The Greatest Modernist and Postmodern 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
354 Ferdydurke Witold Gombrowicz 1937 Polish Polish
496 The Passion According to G.H. Clarice Lispector 1964 Brazilian Portuguese
1583 Childhood Nathalie Sarraute 1983 French French
1658 Concrete Thomas Bernhard 1982 Austrian German
1698 Insatiability Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz 1930 Polish Polish
1698 Death Sentence Maurice Blanchot 1948 French French
2100 Garden, Ashes Danilo Kiš 1965 Serbian Serbo-croatian
2437 The Unconsoled Kazuo Ishiguro 1995 British English
2527 Sleepless Nights Elizabeth Hardwick 1979 American English
2905 Watt Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish English
2956 Querelle Jean Genet 1947 French French
3093 Wittgenstein's Nephew Thomas Bernhard 1982 Austrian German
3575 Inland Gerald Murnane 1988 Australian English
4520 The Field of Vision Wright Morris 1956 American English
4659 How It Is Samuel Beckett 1961 Irish French
5339 Mount Analogue René Daumal 1952 French French
6013 Two Serious Ladies Jane Bowles 1943 American English
6981 The Arcades Project Walter Benjamin 1982 German German
7997 The Loser Thomas Bernhard 1983 Austrian German
8291 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
8551 Our Lord Don Quixote Miguel de Unamuno 1935 Spanish Spanish
11354 Rivers and Mountains John Ashbery 1966 American English
11438 Seven Types Of Ambiguity William Empson 1930 British English
12932 Malina Ingeborg Bachmann 1971 Austrian German
13234 The Voyeur Alain Robbe-Grillet 1955 French French
13255 The Complete Stories Clarice Lispector 2016 Brazilian Portuguese
13497 Selected Works Alfred Jarry 1901 French French
13497 Seven Dada Manifestoes Tristan Tzara 1924 French French
14371 The Baphomet Pierre Klossowski 1965 French French
14371 Three Novels Samuel Beckett 1955 Irish French
14371 Three Novels Witold Gombrowicz 1960 Polish Polish
14371 Second Skin John Hawkes 1964 American English
14371 Tatlin! Guy Davenport 1974 American English
14371 The Double Dream Of Spring John Ashbery 1970 American English
14371 Poems Of John Ashbery John Ashbery 1977 American English
14371 Flow Chart John Ashbery 1991 American English
14371 Hotel Lautréamont John Ashbery 1992 American English
14371 Petrolio Pier Paolo Pasolini 1992 Italian Italian