The Greatest History and Magical Realism Books of All Time

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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
41 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie 1981 British, Indian English
77 Orlando Virginia Woolf 1928 British English
107 The Tin Drum Günter Grass 1959 German German
304 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami 1994 Japanese Japanese
1046 The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis José Saramago 1984 Portuguese Portuguese
1238 The Discovery of Heaven Harry Mulisch 1992 Dutch Dutch
1381 Mumbo Jumbo Ishmael Reed 1972 American English
1988 The Clay Machine-gun Victor Pelevin 1996 Russian Russian
2122 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer 2002 American English
2435 The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie 1995 British English
2766 World's End T. C. Boyle 1987 American English
3374 Ancestral Voices Etienne van Heerden 1986 South African Afrikaans
3937 La Saga/ Fuga de J. B./ The Saga/ Escape of J.B. Gonzalo Torrente Ballester 1972 Spanish Spanish
3945 Indigo Marina Warner 1992 British English
4112 All Souls' Day Cees Nooteboom 1998 Dutch Dutch
4591 The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Louise Erdrich 2001 American English
5440 Aegypt John Crowley 1987 American English
5653 Against the Day Thomas Pynchon 2006 American English
6454 Terra Nostra Carlos Fuentes 1975 Mexican Spanish
6457 A General Theory Of Oblivion José Eduardo Agualusa 2012 Angolan Portuguese
6920 A Tale For The Time Being Ruth Ozeki 2013 American English
6970 La Tejedora De Coronas Germán Espinosa 1982 Colombian Spanish
7541 The Sixty Five Years Of Washington Juan José Saer 1983 Argentine Spanish
7702 El vuelo de la reina Tomás Eloy Martínez 1986 Argentinian Spanish
7746 North Woods Daniel Mason 2023 American English
7971 El Jinete Polaco Antonio Muñoz Molina 1991 Spanish Spanish
7998 La Visita En El Tiempo Arturo Uslar Pietri 1990 Venezuelan Spanish
8062 Sudden Death Alvaro Enrigue 2013 Mexican Spanish
8077 Santo Oficio De La Memoria Mempo Giardinelli 1991 Argentinian Spanish
8268 Vigilia Del Almirante Augusto Roa Bastos 1992 Paraguayan Spanish
8344 You Dreamed Of Empires Alvaro Enrigue 2024 Unknown English
9500 The Enchantress of Florence Salman Rushdie 2008 British English
9623 Real Americans Rachel Khong 2024 American Unknown
9700 Ours Phillip B. Williams 2024 Unknown English
9726 The Familiar Leigh Bardugo 2024 Unknown English
10108 A Love Song For Ricki Wilde Tia Williams 2024 Unknown English
11278 Lovecraft Country Matt Ruff 2016 American English
11989 Latitudes Of Longing Shubhangi Swarup 2018 Indian English
12509 The Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko 1991 American English
12795 The Uncertain Places Lisa Goldstein 2011 American English
12795 Ka John Crowley 2017 American English
12761 The Antelope Wife Louise Erdrich 1998 American English
13110 The Chymical Wedding Lindsay Clarke 1989 British English
14371 Thursbitch Alan Garner 2003 British English
14371 Natural History Joan Perucho 1960 Spanish Catalan
14371 A Change Of Skin Carlos Fuentes 1967 Mexican Spanish
14371 The Guyana Quartet Wilson Harris 1960 British English
14371 Love And Sleep John Crowley 1994 American English