The Greatest Western Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
5697 A Madness Of The Heart Richard Neely 1976 American English
5698 Tapping The Source Kem Nunn 1984 American English
5699 The Little Virtues Natalia Ginzburg 1962 Italian Italian
5700 Fear And Trembling Amélie Nothomb 1999 Belgian French
5701 Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie 2013 American English
5702 A Place of Greater Safety Hilary Mantel 1992 British English
5703 The Persian Boy Mary Renault 1972 British English
5704 The Complete Works of Nathanael West Nathanael West 1957 American English
5705 Mondscheintarif Ildikò von Kürthy 1999 German German
5706 The Sum Of Us Heather McGhee 2021 American English
5707 Kafka Was The Rage Anatole Broyard 1993 American English
5708 Woof, Woof, Dear Lord Sotiris Dimitriou 1987 Greek Unknown
5708 Διηγήματα Michail Mitsakis 1987 Greek Greek
5708 Ο Λουσίας Nikos Houliaras 1987 Greek Greek
5712 How To Suppress Women's Writing Joanna Russ 1983 American English
5713 The Gallery John Horne Burns 1947 American English
5714 Hotel Transylvania Chelsa quinn yarbro 1978 American English
5715 The Twin Gerbrand Bakker 2006 Dutch Dutch
5716 On Stories And Other Essays On Literature C. S. Lewis 1966 British English
5718 Anatomy Of A Murder Robert Traver 1958 American English
5719 Manhood For Amateurs Michael Chabon 2009 American English
5720 Warlight Michael Ondaatje 2018 Canadian English
5722 Blake and Mortimer Edgar P. Jacobs 1946 Belgian French
5723 The Rosy Crucifixion Henry Miller 1949 American English
5724 White Mule William Carlos Williams 1937 American English
5724 Politics And The English Language George Orwell 1946 British English
5726 Simple Passion Annie Ernaux 1991 French French
5728 My Kind of Place Susan Orlean 2004 American English
5727 Double Play Frank Martinus Arion 1973 Dutch Dutch
5732 At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O'Neill 2001 Irish English
5733 Time And Space Juan Ramón Jiménez 1988 Spanish Spanish
5734 Anne Of The Thousand Days Maxwell Anderson 1950 American English
5735 Vernon God Little DBC Pierre 2003 British English
5737 The Ghost Road Pat Barker 1995 British English
5738 Only Forward Michael Marshall Smith 1994 British English
5739 Anil's Ghost Michael Ondaatje 2000 Canadian English
5740 One Of Us Asne Seierstad 2013 Norwegian Norwegian
5741 The Young And Evil Charles Henri Ford, Parker Tyler 1933 American English
5742 Diaries Alan Clark 1993 British English
5743 Can You Keep A Secret? Sophie Kinsella 2003 British English
5744 The Lost Language of Cranes David Leavitt 1986 American English
5746 Největší Z Pierotů František Kožík 1972 Czech Czech
5746 Summer In Prague Zdena Salivarová 1972 Czech English
5748 Open Secrets Alice Munro 1994 Canadian English
5749 The Message In the Bottle Walker Percy 1975 American English
5751 Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging Louise Rennison 1999 British English
5750 The Insult Rupert Thomson 1996 British English
5752 Die Tessinerin Thomas Hürlimann 1981 Swiss German
5752 Flight Of Ashes Monika Maron 1981 German German
5755 Blue Highways William Least Heat-Moon 1982 American English
5756 Concerning The Eccentricities Of Cardinal Pirelli Ronald Firbank 1926 British English
5757 Brown Girl In The Ring Nalo Hopkinson 1998 Canadian English
5758 Come Closer Sara Gran 2003 American English
5759 Earthly Paradise Colette 1966 French French
5760 The Disorderly Knights Dorothy Dunnett 1966 British English
5761 The Scar China Miéville 2002 British English
5762 Dear Theo Irving Stone, Jean Stone 1937 American English
5762 The Deadly Percheron John Franklin Bardin 1946 American English
