The Greatest Surreal 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
10221 Doctor Pasavento Enrique Vila-Matas 2005 Spanish Spanish
10231 Que Cavalos São Aqueles Que Fazem Sombra No Mar? António Lobo Antunes 2009 Portuguese Portuguese
10305 The Secret Life Of Salvador Dali Salvador Dali 1942 Spanish Spanish
10381 The Airways Jennifer Mills 2021 Unknown English
10708 Hum Helen Phillips 2024 American English
10706 The Lodgers Holly Pester 2024 Unknown English
10730 What Is This Buzzing, Do You Hear It Too? Luigi Malerba 1989 Italian Italian
10747 Spanking The Maid Robert Coover 1982 American English
10910 Gaspard De La Nuit Aloysius Bertrand 1842 French French
10911 Роман Vladimir Sorokin 1998 Russian Russian
10960 Heartsnatcher Boris Vian 1953 French French
10965 That Time Of Year Marie NDiaye 2020 French French
11010 Birthday César Aira 2019 Argentinian Spanish
11024 Poems Of Charles Simic Charles Simic 1985 American English
11055 Coin Locker Babies Ryū Murakami 1980 Japanese Japanese
11059 The Red Grass Boris Vian 1949 French French
11220 Malpertuis Jean Ray 1943 Belgian French
11241 Liberty Or Love! Robert Desnos 1929 French French
11243 Another Roadside Attraction Tom Robbins 1971 American English
11302 My Last Sigh Luis Buñuel 1982 Spanish Spanish
11341 Berji Kristin Latife Tekin 1984 Turkish Turkish
11544 Beautiful Losers Leonard Cohen 1966 Canadian English
11598 The Course Of The Heart M. John Harrison 1992 British English
11811 On The Golden Porch Tatyana Tolstaya 1987 Russian Russian
11857 I Is Another Arthur Rimbaud French French
11874 Monday Begins On Saturday Arkadi Strugatski 1964 Russian Russian
11919 Lake Of Urine Guillermo Stitch 2020 British English
12063 Strange Pictures Uketsu 2022 Unknown Unknown
12763 Father's On The Phone With The Flies Herta Müller 2012 German German
13003 Thus Were Their Faces Silvina Ocampo 1988 Argentinian Spanish
13599 The Margin André Pieyre de Mandiargues 1967 French French
13599 The Lost Ones Frédérick Tristan 1983 French French
13799 Blumenberg Sibylle Lewitscharoff 2011 German German
13817 A Caso Tommaso Landolfi 1975 Italian Italian
14001 The Eye In The Pyramid Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson 1975 American English
14043 Die Stunde Zwischen Frau Und Gitarre Clemens J. Setz 2015 Austrian German
14063 The Troika Stepan Chapman 1997 American English
14232 Your Utopia Bora Chung 2024 Unknown Unknown
14232 Memoirs Of A Polar Bear Yoko Tawada 2011 German German
14232 Men Without Women Haruki Murakami 2014 Japanese Japanese
14404 Die Inkommensurablen Raphaela Edelbauer 2021 Austrian German
14457 Nog Rudy Wurlitzer 1969 American English
14649 Tadanori Yokoo Daido Moriyama 2006 Japanese Japanese
14930 Miss Mac Intosh, My Darling Marguerite Young 1965 American English
14945 Double Or Nothing Raymond Federman 1971 American English
14977 The Soft Machine William S. Burroughs 1961 American English
14984 Nova Express William S. Burroughs 1964 American English
14984 Bliss Montage Ling Ma 2022 American English
14984 Earthlings Sayaka Murata 2023 Japanese Japanese
14984 The Complete Cosmicomics Italo Calvino 1965 Italian Italian
14984 The Vorrh Brian Catling 2012 British English
14984 The Blue Fox Sjón 2003 Icelandic Icelandic
14984 There Is No Antimemetics Division qntm 2020 Unknown English
14984 Harold Steven Wright 2023 Unknown English
14984 Evening Edged In Gold Arno Schmidt 1975 German German
14984 Siete Casas Vacías Samanta Schweblin 2015 Argentinian Spanish
15898 Cronopios And Famas Julio Cortazar 1962 Cuban Spanish
15879 água Viva Clarice Lispector 1973 Brazilian Portuguese
15898 Man Of Smoke Aldo Palazzeschi 1911 Italian Italian
15898 Childhood Of Nivasio Dolcemare Alberto Savinio 1938 Italian Italian
