The Greatest Postmodern Books Since 2000

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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
232 2666 Roberto Bolaño 2004 Chilean Spanish
262 Austerlitz W. G. Sebald 2001 German German
314 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Michael Chabon 2000 American English
396 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz 2007 Dominican English
420 The Human Stain Philip Roth 2000 American English
421 A Visit From The Goon Squad Jennifer Egan 2010 American English
427 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell 2004 British English
607 House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski 2000 American English
804 The Vegetarian Han Kang 2007 Korean Korean
874 The Last Samurai Helen DeWitt 2000 American English
922 The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen 2015 American English
1022 Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders 2017 American English
1154 True History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey 2000 Australian English
1201 Kafka On The Shore Haruki Murakami 2002 Japanese Japanese
1261 The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood 2000 Canadian English
1272 Erasure Percival Everett 2001 American English
1394 Soldiers of Salamis Javier Cercas 2001 Spanish Spanish
1456 Flights Olga Tokarczuk 2007 Polish Polish
1472 The Beauty Of The Husband Anne Carson 2001 Canadian English
1704 Celestial Harmonies Peter Esterhazy 2000 Hungarian Hungarian
1723 1Q84 Haruki Murakami 2009 Japanese Japanese
1783 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers 2000 American English
1898 Tenth of December George Saunders 2013 American English
1907 Consider The Lobster David Foster Wallace 2005 American English
1909 The Collected Stories Of Lydia Davis Lydia Davis 2009 American English
1989 Your Face Tomorrow Javier Marias 2002 Spanish Spanish
2001 The Flamethrowers Rachel Kushner 2013 American English
2024 Elizabeth Costello J. M. Coetzee 2003 South African English
2114 The Luminous Novel Mario Levrero 2005 Uruguayan Spanish
2193 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
2219 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 2011 British English
2225 My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh 2018 American English
2312 Solenoid Mircea Cărtărescu 2015 Romanian Romanian
2336 How to be both Ali Smith 2014 British English
2342 Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware 2000 American English
2361 Bartleby & Co Enrique Vila-Matas 2000 Spanish Spanish
2447 The Map And The Territory Michel Houellebecq 2010 French French
2681 El Día Del Watusi Francisco Casavella 2002 Spanish Spanish
2706 Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli 2019 Mexican English
2736 Severance Ling Ma 2018 American English
2845 10:04 Ben Lerner 2014 American English
2887 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer 2002 American English
3012 By Night in Chile Roberto Bolaño 2000 Chilean Spanish
3060 Trust Hernan Díaz 2022 Argentinian English
3062 The Fortress of Solitude Jonathan Lethem 2003 American English
3121 The Possibility Of An Island Michel Houellebecq 2005 French French
3164 Dept. of Speculation Jenny Offill 2014 American English
3174 Oblivion David Foster Wallace 2004 American English
3205 When We Cease To Understand The World Adrian Nathan West, Benjamin Labatut 2020 Chilean Spanish
3233 The Books Of Jacob Olga Tokarczuk 2014 Polish Polish
3272 The Luminaries Eleanor Catton 2013 New Zealand English
3454 Magic for Beginners Kelly Link 2005 American English
3468 Kudos Rachel Cusk 2018 British English
3540 C Tom McCarthy 2010 British English
3542 Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado 2017 American English
3591 Do Everything in the Dark Gary Indiana 2003 American English
3886 Lunar Park Bret Easton Ellis 2005 American English
3889 There But For The Ali Smith 2011 British English
3914 Sudden Death Alvaro Enrigue 2013 Mexican Spanish
3946 In The Dream House Carmen Maria Machado 2019 American English
4056 Leaving the Atocha Station Ben Lerner 2011 American English
4117 Why Did I Ever? Mary Robison 2001 American English
4153 American Genius Lynne Tillman 2006 American English
4157 Asymmetry Lisa Halliday 2018 American English
4163 No One Is Talking About This Patricia Lockwood 2021 American English
4300 Remainder Tom McCarthy 2005 British English
4470 The History of Love Nicole Krauss 2005 American English
4502 How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti 2010 Canadian English
4503 Parallel Stories Péter Nádas 2005 Hungarian Hungarian
4538 Special Topics In Calamity Physics Marisha Pessl 2006 American English
4579 Time Shelter Georgi Gospodinov 2020 Bulgarian Bulgarian
4610 Here Richard McGuire 2014 American English
4625 The Abyss Fernando Vallejo 2001 Colombian Spanish
4638 Darkmans Nicola Barker 2007 British English
4662 The Complete Stories Clarice Lispector 2016 Brazilian Portuguese
4666 Building Stories Chris Ware 2012 American English
4734 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation M. T. Anderson 2006 American English
4768 The Yiddish Policemen's Union Michael Chabon 2007 American English
4825 Vernon Subutex Virginie Despentes 2015 French French
4829 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden Denis Johnson 2018 American English
4889 Natura Morta Josef Winkler 2001 Unknown German
5006 Feel Free Zadie Smith 2018 British English
5009 Against the Day Thomas Pynchon 2006 American English
5013 Zone One Colson Whitehead 2011 American English
5031 The City & the City China Miéville 2009 British English
5033 Honored Guest Joy Williams 2004 American English
5033 The Sluts Dennis Cooper 2004 American English
5110 The Ministry Of Pain Dubravka Ugrešić 2004 Croatian Croatian
5121 Baudolino Umberto Eco 2000 Italian Italian
5281 At Last Edward St Aubyn 2011 British English
5344 White Girls Hilton Als 2013 American English
5388 In Memory Of Memory Maria Stepanova 2017 Russian Russian
5573 Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link 2001 American English
5598 The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon 2008 Bosnian English
5624 Biography Of X Catherine Lacey 2023 American English
5730 I, The Divine Rabih Alameddine 2001 Lebanese English
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
5931 Light M. John Harrison 2002 British English
5950 Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon 2009 American English
5995 The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf Victor Pelevin 2004 Russian Russian
6004 The Rehearsal Eleanor Catton 2008 New Zealand English
6149 My Tender Matador Pedro Lemebel 2001 Chilean Spanish
6169 The Tower Uwe Tellkamp 2008 German German
6189 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Haruki Murakami 2006 Japanese Japanese
6221 Chronicle of Feelings Alexander Kluge 2000 German German
6254 The Craftsman Richard Sennett 2008 American English
6266 Thank You For Not Reading Dubravka Ugrešić 2001 Croatian Croatian
6302 Rejection Tony Tulathimutte 2024 American English
6378 Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli 2009 American English
6400 La Grande Juan José Saer 2012 Argentinian Spanish
6461 Never Did The Fire Diamela Eltit 2022 Chilean Spanish
6542 F Dumitru Radu Popescu 2000 Romanian Unknown
6567 Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming László Krasznahorkai 2016 Hungarian Hungarian
6576 Ingrid Caven Jean-Jacques Schuhl 2000 French French
6608 The Anomaly Hervé Le Tellier 2020 French French
6621 Zone Mathias Enard 2008 French French
6632 Confessions Jaume Cabré 2011 Spanish Catalan
6647 Simion Liftnicul Petru Cimpoeșu 2001 Romanian Romanian