The Greatest Non-Western Dark Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
5 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez 1967 Colombian Spanish
604 The Blind Owl Ṣādiq Hidāyat 1937 Iranian Persian
858 The Woman in the Dunes Kobo Abé 1962 Japanese Japanese
859 The Palm-Wine Drinkard Amos Tutola 1952 Nigerian English
991 Macunaíma Mario de Andrade 1928 Brazilian Portuguese
996 Journey by Moonlight Antal Szerb 1937 Hungarian Hungarian
1194 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Olga Tokarczuk 2009 Polish Polish
1335 Kiss of the Spider Woman Manuel Puig 1976 Argentinian Spanish
1599 On the Edge of Reason Miroslav Krleža 1938 Croatian Croatian
1622 Fortress Besieged Qian Zhongshu 1947 Chinese Chinese
1691 Cat Country Lao She 1932 Chinese Chinese
1925 The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano 1789 African English
2164 A Personal Matter Kenzaburō Ōe 1964 Japanese Japanese
2362 On the Heights of Despair Emil Cioran 1934 Romanian Romanian
2394 Satantango László Krasznahorkai 1985 Hungarian Hungarian
2580 A Cup Of Rage Raduan Nassar 1978 Brazilian Portuguese
2600 Almost Transparent Blue Ryū Murakami 1976 Japanese Japanese
2877 Palace of the Peacock Wilson Harris 1960 Guyanese English
3079 Los lanzallamas Roberto Arlt 1931 Argentinian Spanish
3323 Retreat Without Song Shahan Shahnur 1929 Armenian Armenian
3514 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
3637 Trans-Atlantyk Witold Gombrowicz 1953 Polish Polish
3637 Childe Harold Of Dysna Moyshe Kulbak 1939 Belarusian Yiddish
3829 Bacacay Witold Gombrowicz 1957 Polish Polish
3954 Îngerul A Strigat Fănuș Neagu 1968 Romanian Romanian
3954 The Life And Opinions Of Zacharias Lichter Matei Călinescu 1969 Romanian Romanian
3954 Solstițiu Tulburat Paul Georgescu 1968 Romanian Romanian
4099 Le Mauvais Sang Feu De Brousse à Trisse Coeur Tchicaya U. Tam'si 1955 Tchadian French
4302 Istorii Insolite Ovid S. Crohmălniceanu 1973 Romanian Romanian
4464 Învoiala George Bălăiță 1975 Romanian Romanian
4683 A Horse Walks Into A Bar David Grossman 2014 Israeli Hebrew
4764 Metropole Ferenc Karinthy 1970 Hungarian Hungarian
4780 Helping Verbs Of The Heart Peter Esterhazy 1985 Hungarian Hungarian
4874 Tache De Catifea Ștefan Agopian 1981 Romanian Romanian
4889 Natura Morta Josef Winkler 2001 Unknown German
4992 The Wandering Falcon Jamil Ahmed 2011 Pakistani English
5022 Hourglass Danilo Kiš 1972 Serbian Serbo-croatian
5155 Cursed Bunny Bora Chung 2021 Korean Korean
5291 Revenge Yōko Ogawa 1998 Japanese Japanese
5441 The Pendragon Legend Antal Szerb 1934 Hungarian Hungarian
5476 Zero Ignácio De Loyola Brandão 1974 Brazilian Portuguese
5484 The Painter Of Signs R. K. Narayan 1976 Indian English
5510 Dreams And Stones Magdalena Tulli 1995 Polish Polish
5958 House Of Hunger Dambudzo Marechera 1978 Zimbabwean English
6005 Marginalia On Casanova Miklós Szentkuthy 1939 Hungarian Hungarian
6350 A Wild Sheep Chase Haruki Murakami 1982 Japanese Japanese
6472 Anthills Of The Savannah Chinua Achebe 1987 Nigerian English
6951 Bones Chenjerai Hove 1988 Zimbabwean English
7134 Slow Man J. M. Coetzee 2005 South African English
7206 Animalinside László Krasznahorkai, Max Neumann 2010 Hungarian Hungarian
7616 Dirty Havana Trilogy Pedro Juan Gutierrez 1998 Cuban Spanish
7726 Stupidity Rafael Spregelburd 2007 Argentinian Spanish
8297 La Guerra De Galio Héctor Aguilar Camín 1991 Mexican Spanish
8803 World Light Halldor Laxness 1937 Icelandic Icelandic
9090 City Of Kings Rosario Castellanos 1960 Mexican Unknown
9290 Brutal Prince Sophie Lark 2020 Unknown English
9308 Ploaia De Trei Sute De Zile Gabriel Chifu 2017 Romanian Romanian
9368 Rosario Tijeras Jorge Franco 1999 Colombian Spanish
9785 Dead Collections Isaac Fellman 2022 Unknown English
