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
2023 Elizabeth Costello J. M. Coetzee 2003 South African English
2113 The Luminous Novel Mario Levrero 2005 Uruguayan Spanish
2192 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
2218 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 2011 British English
2224 My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh 2018 American English
2311 Solenoid Mircea Cărtărescu 2015 Romanian Romanian
2334 How to be both Ali Smith 2014 British English
2340 Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware 2000 American English
2359 Bartleby & Co Enrique Vila-Matas 2000 Spanish Spanish
2445 The Map And The Territory Michel Houellebecq 2010 French French
2680 El Día Del Watusi Francisco Casavella 2002 Spanish Spanish
2705 Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli 2019 Mexican English
2735 Severance Ling Ma 2018 American English
2842 10:04 Ben Lerner 2014 American English
2886 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer 2002 American English
3011 By Night in Chile Roberto Bolaño 2000 Chilean Spanish
3059 Trust Hernan Díaz 2022 Argentinian English
3061 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
3453 Magic for Beginners Kelly Link 2005 American English
3467 Kudos Rachel Cusk 2018 British English
3539 C Tom McCarthy 2010 British English
3541 Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado 2017 American English
3590 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
3944 In The Dream House Carmen Maria Machado 2019 American English
4054 Leaving the Atocha Station Ben Lerner 2011 American English
4115 Why Did I Ever? Mary Robison 2001 American English
4151 American Genius Lynne Tillman 2006 American English
4155 Asymmetry Lisa Halliday 2018 American English
4161 No One Is Talking About This Patricia Lockwood 2021 American English
4298 Remainder Tom McCarthy 2005 British English
4468 The History of Love Nicole Krauss 2005 American English
4500 How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti 2010 Canadian English
4501 Parallel Stories Péter Nádas 2005 Hungarian Hungarian
4536 Special Topics In Calamity Physics Marisha Pessl 2006 American English
4577 Time Shelter Georgi Gospodinov 2020 Bulgarian Bulgarian
4608 Here Richard McGuire 2014 American English
4623 The Abyss Fernando Vallejo 2001 Colombian Spanish
4636 Darkmans Nicola Barker 2007 British English
4660 The Complete Stories Clarice Lispector 2016 Brazilian Portuguese
4664 Building Stories Chris Ware 2012 American English
4732 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation M. T. Anderson 2006 American English
4766 The Yiddish Policemen's Union Michael Chabon 2007 American English
4823 Vernon Subutex Virginie Despentes 2015 French French
4827 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden Denis Johnson 2018 American English
4887 Natura Morta Josef Winkler 2001 Unknown German
5003 Feel Free Zadie Smith 2018 British English
5006 Against the Day Thomas Pynchon 2006 American English
5010 Zone One Colson Whitehead 2011 American English
5028 The City & the City China Miéville 2009 British English
5030 Honored Guest Joy Williams 2004 American English
5030 The Sluts Dennis Cooper 2004 American English
5108 The Ministry Of Pain Dubravka Ugrešić 2004 Croatian Croatian
5119 Baudolino Umberto Eco 2000 Italian Italian
5280 At Last Edward St Aubyn 2011 British English
5343 White Girls Hilton Als 2013 American English
5387 In Memory Of Memory Maria Stepanova 2017 Russian Russian
5572 Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link 2001 American English
5596 The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon 2008 Bosnian English
5622 Biography Of X Catherine Lacey 2023 American English
5728 I, The Divine Rabih Alameddine 2001 Lebanese English
5803 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5810 John Dies At The End David Wong 2007 American English
5817 The Russian Debutante’s Handbook Gary Shteyngart 2002 American English
5929 Light M. John Harrison 2002 British English
5948 Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon 2009 American English
5993 The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf Victor Pelevin 2004 Russian Russian
6002 The Rehearsal Eleanor Catton 2008 New Zealand English
6147 My Tender Matador Pedro Lemebel 2001 Chilean Spanish
6167 The Tower Uwe Tellkamp 2008 German German
6186 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Haruki Murakami 2006 Japanese Japanese
6218 Chronicle of Feelings Alexander Kluge 2000 German German
6252 The Craftsman Richard Sennett 2008 American English
6264 Thank You For Not Reading Dubravka Ugrešić 2001 Croatian Croatian
6300 Rejection Tony Tulathimutte 2024 American English
6376 Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli 2009 American English
6398 La Grande Juan José Saer 2012 Argentinian Spanish
6460 Never Did The Fire Diamela Eltit 2022 Chilean Spanish
6541 F Dumitru Radu Popescu 2000 Romanian Unknown
6566 Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming László Krasznahorkai 2016 Hungarian Hungarian
6575 Ingrid Caven Jean-Jacques Schuhl 2000 French French
6607 The Anomaly Hervé Le Tellier 2020 French French
6620 Zone Mathias Enard 2008 French French
6631 Confessions Jaume Cabré 2011 Spanish Catalan
6646 Simion Liftnicul Petru Cimpoeșu 2001 Romanian Romanian