The Greatest Postmodern Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
5530 Zimohrádek Ivan Wernisch 1965 Czech Czech
5572 Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link 2001 American English
5576 VALIS Philip K. Dick 1981 American English
5578 The Puttermesser Papers Cynthia Ozick 1997 American English
5582 The Young Man Botho Strauß 1984 German German
6662 How It Is Samuel Beckett 1961 Irish French
5596 The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon 2008 Bosnian English
5622 Biography Of X Catherine Lacey 2023 American English
5636 The Alteration Kingsley Amis 1976 British English
5639 Was Geoff Ryman 1992 British English
5652 The Parable of the Blind Gert Hofmann 1985 German German
5654 The Mezentian Gate E. R. Eddison 1958 British English
5662 Invisible Green John Sladek 1977 American English
5666 Le Polygone Etoile Kateb Yacine 1961 French French
5666 Baiyun Oder Die Freundschaftsgesellschaft Adolf Muschg 1980 Swiss German
5707 Woof, Woof, Dear Lord Sotiris Dimitriou 1987 Greek Unknown
5707 Ο Λουσίας Nikos Houliaras 1987 Greek Greek
5716 Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Haruki Murakami 1985 Japanese Japanese
5722 The Rosy Crucifixion Henry Miller 1949 American English
5728 I, The Divine Rabih Alameddine 2001 Lebanese English
5740 The Young And Evil Charles Henri Ford, Parker Tyler 1933 American English
5748 The Message In the Bottle Walker Percy 1975 American English
5751 Die Tessinerin Thomas Hürlimann 1981 Swiss German
5768 The Businessman Thomas M. Disch 1984 American English
5773 Χαιρε Ποτε Kiki Dimoula 1988 Greek Greek
5773 Jurnalul Unui Jurnalist Fără Jurnal Ion D. Sîrbu 1993 Romanian Romanian
5800 The Beak of the Finch Jonathan Weiner 1994 American English
5780 Among Professors W.F. Hermans 1975 Dutch Dutch
5781 Gente Nel Tempo Massimo Bontempelli 1937 Italian Italian
5781 Narrate, Uomini, La Vostra Storia Alberto Savinio 1942 Italian Italian
5781 The Serpent Luigi Malerba 1966 Italian Italian
5802 Illuminations Walter Benjamin 1968 German German
5803 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5810 John Dies At The End David Wong 2007 American English
5818 The Russian Debutante’s Handbook Gary Shteyngart 2002 American English
5889 Sartor Resartus Thomas Carlyle 1836 British English
5929 Light M. John Harrison 2002 British English
5934 Look At Me Now And Here I Am Gertrude Stein 1967 American Unknown
5946 Separate Rooms Pier Vittorio Tondelli 1989 Italian Italian
5948 Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon 2009 American English
5949 The Afternoon of a Writer Peter Handke 1987 Austrian German
5949 Cigarettes Harry Mathews 1987 American English
5954 Collected Stories Gabriel García Márquez 1996 Colombian Spanish
5956 House Of Hunger Dambudzo Marechera 1978 Zimbabwean English
5970 Data From The Decade Of The Sixties Thanassis Valtinos 1989 Greek Greek
5992 Writing Degree Zero Roland Barthes 1953 French French
5993 The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf Victor Pelevin 2004 Russian Russian
6002 The Rehearsal Eleanor Catton 2008 New Zealand English
6003 Nietzsche And Philosophy Gilles Deleuze 1962 French French
6003 Leaves of Hypnos René Char 1946 French French
6003 The Golden Fruits Nathalie Sarraute 1963 French French
6003 Which Moped With Chrome Plated Handlebars At The Back Of The Yard? Georges Perec 1966 French French
6073 The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein 1985 American English
6074 The Voyeur Alain Robbe-Grillet 1955 French French
6077 The Questionnaire Jiří Gruša 1975 Czech Czech
6087 The End Of The World News Anthony Burgess 1982 British English
6090 Herr Gustafsson Himself Lars Gustafsson 1983 Swedish Swedish
