The Greatest Western 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
4232 The Tears Of The Acacias W.F. Hermans 1949 Dutch Dutch
4251 Dianetics L. Ron Hubbard 1950 American English
4251 The Whitsun Weddings Philip Larkin 1964 British English
4251 Welcome To Hard Times E. L. Doctorow 1960 American English
4251 Autumn Journal Louis MacNeice 1939 British English
4255 Scenes From The Past Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin 1869 Russian Russian
4257 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
4256 Jack Of Shadows Roger Zelazny 1971 American English
4258 A Nobleman's Nest Ivan Turgenev 1859 Russian Russian
4261 Essays of Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau 1862 American English
4260 A Morbid Taste For Bones Ellis Peters 1977 British English
4263 The Town Of N Leonid Dobychin 1935 Russian Russian
4266 Cases Daniil Kharms 1939 Russian Russian
4267 Sevastopol Sketches Leo Tolstoy 1855 Russian Russian
4269 Eight Million Ways To Die Lawrence Block 1982 American English
4268 Who Can Be Happy And Free In Russia? Nikolay Nekrasov 1870 Russian Russian
4270 Zangezi Velimir Khlebnikov 1922 Russian Russian
4271 The Noise Of Time Osip Mandelstam 1925 Russian Russian
4272 The Blue Book Mikhail Zoshchenko 1923 Russian Russian
4273 Journey From St. Petersburg To Moscow Alexander Radishchev 1790 Russian Russian
4274 The Gypsies Alexander Pushkin 1827 Russian Russian
4275 In The Ravine Anton Chekhov 1900 Russian Russian
4277 Fallen Leaves Vasily Rozanov 1913 Russian Russian
4278 Christmas At The Ivanovs' Alexander Vvedensky 1938 Russian Russian
4279 Poem Of The Mountain Marina Tsvetayeva 1924 Russian Russian
4280 The Spirits Of The Earth Catherine Colomb 1962 Swiss French
4280 The Place Of The Star Patrick Modiano 1968 French French
4280 Air Of Solitude Gustave Roud 1945 Swiss French
4276 A Curtain Of Green Eudora Welty 1941 American English
4283 A Rose for Emily William Faulkner 1930 American English
4284 Boy's Life Robert R. McCammon 1991 American English
4285 In The Skin Of A Lion Michael Ondaatje 1987 Canadian English
4286 Gantenbein Max Frisch 1964 Swiss German
4287 On the Fabric of the Human Body Andreas Vesalius 1543 Belgian Latin
4289 Finite And Infinite Games James P. Carse 1986 American English
4288 Pélagie Antonine Maillet 1979 Canadian French
4290 Mystic River Dennis Lehane 2001 American English
4291 Conversations With Igor Stravinsky Robert Craft 1959 American English
4292 What Belongs to You Garth Greenwell 2016 American English
4293 The Castle franz kafka 1926 German German
4294 Bird By Bird Anne Lamott 1994 American English
4295 The Emperor's Babe Bernardine Evaristo 2001 British English
4296 The Year's Best Horror Stories Richard Davis 1972 British English
4297 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Fannie Flagg 1987 American English
4298 Remainder Tom McCarthy 2005 British English
4299 The Fairy Gunmother Daniel Pennac 1987 French French
4304 A Court Of Thorns And Roses Sarah J. Maas 2015 American English
4305 Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls 1961 American English
4306 It Ends With Us Colleen Hoover 2016 American English
4307 Mrs. Stevens Hears The Mermaids Singing May Sarton 1965 American English
4308 The Lurking Fear And Other Stories H. P. Lovecraft 1923 American English
4308 Indiana George Sand 1832 French French
4308 Augustus Carp, Esq. By Himself Henry Howarth Bashford 1924 British English
4308 No Bed For Bacon Caryl Brahms, S. J. Simon 1941 British English
4308 Mister Johnson Joyce Cary 1939 British English
4308 The Case Of The Gilded Fly Edmund Crispin 1944 British English
4308 Ennui Maria Edgeworth 1809 Irish English
4308 Caprice Ronald Firbank 1917 British English
4308 The Polyglots William Gerhardie 1925 British English
