The Golden Notebook by Doris May Lessing
The novel centers around a woman named Anna Wulf, a writer who keeps four notebooks, each representing a different aspect of her life: her experiences in Africa, her current life in London, a novel she is writing, and her personal experiences. As Anna's mental state deteriorates, she attempts to unify her fragmented self in a fifth notebook, the golden notebook. The novel explores themes of mental breakdown, communism, the changing role of women, and the fear of nuclear war.
The 61st greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 3057
This book was first published in 1962
46 Lists
- score: 190 -- The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present - 2024 (Weight: 190)
- score: 190 -- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities - 2020 (Weight: 190)
- score: 180 -- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers - 2024 (Weight: 170)
- score: 177 -- The 100 Greatest British Novels - 2015 (Weight: 160)
- score: 172 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 168 -- Top 100 Works in World Literature - 2002 (Weight: 200)
- score: 167 -- The 50 best books of the past 100 years - 2022 (Weight: 167)
- score: 166 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English - 2026 (Weight: 160)
- score: 154 -- Zeit Literaturkanon - 2012 (Weight: 146)
- score: 150 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 144 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 141 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 126 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 160)
- score: 121 -- The 100 Stories that Shaped the World - 2019 (Weight: 120)
- score: 119 -- Books Of The Century - 1999 (Weight: 150)
- score: 116 -- 100 Books, 100 Companions - 2023 (Weight: 110)
- score: 101 -- The 100 Novels That Have Most Enthralled "Le Monde" Since 1944 - 2019 (Weight: 96)
- score: 98 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 100)
- score: 76 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 89)
- score: 75 -- 40 Most Important Books, 1927-2001 - 2001 (Weight: 86)
- score: 45 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 60)
- score: 42 -- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 - 2025 (Weight: 40)
- score: 27 -- 50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 27 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 16 -- 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors - 2021 (Weight: 16)
- score: 15 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 16)
- score: 10 -- Nancy Pearl's 100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade - 2009 (Weight: 10)
- score: 9 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 10)
- score: 5 -- Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 - 1984 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 40 Essential Feminist Books to Read for Women's History Month - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- #ThisBook - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Most Influential Books by Women - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 87 Books Written by Women That Are So Good, You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 - 2011 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Edmonton's Top 100 - 1998 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century - 2000 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 75 Books by Women Whose Words Have Changed the World - 1992 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 75 Books Every Woman Should Read - 2008 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 501 Must-Read Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Great 20th Century English-language Works of Fiction by Women - 1998 (Weight: 1)