5762 Sparkling Cyanide Agatha Christie 1945 British English
5762 With A Bare Bodkin Cyril Hare 1946 British English
5762 Cotton Comes To Harlem Chester Himes 1965 American English
5762 Unnatural Causes P. D. James 1967 British English
5762 The Lady In The Car With Glasses And A Gun Sebastien Japrisot 1966 French French
5769 The Businessman Thomas M. Disch 1984 American English
5770 Whip Hand Dick Francis 1979 British English
5771 His Majesty's Yankees Thomas H. Raddall 1977 Canadian English
5772 The Digging Leviathan James P. Blaylock 1984 American English
5773 The Road from Coorain Jill Ker Conway 1989 Australian English
5774 Χαιρε Ποτε Kiki Dimoula 1988 Greek Greek
5776 The Serpent Jane Gaskell 1963 British English
5776 The Stealer Of Souls Michael Moorcock 1963 British English
5779 Special Friendships Roger Peyrefitte 1943 French French
5780 Entangled Life Merlin Sheldrake 2020 British English
5801 The Beak of the Finch Jonathan Weiner 1994 American English
5781 Among Professors W.F. Hermans 1975 Dutch Dutch
5782 Confessions Of An Italian Ippolito Nievo 1867 Italian Italian
5782 Giacinta Luigi Capuana 1879 Italian Italian
5782 Malombra Antonio Fogazzaro 1881 Italian Italian
5782 Il Ventre Di Napoli Matilde Serao 1884 Italian Italian
5782 The Maidens Of The Rocks Gabriele D'Annunzio 1895 Italian Italian
5782 The Old And The Young Luigi Pirandello 1913 Italian Italian
5782 Notturno Gabriele D'Annunzio 1916 Italian Italian
5782 Stories For A Year Luigi Pirandello 1959 Italian Italian
5782 The Sisters Materassi Aldo Palazzeschi 1934 Italian Italian
5782 Gente Nel Tempo Massimo Bontempelli 1937 Italian Italian
5782 La Pietra Lunare Tommaso Landolfi 1939 Italian Italian
5782 Narrate, Uomini, La Vostra Storia Alberto Savinio 1942 Italian Italian
5782 Men And Not Men Elio Vittorini 1945 Italian Italian
5782 Dialogues With Leucò Cesare Pavese 1947 Italian Italian
5782 A Time To Kill Ennio Flaiano 1947 Italian English
5782 L'agnese Va A Morire Renata Viganò 1949 Italian Italian
5782 Il Mare Non Bagna Napoli Anna Maria Ortese 1953 Italian Italian
5782 The Sergeant In The Snow Mario Rigoni Stern 1953 Italian Italian
5782 The Serpent Luigi Malerba 1966 Italian Italian
5802 Kruso Lutz Seiler 2014 German German
5803 Illuminations Walter Benjamin 1968 German German
5804 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5805 The Child Manuela Christa Winsloe 1933 German German
5806 Five Days at Memorial Sheri Fink 2013 American English
5807 Mysterious Skin Scott Heim 1995 American English
5808 Prairie Fires Caroline Fraser 2017 American English
5809 An Ordinary Youth Walter Kempowski 1971 German Unknown
5810 The Insistence Of Horror Patricia Meyer Spacks 1962 American English
5811 John Dies At The End David Wong 2007 American English
5812 The City Of The Sun Tommaso Campanella 1623 Italian Latin
5814 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
5815 Cyclops Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
5818 Helen Euripides -412 Greek Ancient greek
5821 Heroides Ovid 25 Roman Latin
5817 René François-Auguste-René de Chateaubriand 1802 French French
5828 On The Sublime Longinus -50 Greek Greek
5822 Hymns And Epigrams Callimachus -239 Greek Ancient greek
5823 Idylls Theocritus -260 Greek Ancient greek
5825 Moralia Plutarch -100 Greek Greek
5826 Satires Lucian -160 Greek Ancient greek
5827 On The Gods Marcus Tullius Cicero 45 Roman Latin
5819 Perma Red Debra Magpie Earling 2002 American English
5819 The Russian Debutante’s Handbook Gary Shteyngart 2002 American English
5824 Conundrum Jan Morris 1974 British English
5832 Poems Archilochos -650 Greek Ancient greek