15898 Bestiario Juan José Arreola 1938 Mexican Spanish
16571 The Pill Vs. The Springhill Mine Disaster Richard Brautigan 1968 American English
16746 Alice In Wonderland Jane Carruth 1865 British English
16712 Guignol's Band I et II Louis-Ferdinand Céline 1944 French French
16631 We Can Build You Philip K. Dick 1972 American English
17120 The Ticket That Exploded William S. Burroughs 1962 American English
17120 The Stain Rikki Ducornet 1984 American English
17120 The Jade Cabinet Rikki Ducornet 1993 American English
17120 The Fountains of Neptune Rikki Ducornet 1992 American English
17120 Entering Fire Rikki Ducornet 1986 American English
17120 The Age of Wire and String Ben Marcus 1995 American English
17120 The Invented Part Rodrigo Fresán 2014 Argentinian Spanish
17120 The Islanders Christopher Priest 2011 British English
16930 Orpheus Jean Cocteau 1926 French French
17120 The Dada Painters and Poets Robert Motherwell 1978 American English
17120 The Middle Stories Sheila Heti 2001 Canadian English
17120 The Slynx Tatyana Tolstaya 2000 Russian Russian
17120 The Windy City Moussa Ould Ebnou 1998 Unknown Unknown
17120 Les 1001 années de la nostalgie Rachid Boudjedra 1997 Algerian French
17120 Invisible Monsters Chuck Palahniuk 1999 American English
17120 The Acid House Irvine Welsh 1994 British English
17120 The Shallow End Of The Pool Adam-Troy Castro 2008 Unknown English
17120 20th Century Ghosts Joe Hill 2005 American English
17120 Omon Ra Victor Pelevin 1992 Russian Russian
17120 Le Avventure Di Guizzardi Gianni Celati 1973 Italian Italian
17120 Indian Nocturne Antonio Tabucchi 1984 Italian Italian
17120 El Ruletista Mircea Cărtărescu 1993 Romanian Romanian
17120 Vilnius Poker Ričardas Gavelis 1989 Lithuanian Lithuanian
17120 Still Life With Woodpecker Tom Robbins 1980 American English
17120 Jitterbug Perfume Tom Robbins 1984 American English
17120 Diary Chuck Palahniuk 2003 American English
17120 Life On Mars Tracy K. Smith 2011 American English
17120 The Alchemaster's Apprentice Walter Moers 2007 German German
17120 Rumo Walter Moers 2003 German German
17120 The City Of Dreaming Books Walter Moers 2004 German German
17120 Hppy Nicola Barker 2017 British English
17120 The Factory Hiroko Oyamada 2013 Japanese Japanese
17047 Life For Sale Yukio Mishima 1968 Japanese Japanese
17120 The Weird And The Eerie Mark Fisher 2016 British English
17120 The Conspiracy Against The Human Race Thomas Ligotti 2010 American English
17120 Set My Heart On Fire Izumi Suzuki 2024 Unknown English
17120 Some Strange Music Draws Me In Griffin Hansbury 2024 Unknown Unknown
17120 Lesser Ruins Mark Haber 2024 Unknown English
17120 Things Felt But Not Quite Expressed Sohrab Hura 2024 Unknown Unknown
17120 Children Of Paradise Camilla Grudova 2022 Canadian English
17120 Elixir Kassa Kappabova 2024 Unknown Unknown
17120 Breakdown Cathy Sweeney 2023 Unknown English
17120 Stellar Atmospheres Alicia Sometimes 2024 Unknown English
17120 The City And Its Uncertain Walls Haruki Murakami 2023 Japanese Japanese
17120 You Glow In The Dark Liliana Colanzi 2022 Unknown Spanish
17120 After Dark Haruki Murakami 2004 Japanese Japanese
17120 Paradise Rot Jenny Hval 2009 Norwegian Norwegian
17120 Room To Dream David Lynch 2018 American English
17120 Bliss Peter Carey 1981 Australian English
17120 Forty Stories Donald Barthelme 1981 American English
17120 Girl With Curious Hair David Foster Wallace 1988 American English
17112 Пикник на обочине. Отель «У погибшего альпиниста». Улитка на склоне Arkady Strugatsky 1972 Russian Russian
17054 Понедельник начинается в субботу Arkady Strugatsky 1965 Russian Russian
17120 Hagstone Sinéad Gleeson 2024 Unknown English
17120 Volte Face Dominique Hecq 2024 Unknown Unknown