from 1998 to 2007  (We’ve extended this to include the last five years). In these lists Fanatics also included the VIBs (Very Important Books), the cult classics of books as chosen by the Exclusive Books store managers.

What you see below is a combination of books that hit the top sales charts in 2000, and books that captured the imaginations of many, and remain close to our hearts.

Click here to view the full list of top 10’s for 15 years (1998 – 2012)

10. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Spirited Eliza leaves her home in Chille in search of her lover who has set out for the Californian gold rush. What she finds instead is adversity and adventure and, through her own resourcefulness, an even more momentous journey to independence and freedom.

9. The Testament by John Grisham


Troy Phelan, a 78-year-old eccentric and the 10th richest man in America, is about to read his last will and testament, dyvvying up an estate worth &11 billion. Pehlan’s three ex-wives, their grasping offspring and a legion of lawyers wait breathlessly. However, the magnate shocks everyone with a bizarre, last-gasp attempt to redistribute the spoils.

8. Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda

Zakes Mda introduces us to clash of cultures – not, as so often in South Africa, between black and white, but between educated urban black and rural poverty-stricken black. The story Zakes Mda tells is interesting but what gives it depth and complexity is this interaction between past and present, between modern and traditional.

7. Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

John and Martha were an exceptionally ambitious and driven all-American couple. With six Harvard degrees between them, and living in the refined and competitive atmosphere of the Harvard campus, the last thing they expected was to become parents to a Down’s Syndrome baby.

6. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver


The Poisonwood Bible tells the story of an American family in the Congo during a time of political and social upheaval. This tale of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa is set against one of history’s most dramatic political parables.

5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A Brazilian boy, Santiago, travels to Spain after dreaming about treasures. He meets an alchemist who teaches him the true nature of the treasure. A perennial classic for soul searchers.

4. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

The twenty-fourth Discworld novel – featuring dwarfs, diplomacy, intrigue and big lumps of fat. Sam Vimes is a man on the run. Yesterday he was a duke, a chief of police and the ambassador to the mysterious, fat-rich country of Uberwald. Now he has nothing but his native wit and the gloomy trousers of Uncle Vanya (don’t ask).

3. Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have decided to create the best catering company in Dublin. They have the perfect premises, heaps of talent, and even a few contacts – but not everyone seems as pleased by the idea of Scarlet Feather as they are. Cathy and Tom strive to maintain their emotional ties amidst catering triumphs and disasters, supported by an enchanting cast of classic Binchy characters.

2. Chocolat by Joanne Harris

When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the french village of Lanquenent and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Renaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock – especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. Rich, clever and mischievous, this is a triumphant read.

1. Monsoon by Wilbur Smith

Monsoon,  set in the dawn of the 18th century in England, East Africa and Arabia follows the lives of the three sons of Hal Courteney. It tells us much about the East India trade, channel smuggling, the Arab slave trade and the struggle to keep Oman free from the Ottoman Empire.

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