In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

ThisRecording.com, 100 Books

ThisRecording.com Editor Alex Carnevale selects his choices for the "100 Greatest Novels of All Time".

This list was originally published in 2011 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'The Trial' by Franz Kafka

The Trial

Cover of 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust

In Search of Lost Time

Cover of 'The Chaneysville Incident' by David Bradley

The Chaneysville Incident

Cover of 'The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas' by Gertrude Stein

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

Cover of 'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves

I, Claudius

Cover of 'Molloy' by Samuel Beckett

Molloy

Cover of 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse

Cover of 'The Sheltering Sky' by Paul Bowles

The Sheltering Sky

Cover of 'The Man Who Was Thursday' by G. K. Chesterton

The Man Who Was Thursday

G. K. Chesterton

Cover of 'Demons' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Demons

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Ulysses

Cover of 'Austerlitz' by W. G. Sebald

Austerlitz

Cover of 'Pale Fire' by Vladimir Nabokov

Pale Fire

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Woodcutters' by Thomas Bernhard

Woodcutters

Thomas Bernhard

Cover of 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' by James Baldwin

Go Tell it on the Mountain

Cover of 'Absalom, Absalom!' by William Faulkner

Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Book of the New Sun' by Gene Wolfe

The Book of the New Sun

Cover of 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' by James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Cover of 'The Horse's Mouth' by Joyce Cary

The Horse's Mouth

Cover of 'Disgrace' by J. M. Coetzee

Disgrace

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina

Cover of 'Europe Central' by William T. Vollmann

Europe Central

William T. Vollmann

Cover of 'Under the Volcano' by Malcolm Lowry

Under the Volcano

Cover of 'Light in August' by William Faulkner

Light in August

William Faulkner

Cover of 'V' by Thomas Pynchon

V

Cover of 'At Swim Two-Birds' by Flann O'Brien

At Swim Two-Birds

Cover of 'Devil in a Blue Dress' by Walter Mosley

Devil in a Blue Dress

Cover of 'The Idiot' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'Mating' by Norman Rush

Mating

Cover of 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

Beloved

Cover of 'The Stories of Anton Chekhov' by Anton Chekhov

The Stories of Anton Chekhov

Cover of 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck

East of Eden

Cover of 'The Tin Drum' by Günter Grass

The Tin Drum

Cover of 'Blood and Guts in High School' by Kathy Acker

Blood and Guts in High School

Cover of 'Hopscotch' by Julio Cortazar

Hopscotch

Cover of 'Ferdydurke' by Witold Gombrowicz

Ferdydurke

Witold Gombrowicz

Cover of 'Rainbow' by D.H. Lawrence

Rainbow

Cover of 'Women in Love' by D. H. Lawrence

Women in Love

Cover of '2666' by Roberto Bolaño

2666

Roberto Bolaño

Cover of 'The Fixer' by Bernard Malamud

The Fixer

Bernard Malamud

Cover of 'The Temple of the Golden Pavilion' by Yukio Mishima

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

Cover of 'The Book of Disquiet' by Fernando Pessoa

The Book of Disquiet

Fernando Pessoa

Cover of 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

Cover of 'Murphy' by Samuel Beckett

Murphy

Cover of 'The Dying Earth' by Jack Vance

The Dying Earth

Cover of 'Augustus' by John Williams

Augustus

Cover of 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Master and Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov

Cover of 'Wittgenstein's Mistress' by David Markson

Wittgenstein's Mistress

Cover of 'The Castle' by Franz Kafka

The Castle

Cover of 'Correction' by Thomas Bernhard

Correction

Thomas Bernhard

Cover of 'The Hour of the Star' by Clarice Lispector

The Hour of the Star

Clarice Lispector

Cover of 'Goodbye, Columbus' by Philip Roth

Goodbye, Columbus

Cover of 'The Emigrants' by W. G. Sebald

The Emigrants

Cover of 'The Ambassadors' by Henry James

The Ambassadors

Cover of 'Brideshead Revisited' by Evelyn Waugh

Brideshead Revisited

Cover of 'The Selected Works of Cesare Pavese' by Cesare Pavese

The Selected Works of Cesare Pavese

Cover of 'Moravagine' by Blaise Cendrars

Moravagine

Blaise Cendrars

Cover of 'A New Life' by Bernard Malamud

A New Life

Bernard Malamud

Cover of 'JR' by William Gaddis

JR

Cover of 'Memoirs of Hadrian' by Marguerite Yourcenar

Memoirs of Hadrian

Marguerite Yourcenar

Cover of 'The Devil to Pay in the Backlands' by Joao Guimaraes Rosa

The Devil to Pay in the Backlands

Joao Guimaraes Rosa

Cover of 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Bastard of Istanbul' by Elif Shafak

The Bastard of Istanbul

Cover of 'The Left Hand Of Darkness' by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand Of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin

Cover of 'Love Medicine' by Louise Erdrich

Love Medicine

Cover of 'Froth on the daydream' by Boris Vian

Froth on the daydream

Cover of 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie

Midnight's Children

Cover of 'A High Wind in Jamaica' by Richard Hughes

A High Wind in Jamaica

Cover of 'Amerika' by Franz Kafka

Amerika

Cover of 'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison

Song of Solomon

Cover of 'Amongst Women' by John McGahern

Amongst Women

Cover of 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' by Robert A. Heinlein

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Robert A. Heinlein

Cover of 'The Heather Blazing' by Colm Toibin

The Heather Blazing

Cover of 'An Accidental Man' by Iris Murdoch

An Accidental Man

Cover of 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' by James Agee

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Cover of 'Suttree' by Cormac McCarthy

Suttree

Cormac McCarthy

Cover of 'Cities of the Red Night' by William S. Burroughs

Cities of the Red Night

William S. Burroughs

Cover of 'Life & Times of Michael K' by J. M. Coetzee

Life & Times of Michael K

Cover of 'My Life and My Life in the Nineties' by Lyn Hejinian

My Life and My Life in the Nineties

Cover of 'The House of Mirth' by Edith Wharton

The House of Mirth

Cover of 'The Rachel Papers' by Martin Amis

The Rachel Papers

Cover of 'Wise Blood' by Flannery O'Connor

Wise Blood

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'The Ballad of the Sad Cafe' by Carson McCullers

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Carson McCullers

Cover of 'Sweet Days of Discipline' by Fleur Jaeggy

Sweet Days of Discipline

Cover of 'The Remains of the Day' by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day

Cover of 'I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem' by Maryse Condé

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

Cover of 'Our Lady of the Flowers' by Jean Genet

Our Lady of the Flowers

Cover of 'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson

Housekeeping

Marilynne Robinson

Cover of 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

Cover of 'Distant Star' by Roberto Bolaño

Distant Star

Roberto Bolaño

Cover of 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler

The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Elementary Particles' by Michel Houellebecq

The Elementary Particles

Michel Houellebecq

Cover of 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco

The Name of the Rose

Cover of 'The Waves' by Virginia Woolf

The Waves

Cover of 'Stoner' by John Williams

Stoner

Cover of 'A Violent Life' by Pier Paolo Pasolini

A Violent Life

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Cover of 'The Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey

The Daughter of Time

Cover of 'The Moon and the Bonfires' by Cesare Pavese

The Moon and the Bonfires

Cover of 'The Blind Assassin' by Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood