The Greatest 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 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
5531 Zimohrádek Ivan Wernisch 1965 Czech Czech
5573 Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link 2001 American English
5577 VALIS Philip K. Dick 1981 American English
5579 The Puttermesser Papers Cynthia Ozick 1997 American English
5583 The Young Man Botho Strauß 1984 German German
5591 How It Is Samuel Beckett 1961 Irish French
5598 The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon 2008 Bosnian English
5624 Biography Of X Catherine Lacey 2023 American English
5638 The Alteration Kingsley Amis 1976 British English
5641 Was Geoff Ryman 1992 British English
5654 The Parable of the Blind Gert Hofmann 1985 German German
5656 The Mezentian Gate E. R. Eddison 1958 British English
5664 Invisible Green John Sladek 1977 American English
5668 Le Polygone Etoile Kateb Yacine 1961 French French
5668 Baiyun Oder Die Freundschaftsgesellschaft Adolf Muschg 1980 Swiss German
5709 Woof, Woof, Dear Lord Sotiris Dimitriou 1987 Greek Unknown
5709 Ο Λουσίας Nikos Houliaras 1987 Greek Greek
5718 Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Haruki Murakami 1985 Japanese Japanese
5724 The Rosy Crucifixion Henry Miller 1949 American English
5730 I, The Divine Rabih Alameddine 2001 Lebanese English
5742 The Young And Evil Charles Henri Ford, Parker Tyler 1933 American English
5750 The Message In the Bottle Walker Percy 1975 American English
5753 Die Tessinerin Thomas Hürlimann 1981 Swiss German
5770 The Businessman Thomas M. Disch 1984 American English
5775 Χαιρε Ποτε Kiki Dimoula 1988 Greek Greek
5775 Jurnalul Unui Jurnalist Fără Jurnal Ion D. Sîrbu 1993 Romanian Romanian
5802 The Beak of the Finch Jonathan Weiner 1994 American English
5782 Among Professors W.F. Hermans 1975 Dutch Dutch
5783 Gente Nel Tempo Massimo Bontempelli 1937 Italian Italian
5783 Narrate, Uomini, La Vostra Storia Alberto Savinio 1942 Italian Italian
5783 The Serpent Luigi Malerba 1966 Italian Italian
5804 Illuminations Walter Benjamin 1968 German German
5805 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5812 John Dies At The End David Wong 2007 American English
5821 The Russian Debutante’s Handbook Gary Shteyngart 2002 American English
5891 Sartor Resartus Thomas Carlyle 1836 British English
5931 Light M. John Harrison 2002 British English
5936 Look At Me Now And Here I Am Gertrude Stein 1967 American Unknown
5948 Separate Rooms Pier Vittorio Tondelli 1989 Italian Italian
5950 Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon 2009 American English
5951 The Afternoon of a Writer Peter Handke 1987 Austrian German
5951 Cigarettes Harry Mathews 1987 American English
5956 Collected Stories Gabriel García Márquez 1996 Colombian Spanish
5958 House Of Hunger Dambudzo Marechera 1978 Zimbabwean English
5972 Data From The Decade Of The Sixties Thanassis Valtinos 1989 Greek Greek
5994 Writing Degree Zero Roland Barthes 1953 French French
5995 The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf Victor Pelevin 2004 Russian Russian
6004 The Rehearsal Eleanor Catton 2008 New Zealand English
6005 Nietzsche And Philosophy Gilles Deleuze 1962 French French
6005 Leaves of Hypnos René Char 1946 French French
6005 The Golden Fruits Nathalie Sarraute 1963 French French
6005 Which Moped With Chrome Plated Handlebars At The Back Of The Yard? Georges Perec 1966 French French
6075 The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein 1985 American English
6076 The Voyeur Alain Robbe-Grillet 1955 French French
6079 The Questionnaire Jiří Gruša 1975 Czech Czech
6089 The End Of The World News Anthony Burgess 1982 British English
6092 Herr Gustafsson Himself Lars Gustafsson 1983 Swedish Swedish
