The Greatest Books of All Time on Literature

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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.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
17 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
23 The Stranger Albert Camus 1942 French French
89 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
159 The Good Soldier Švejk Jaroslav Hašek 1921 Czech Czech
395 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Gertrude Stein 1933 American English
665 The Family Moskat Isaac Bashevis Singer 1950 Polish Yiddish
1969 Poppy And Memory Paul Celan 1950 German German
2231 Mafalda Quino 1978 Argentinian Spanish
2474 Essays And Criticism William Hazlitt 1823 British English
2716 The Great War and Modern Memory Paul Fussell 1975 American English
2745 Erec And Enide Chrétien de Troyes 1160 French Old french
2751 Out Of Africa Karen Blixen 1937 Danish Danish
2747 Poor Henry Hartmann von Aue 1190 German Middle high german
2751 Fabian Erich Kästner 1931 German German
2769 Unkempt Thoughts Stanislaw Jerzy Lec 1950 Polish Polish
2776 Helmbrecht Wernher der Gartenaere 1250 German Middle high german
2781 The Legend Of Thyl Ulenspiegel And Lamme Goedzak Charles de Coster 1867 Belgian French
2780 Mist Miguel de Unamuno 1914 Spanish English
2787 A Cultural History Of The Modern Age Egon Friedell 1927 Austrian English
2784 Märchenalmanach Auf Das Jahr 1828 Wilhelm Hauff 1827 German German
2786 By Night Under The Stone Bridge Leo Perutz 1953 Austrian German
2790 The Island Of Second Sight Albert Vigoleis Thelen 1953 German English
2895 Speculations About Jakob Uwe Johnson 1959 German German
2988 The Robber Hotzenplotz Otfried Preußler 1962 German German
3172 A Simple Story S.Y. Agnon 1935 Israeli Hebrew
3390 La Realidad Y El Deseo Luis Cernuda 1936 Spanish Spanish
3460 Captain Pantoja And The Special Service Mario Vargas Llosa 1973 Peruvian Spanish
3469 The Story Of English Robert McCrum 1986 British English
3473 We Do Not Part Han Kang 2021 Korean Korean
3571 The Inquisitors' Manual António Lobo Antunes 1996 Portuguese English
3584 Married Life David Vogel 1986 Jewish English
3638 The School Of Whoredom Pietro Aretino 1536 Italian English
3638 The Invisible Flag Peter Bamm 1952 German German
3638 Laughter Henri Bergson 1900 French French
3638 Till Eulenspiegel Hermann Bote 1510 German German
3638 The Ship Of Fools Sebastian Brant 1494 German English
3638 Childe Harold's Pilgrimage Lord Byron 1812 British English
3638 Krambambuli Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach 1901 Austrian German
3638 The Thaw Ilya Ehrenburg 1954 Russian Russian
3638 Who Once Eats Out Of The Tin Bowl Hans Fallada 1934 German German
3638 Jew Süss Lion Feuchtwanger 1925 German German
3638 Schach Von Wuthenow Theodor Fontane 1883 German German
3638 The Burnt Offering Albrecht Goes 1955 German German
3638 Theory Of Colours Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1810 German German
3638 The Poor Musician Franz Grillparzer 1848 Austrian German
3638 On The Marble Cliffs Ernst Jünger 1939 German German
3638 The City Beyond The River Hermann Kasack 1947 German German
3638 The Century Of The Child Ellen Key 1900 Swedish Swedish
3638 The Marquise Of O Heinrich von Kleist 1808 German German
3638 The Language Of The Third Reich Victor Klemperer 1947 German German
3638 From Caligari To Hitler Siegfried Kracauer 1947 German German
3638 Child Of The Revolution Wolfgang Leonhard 1955 German German
3638 The Second Wife E. Marlitt 1899 German German
3638 Scenes Of Bohemian Life Henri Murger 1845 French French
3638 Stalingrad Theodor Plievier 1948 German German
3638 Kuttel Daddeldu Joachim Ringelnatz 1920 German German
3638 Mitte Des Lebens Luise Rinser 1950 German German
3638 The Seven Lamps Of Architecture John Ruskin 1849 British English
