2666 by Roberto Bolaño
The novel is a sprawling, ambitious work that spans continents and time periods, centering around an elusive, reclusive German author. It intertwines five different narratives: a group of European academics searching for the author, a professor in Mexico dealing with his own personal crises, a New York reporter sent to cover a boxing match in Mexico, an African-American journalist in Detroit, and the horrifying and unsolved murders of hundreds of women in a Mexican border town. The narratives are linked by themes of violence, mystery, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world.
The 69th greatest book of all time
Ranking Details:
Our ranking system awards points to books based on their appearance and position on curated lists. Here's how it works:
Unranked Lists: For lists without specific rankings, each book receives points equivalent to the list's weight. This approach recognizes the book's inclusion on prestigious lists.
Ranked Lists: Books on ranked lists receive points in two ways:
- Base Points: Initially, every book is awarded points equal to the list's weight, acknowledging its significance.
- Bonus Points: Additionally, books earn bonus points based on their ranking. The total bonus pool, equal to 100% of the list's weight, is distributed among the books, with higher-ranked books receiving more points.
Exponential Distribution: The distribution of bonus points follows an exponential model. This means the top-ranked book (#1) receives significantly more bonus points than those further down the list (e.g., #100). Our algorithm ensures that higher placements are rewarded more generously, reflecting the achievement of a top rank on any given list.
This scoring system ensures that each book's ranking reflects both its presence on multiple lists and its positions within those lists, providing a comprehensive measure of its acclaim and popularity.
Total Points: 2917
This book was first published in 2004
34 Lists
- score: 208 -- 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - 2024 (Weight: 173)
- score: 200 -- Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books - 2022 (Weight: 170)
- score: 198 -- The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present - 2024 (Weight: 190)
- score: 195 -- The 25 Masterpieces of World Literature That Will Define the 21st Century - 2025 (Weight: 160)
- score: 194 -- A Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon - 2018 (Weight: 160)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 185 -- The 21 best books of the 21st century - 2019 (Weight: 150)
- score: 160 -- The 21st Century's 12 Greatest Novels - 2015 (Weight: 160)
- score: 159 -- The 30 best fiction books of the last 30 years - 2025 (Weight: 130)
- score: 144 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 133 -- 100 Best Novels Written in Spanish in the Past 25 Years - 2007 (Weight: 110)
- score: 124 -- The Millions: The Best Fiction of the Millennium - 2009 (Weight: 110)
- 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: 93 -- TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) - 2023 (Weight: 80)
- score: 90 -- Readers Pick Their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - 2024 (Weight: 89)
- score: 83 -- The 10 Best Books Through Time - Yearly Book Award (Weight: 79)
- score: 75 -- The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time - 2023 (Weight: 71)
- score: 55 -- 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 - 2024 (Weight: 50)
- score: 50 -- Books of the Decade - 2009 (Weight: 48)
- score: 49 -- Truelit's 100 Best Books of the Quarter Century - 2024 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 - 2025 (Weight: 40)
- score: 31 -- In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels - 2011 (Weight: 30)
- score: 11 -- The Books of Our Time - 2016 (Weight: 11)
- score: 10 -- 25 Books to Read Before You Die - 2023 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- PEN Translation Prize - Yearly Book Award (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 25 Novels to Understand Our Reality from 2000 to The Present - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 21 books for the XXI century - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Potter, Pi, and Pilgrim: What any library of the aughts ought to contain (Honorable mention not from Canada) - 2010 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- National Book Critics Circle Award - Fiction - Yearly Book Award (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 21 Books From the 21st Century Every Man Should Read - 2015 (Weight: 1)