6125 Obabakoak Bernardo Atxaga 1988 Spanish Basque
6145 Oreille Rouge Eric Chevillard 1993 French French
6149 My Tender Matador Pedro Lemebel 2001 Chilean Spanish
6169 The Tower Uwe Tellkamp 2008 German German
6172 The Fantastic Tzvetan Todorov 1970 French French
6178 Notebooks Albert Camus 1935 French French
6189 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Haruki Murakami 2006 Japanese Japanese
6204 The Bridge Iain Banks 1986 Scottish English
6211 Gimmick! Joost Zwagerman 1989 Dutch Dutch
6211 The Midnight Examiner William Kotzwinkle 1989 American English
6221 Chronicle of Feelings Alexander Kluge 2000 German German
6224 In Country Sleep Dylan Thomas 1952 Welsh English
6236 The Cannibal John Hawkes 1949 American English
6237 Petrolio Pier Paolo Pasolini 1992 Italian Italian
6237 The Affirmation Christopher Priest 1981 British English
6250 Great Apes Will Self 1997 British English
6254 The Craftsman Richard Sennett 2008 American English
6266 Thank You For Not Reading Dubravka Ugrešić 2001 Croatian Croatian
6275 Owls Do Cry Janet Frame 1957 New Zealand English
6296 Dream Story Arthur Schnitzler 1926 Austrian German
6298 Stone Junction Jim Dodge 1990 American English
6302 Rejection Tony Tulathimutte 2024 American English
6312 Dance, Dance, Dance Haruki Murakami 1988 Japanese Japanese
6343 Repetition Peter Handke 1986 Austrian German
6343 Reise Durch Die Nacht Friederike Mayröcker 1986 Austrian German
6350 A Wild Sheep Chase Haruki Murakami 1982 Japanese Japanese
6349 Nineteen Ways Of Looking At Wang Wei Eliot Weinberger 1987 American English
6356 Delirious New York Rem Koolhaas 1978 Dutch English
6358 At Twilight They Return Zyranna Zateli 1993 Greek Greek
6358 Heroes' Shrine For Sale or The Elegant Toilet Marios Hakkas 1993 Greek Greek
6363 Girlfriend In A Coma Douglas Coupland 1998 Canadian English
6378 Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli 2009 American English
6400 La Grande Juan José Saer 2012 Argentinian Spanish
6422 The Laws Connie Palmen 1991 Dutch Dutch
6422 Typical Padgett Powell 1991 American English
6421 A Czech Dreambook Ludvík Vaculík 1981 Czech Czech
6458 The Essential Ellison Harlan Ellison 1987 American English
6461 Never Did The Fire Diamela Eltit 2022 Chilean Spanish
6464 Comment S'en Sortir Sans Sortir Ghérasim Luca 1980 French French
6472 The Belles Lettres Papers Charles Simmons 1987 American English
6476 War & War László Krasznahorkai 1999 Hungarian Hungarian
6503 The End Of The Road John Barth 1958 American English
6508 Arcadia Jim Crace 1992 British English
6508 The Triple Mirror of the Self Zulfikar Ghose 1992 Pakistani English
6513 Incest Christine Angot 1999 French French
6535 Modern Fantasy C. N. Manlove 1975 British English
6542 F Dumitru Radu Popescu 2000 Romanian Unknown
6548 Heldenplatz Thomas Bernhard 1988 Austrian German
6556 Žmogus, Kuris Miega Georges Perec 1967 French French
6567 Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming László Krasznahorkai 2016 Hungarian Hungarian
6569 Nice Work David Lodge 1988 British English
6576 Ingrid Caven Jean-Jacques Schuhl 2000 French French
6580 Zuckerman Bound Philip Roth 1985 American English
6586 Women Philippe Sollers 1983 French French
6586 Im Bach Des Wals Paul Nizon 1983 Swiss German
6594 Centuria Giorgio Manganelli 1979 Italian Italian
6608 The Anomaly Hervé Le Tellier 2020 French French
6621 Zone Mathias Enard 2008 French French
6623 Disappearance David Dabydeen 1993 Guyanese English
6623 The Life of Insects Victor Pelevin 1993 Russian Russian
6629 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
6632 Confessions Jaume Cabré 2011 Spanish Catalan
6637 Autonauts Of The Cosmoroute Julio Cortazar 1983 Argentinian Spanish