3638 The Story Of My Life George Sand 1855 French French
3638 The Papalagi Erich Scheurmann 1920 German German
3638 The Road Into The Open Arthur Schnitzler 1908 Austrian German
3638 Die Feuerzangenbowle Heinrich Spoerl 1933 German German
3638 Lausbubengeschichten Ludwig Thoma 1905 German German
3638 Cavalleria Rusticana Giovanni Verga 1896 Italian Italian
3638 The Ringer Edgar Wallace 1925 British English
3638 History Of The Art Of Antiquity Johann Joachim Winckelmann 1762 German German
3638 The Captain Of Köpenick Carl Zuckmayer 1931 German German
3834 Повесть о жизни Konstantin Paustovsky 1956 Russian Russian
4061 Serengeti Shall Not Die Bernhard Grzimek 1959 German German
4105 Lange Schatten Marie Luise Kaschnitz 1960 German German
4105 Die Schaukel Annette Kolb 1960 German German
4105 Summerhill Alexander Sutherland Neill 1960 British English
4105 Leavetaking Peter Weiss 1960 German German
4153 Ankunft Im Alltag Brigitte Reimann 1961 German German
4153 Like A Tear In The Ocean Manès Sperber 1961 Unknown German
4177 Shira S.Y. Agnon 1989 Israeli Hebrew
4227 The Light Of Day Eric Ambler 1962 British English
4294 The Castle franz kafka 1926 German German
4371 Frost Thomas Bernhard 1963 Austrian German
4371 Nobodaddy's Children Arno Schmidt 1963 German German
4371 The Long Voyage Jorge Semprún 1963 French French
4415 Diary Witold Gombrowicz 1986 Polish Polish
4430 And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like To Meet The Milkman Peter Bichsel 1964 Swiss German
4488 The Bears' Famous Invasion Of Sicily Dino Buzzati 1945 Italian Italian
4581 The Autobiography Of A Runaway Slave Miguel Barnet 1966 Cuban Spanish
4681 The Autobiography of Mark Twain Mark Twain 1924 American English
4723 The Negro Caravan Sterling Allen Brown, Arthur Paul Davis, Ulysses Lee 1941 American English
4758 Claros Del Bosque María Zambrano 1977 Spanish Spanish
4856 Zettels Traum Arno Schmidt 1970 German German
4856 Der Tod Im Reisfeld Peter Scholl-Latour 1970 German German
4856 The Gift Horse Hildegard Knef 1970 German German
4888 Natura Morta Josef Winkler 2001 Unknown German
4938 Stone Yard Devotional Charlotte Wood 2023 Australian English
4949 Sergeant Getúlio João Ubaldo Ribeiro 1971 Brazilian Portuguese
5019 The King David Report Stefan Heym 1972 German German
5019 Hourglass Danilo Kiš 1972 Serbian Serbo-croatian
5131 Die Vollidioten Eckhard Henscheid 1973 German German
5131 Triptych Claude Simon 1973 French English
5167 Bad Feminist Roxane Gay 2014 American English
5241 Concierto Barroco Alejo Carpentier 1974 Cuban Spanish
5241 The Life And Adventures Of Trobadora Beatrice Irmtraud Morgner 1974 German German
5292 Der Mädchenkrieg Manfred Bieler 1975 German German
5292 Padre Padrone Gavino Ledda 1975 Italian Italian
5292 Tante Jolesch Or The Decline Of The West In Anecdotes Friedrich Torberg 1975 Austrian German
5361 Schilten Hermann Burger 1976 Swiss German
5446 Vor Den Vätern Sterben Die Söhne Thomas Brasch 1977 German German
5446 Così Parlò Bellavista Luciano De Crescenzo 1977 Italian Italian
5446 The Lover A. B. Yehoshua 1977 Israeli Hebrew
5500 The Trip To Panama Janosch 1978 German German
5593 Poetry And Truth From My Own Life Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 2004 German English
5605 Die Fälschung Nicolas Born 1979 German German
5605 A Man Oriana Fallaci 1979 Italian Italian
5646 The Bear William Faulkner 1942 American English
5686 The Friendly Young Ladies Mary Renault 1943 British English
5750 Flight Of Ashes Monika Maron 1981 German German
5754 Concerning The Eccentricities Of Cardinal Pirelli Ronald Firbank 1926 British English
5803 The Child Manuela Christa Winsloe 1933 German German
5860 The Big Sea Langston Hughes 1940 American English
5915 The Tale Of The 1002nd Night Joseph Roth 1938 Austrian German
5935 Spätestens Im November Hans Erich Nossack 1982 German German