6123 Obabakoak Bernardo Atxaga 1988 Spanish Basque
6143 Oreille Rouge Eric Chevillard 1993 French French
6147 My Tender Matador Pedro Lemebel 2001 Chilean Spanish
6167 The Tower Uwe Tellkamp 2008 German German
6170 The Fantastic Tzvetan Todorov 1970 French French
6176 Notebooks Albert Camus 1935 French French
6186 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Haruki Murakami 2006 Japanese Japanese
6201 The Bridge Iain Banks 1986 Scottish English
6208 Gimmick! Joost Zwagerman 1989 Dutch Dutch
6208 The Midnight Examiner William Kotzwinkle 1989 American English
6218 Chronicle of Feelings Alexander Kluge 2000 German German
6221 In Country Sleep Dylan Thomas 1952 Welsh English
6233 The Cannibal John Hawkes 1949 American English
6234 Petrolio Pier Paolo Pasolini 1992 Italian Italian
6234 The Affirmation Christopher Priest 1981 British English
6248 Great Apes Will Self 1997 British English
6252 The Craftsman Richard Sennett 2008 American English
6264 Thank You For Not Reading Dubravka Ugrešić 2001 Croatian Croatian
6273 Owls Do Cry Janet Frame 1957 New Zealand English
6294 Dream Story Arthur Schnitzler 1926 Austrian German
6296 Stone Junction Jim Dodge 1990 American English
6300 Rejection Tony Tulathimutte 2024 American English
6310 Dance, Dance, Dance Haruki Murakami 1988 Japanese Japanese
6341 Repetition Peter Handke 1986 Austrian German
6341 Reise Durch Die Nacht Friederike Mayröcker 1986 Austrian German
6348 A Wild Sheep Chase Haruki Murakami 1982 Japanese Japanese
6347 Nineteen Ways Of Looking At Wang Wei Eliot Weinberger 1987 American English
6354 Delirious New York Rem Koolhaas 1978 Dutch English
6356 At Twilight They Return Zyranna Zateli 1993 Greek Greek
6356 Heroes' Shrine For Sale or The Elegant Toilet Marios Hakkas 1993 Greek Greek
6361 Girlfriend In A Coma Douglas Coupland 1998 Canadian English
6376 Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli 2009 American English
6398 La Grande Juan José Saer 2012 Argentinian Spanish
6420 The Laws Connie Palmen 1991 Dutch Dutch
6420 Typical Padgett Powell 1991 American English
6419 A Czech Dreambook Ludvík Vaculík 1981 Czech Czech
6457 The Essential Ellison Harlan Ellison 1987 American English
6460 Never Did The Fire Diamela Eltit 2022 Chilean Spanish
6463 Comment S'en Sortir Sans Sortir Ghérasim Luca 1980 French French
6471 The Belles Lettres Papers Charles Simmons 1987 American English
6475 War & War László Krasznahorkai 1999 Hungarian Hungarian
6502 The End Of The Road John Barth 1958 American English
6507 Arcadia Jim Crace 1992 British English
6507 The Triple Mirror of the Self Zulfikar Ghose 1992 Pakistani English
6512 Incest Christine Angot 1999 French French
6534 Modern Fantasy C. N. Manlove 1975 British English
6541 F Dumitru Radu Popescu 2000 Romanian Unknown
6547 Heldenplatz Thomas Bernhard 1988 Austrian German
6555 Žmogus, Kuris Miega Georges Perec 1967 French French
6566 Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming László Krasznahorkai 2016 Hungarian Hungarian
6568 Nice Work David Lodge 1988 British English
6575 Ingrid Caven Jean-Jacques Schuhl 2000 French French
6579 Zuckerman Bound Philip Roth 1985 American English
6585 Women Philippe Sollers 1983 French French
6585 Im Bach Des Wals Paul Nizon 1983 Swiss German
6593 Centuria Giorgio Manganelli 1979 Italian Italian
6607 The Anomaly Hervé Le Tellier 2020 French French
6620 Zone Mathias Enard 2008 French French
6622 Disappearance David Dabydeen 1993 Guyanese English
6622 The Life of Insects Victor Pelevin 1993 Russian Russian
6628 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
6631 Confessions Jaume Cabré 2011 Spanish Catalan
6636 Autonauts Of The Cosmoroute Julio Cortazar 1983 Argentinian Spanish