11093 Yellow Street Veza Canetti 1934 Unknown German
11366 Complete Works Jorge Luis Borges Argentinian Spanish
11644 Paradise Estate Max Easton 2021 Unknown English
11663 The Furrows Namwali Serpell 2022 Unknown English
13257 公墓 Mu Shiying 1933 Chinese Chinese
13318 Records Of Orchard City Shi Tuo 1946 Chinese Chinese
13738 Song Never to End Nelson I. Wu 1959 Unknown Unknown
14976 The Complete Poetry of César Vallejo César Vallejo 1968 Peruvian Spanish
14985 Memory Piece Lisa Ko 2024 Unknown English
14985 Sandwich Catherine Newman 2024 Unknown English
14985 Bury Your Gays Chuck Tingle 2024 Unknown English
15916 Bestiario Juan José Arreola 1938 Mexican Spanish
15916 The Naked Woman Armonía Somers 1950 Uruguayan Spanish
17165 Anita De Monte Laughs Last Xóchitl González 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 American Rapture C.J. Leede 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Sacrificial Animals Kailee Pedersen 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Cold Crematorium József Debreczeni 2024 Unknown English
17165 Choice Neel Mukherjee 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Anthropologists Ayşegül Savas 2024 Unknown English
17165 Victim Andrew Boryga 2024 Unknown English
17165 Sirens Of The City Joanne Starer 2024 Unknown English
17165 An Academy For Liars Alexis Henderson 2024 Unknown English
17165 Midnight Rooms Donyae Coles 2024 Unknown English
17165 No Son Of Mine Jonathan Corcoran 2024 Unknown English
17165 Queen Of Dreams Kit Rocha 2024 Unknown English
17165 Ours Phillip B. Williams 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Glutton A. K. Blakemore 2024 Unknown English
17165 Hard By A Great Forest Leo Vardiashvili 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Wildes Louis Bayard 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Sweetness In The Skin Ishi Robinson 2024 Unknown English
17165 Familiaris David Wroblewski 2024 Unknown English
17165 Pony Confidential Christina Lynch 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Murderess Laurie Notaro 2024 Unknown English
17165 So Thirsty Rachel Harrison 2024 Unknown English
17165 Slow Burn Robert Jisung Park 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Praisesong For The Kitchen Ghosts Crystal Wilkinson 2024 Unknown English
17165 Ripcord Nate Lippens 2024 Unknown English
17165 Sugar, Baby Celine Saintclare 2024 Unknown English
17165 Mother Doll Katya Apekina 2024 Unknown English
17165 Women And Children First Alina Grabowski 2024 Unknown English
17165 Wives Like Us Plum Sykes 2024 Unknown English
17165 The Memo Rachel Dodes, Lauren Mechling 2024 Unknown English
17165 Borderland Graham Akhurst 2023 Unknown English
17165 Bright Crockery Days Robert Gray 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Safe Haven Shankari Chandran 2024 Unknown English
17165 Fury Clyo Mendoza 2024 Unknown English
17165 Piercing Ryū Murakami 1994 Japanese Japanese
17165 The Amendments Niamh Mulvey 2024 Unknown English
17165 Your Own Dark Shadow Jack Fennell 2024 Unknown English
17165 All The Good Things You Deserve Elaine Feeney 2024 Unknown English
17165 Crooked Seeds Karen Jennings 2024 Unknown English
17165 Children In Tactical Gear Peter Mishler 2024 Unknown English
17165 House Of Lilies Juliet Firnhaber-Baker 2024 Unknown Unknown
17165 Stay With Me Ayobami Adebayo 2017 Nigerian English
17165 Plastic Scott Guild 2024 Unknown English
17165 Jedenie Ivan Medeši 2018 Slovak Slovak
17165 Paradais Fernanda Melchor 2022 Mexican Spanish
17165 Tūla Jurgis Kunčinas 1993 Lithuanian Lithuanian
17165 Bronze Age Mindset Bronze Age Pervert 2018 Unknown English
17165 Masters Of Death Olivie Blake 2023 Unknown English
17165 Some Unfinished Chaos Arthur Krystal 2023 Unknown Unknown