4308 Brewster's Millions Richard Greaves 1902 British English
4308 Charade John Mortimer 1947 British English
4308 The Westminster Alice Saki 1902 British English
4308 The Unbearable Bassington Saki 1912 British English
4308 Hurrah For St Trinian's Ronald Searle 1948 British English
4308 The Adventures Of Ferdinand Count Fathom Tobias Smollett 1753 British English
4308 Something Fresh P. G. Wodehouse 1915 British English
4308 Piccadilly Jim P. G. Wodehouse 1917 British English
4308 Epitaph For A Spy Eric Ambler 1938 British English
4308 Journey Into Fear Eric Ambler 1940 British English
4308 The Secret Adversary Agatha Christie 1922 British English
4308 A Gun For Sale Graham Greene 1936 British English
4308 Death At The President's Lodging Michael Innes 1936 British English
4308 The Strange Borders Of Palace Crescent E. Phillips Oppenheim 1934 British English
4308 The Getaway Jim Thompson 1958 American English
4308 The Shrimp And The Anemone L. P. Hartley 1944 British English
4308 Invitation To The Waltz Rosamond Lehmann 1932 British English
4308 Pointed Roofs Dorothy Richardson 1915 British English
4308 Alberta And Jacob Cora Sandel 1926 Norwegian Norwegian
4308 The Three Sisters May Sinclair 1914 British English
4308 Peace In War Miguel de Unamuno 1897 Spanish Spanish
4308 Love For Lydia H. E. Bates 1952 British English
4308 The Parasites Daphne du Maurier 1949 British English
4308 Regency Buck Georgette Heyer 1935 British English
4308 Moon Over Africa Pamela Kent 1955 British English
4308 The Weather In The Streets Rosamond Lehmann 1936 British English
4308 The Reluctant Orphan Sara Seale 1947 British English
4308 Vril Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1871 British English
4308 After London; Or, Wild England Richard Jefferies 1885 British English
4308 The Victorian Chaise Longue Marghanita Laski 1953 British English
4308 The Last September Elizabeth Bowen 1929 Irish English
4308 The Odd Women George Gissing 1893 British English
4308 Love On The Dole Walter Greenwood 1933 British English
4308 A Girl In Winter Philip Larkin 1947 British English
4308 Of Love & Hunger Julian Maclaren-Ross 1947 British English
4308 Afternoon Men Anthony Powell 1931 British English
4308 Darkness Falls From The Air Nigel Balchin 1942 British English
4308 Fair Stood The Wind For France H. E. Bates 1944 British English
4308 The History Of Pompey The Little Francis Coventry 1751 British English
4308 Three Soldiers John Dos Passos 1921 American English
4308 Count Belisarius Robert Graves 1938 British English
4308 The Mark Of Zorro Johnston McCulley 1919 American English
4308 The Children Of The New Forest Frederick Marryat 1847 British English
4308 The Hunters James Salter 1956 American English
4308 Williwaw Gore Vidal 1946 American English
4363 The Anatomy Of A Moment Javier Cercas 2009 Spanish Spanish
4365 Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain 2000 American English
4367 The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie 1995 British English
4366 The Clockmaker Thomas Chandler Haliburton 1800 Canadian English
4368 More Die Of Heartbreak Saul Bellow 1987 American English
4369 Crazy Rich Asians Kevin Kwan 2013 American English
4370 The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind Joseph Murphy 1963 American English
4370 Frost Thomas Bernhard 1963 Austrian German
4370 Irrlicht Und Feuer Max von der Grün 1963 German German
4370 Nobodaddy's Children Arno Schmidt 1963 German German
4370 The Long Voyage Jorge Semprún 1963 French French
4376 The Diversity of Life E. O. Wilson 1992 American English
4377 Heart Edmondo de Amicis 1886 Italian Italian
4377 A Woman Sibilla Aleramo 1906 Italian Italian
4377 Eyes Shut Federigo Tozzi 1919 Italian Italian
4377 Revolt In Aspromonte Corrado Alvaro 1930 Italian Italian