The Greatest German Modernist 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
31 The Magic Mountain Thomas Mann 1924 German German
107 The Tin Drum Günter Grass 1959 German German
119 Doctor Faustus Thomas Mann 1947 German German
146 Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse 1927 German German
239 Berlin Alexanderplatz Alfred Döblin 1929 German German
248 Thus Spake Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche 1883 German German
415 The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge Rainer Maria Rilke 1910 German German
440 The Glass Bead Game Hermann Hesse 1943 German German
478 The Duino Elegies Rainer Maria Rilke 1923 German German
670 Death in Venice Thomas Mann 1912 German German
1464 Demian Hermann Hesse 1919 German German
2380 The Hunger Angel Herta Müller 2009 German German
2919 The Artificial Silk Girl Irmgard Keun 1932 German German
4173 The Strudlhof Steps Heimito von Doderer 1951 German German
4763 The Pious Dance Klaus Mann 1926 German German
4763 Perrudja Hans Henny Jahnn 1929 German German
4763 Berlin Childhood Around 1900 Walter Benjamin 1950 German German
4869 The Aesthetics Of Resistance Peter Weiss 1975 German German
5199 Vor Feuerschlünden. Erfahrung Mit Georg Trakls Gedicht Franz Fühmann 1982 German German
5362 Man In The Modern Age Karl Jaspers 1931 German German
6661 Memory Rose Into Threshold Speech Paul Celan 2020 German German
6981 The Arcades Project Walter Benjamin 1982 German German
7126 Minima Moralia Theodor Adorno 1951 German German
7126 Ornament And Crime Adolf Loos 1908 German German
8634 Sonnets To Orpheus Rainer Maria Rilke 1923 German German
11404 Pigeons On The Grass Wolfgang Koeppen 1951 German German
13914 My Heart Else Lasker-Schüler 1911 German German
13914 Going To The Dogs Erich Kästner 1931 German German