The Greatest Social & Cultural Fiction Books of All Time Set in California

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 '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.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
28 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck 1939 American English
225 East of Eden John Steinbeck 1952 American English
247 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 1937 American English
727 Cannery Row John Steinbeck 1945 American English
780 Tales of the City Armistead Maupin 1978 American English
801 The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston 1976 American English
949 Martin Eden Jack London 1909 American English
1057 Mc Teague Frank Norris 1899 American English
1286 Tell Me a Riddle Tillie Olsen 1961 American English
1797 The Buddha in the Attic Julie Otsuka 2011 American English
1872 If He Hollers Let Him Go Chester Himes 1945 American English
2022 There There Tommy Orange 2018 American English
2396 Ask The Dust John Fante 1939 American English
3027 What Is the What Dave Eggers 2006 American English
3479 Living Up The Street Gary Soto 1985 American English
3493 The Land Of Little Rain Mary Austin 1903 American English
3540 The Revolt Of The Cockroach People Oscar Zeta Acosta 1973 American English
3981 Tripmaster Monkey Maxine Hong Kingston 1989 American English
4285 The Bonesetter's Daughter Amy Tan 2001 American English
4429 The Dharma Bums Jack Kerouac 1958 American English
4867 Under The Feet Of Jesus Helena María Viramontes 1995 American English
5584 The Tortilla Curtain T. Coraghessan Boyle 1995 American English
5946 A Step From Heaven An Na 2001 American English
6398 I Hotel Karen Tei Yamashita 2010 American English
6630 Bright Shiny Morning James Frey 2008 American English
6745 In My Mother's House Kim Chernin 1983 American English
6761 Slow Days, Fast Company Eve Babitz 1977 American English
7342 Drown Junot Diaz 1996 American English
7483 The Spectator Bird Wallace Stegner 1976 American English
7580 Clay Walls Kim Ronyoung 1987 Korean-American English
7654 Big Sur Jack Kerouac 1962 American English
7717 Seventeen Syllables And Other Stories Hisaye Yamamoto 1988 American English
7804 The Golden Gate Vikram Seth 1986 Indian English
8333 The 57 Bus Dashka Slater 2017 American English
8696 City Of Night John Rechy 1963 American English
8906 Bone Fae Myenne Ng 1993 American English
8934 All The Little Live Things Wallace Stegner 1967 American English
9362 The House Of Broken Angels Luis Alberto Urrea 2018 American English
9559 In The Distance Hernan Díaz 2017 American English
9586 Tales Of Beatnik Glory Ed Saunders 1975 American English
11671 In America Susan Sontag 2000 American English
11671 Fortune Smiles Adam Johnson 2015 American English
12288 Fault Lines Nancy Huston 2006 French French
12571 Interior Chinatown Charles Yu 2020 American English
12656 Black Cake Charmaine Wilkerson 2022 American English
14157 Oil! Upton Sinclair 1927 American English
14371 Drop City T. Coraghessan Boyle 2003 American English
14371 Model Home Eric Puchner 2010 American English
14371 The Woman Who Owned The Shadows Paula Gunn Allen 1983 American English
14371 Mistress Of Spices Chitra Divakaruni 1997 American English
14371 Confessions Of Madame Psyche Dorothy Bryant 1986 American English
14371 Brass Charles Gilman Norris 1921 American English
14371 Red Earth And Pouring Rain Vikram Chandra 1995 Indian English