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
5961 The Hog Murders William L. Deandrea 1979 American English
5962 This Is Happiness Niall Williams 2019 Irish English
5965 A Princess In Theory Alyssa Cole 2018 American English
5963 Swords In The Mist Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
5963 Swords Against Wizardry Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
5966 Incarnate Ramsey Campbell 1983 British English
5969 The Perfect Nanny Leïla Slimani 2016 French French
5971 Data From The Decade Of The Sixties Thanassis Valtinos 1989 Greek Greek
5971 The Life Of Ismail Ferik Pasha Rea Galanaki 1989 Greek Greek
5971 Γυάλινα Γιάννενα Michalis Ganas 1989 Greek Greek
5971 The Man Who Watched The Trains Go By Georges Simenon 1938 Belgian French
5976 So Much! Trish Cooke 1994 British English
5977 1491 Charles C. Mann 2005 American English
5978 The Ogre Michel Tournier 1970 French French
5980 Chiefs Stuart Woods 1981 American English
5979 The Boys From Brazil Ira Levin 1976 American English
5981 Soulstealers Philip A. Kuhn 1990 American English
5985 Maximum City Suketu Mehta 2004 American English
5984 Ecotopia Ernest Callenbach 1975 American English
5986 The Idiot Elif Batuman 2017 American English
5987 Ham On Rye Charles Bukowski 1982 American English
5988 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
5989 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
5990 Bloodchild Octavia E. Butler 1984 American English
5991 The Eight Katherine Neville 1988 American English
5992 The Children's Book A. S. Byatt 2009 British English
5993 Writing Degree Zero Roland Barthes 1953 French French
5994 The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf Victor Pelevin 2004 Russian Russian
5995 The Green Road Anne Enright 2015 Irish English
5996 The Coddling Of The American Mind Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff 2018 American English
5997 Paradise Abdulrazak Gurnah 1994 British English
5999 After Virtue Alasdair MacIntyre 1981 British English
5998 The Dialectic Of Sex Shulamith Firestone 1970 American English
6000 The Cipher Kathe Koja 1991 American English
6001 The Classical Style Charles Rosen 1971 American English
6002 Kate Vaiden Reynolds Price 1986 American English
6004 A History Of Greece To The Death Of Alexander The Great John Bagnell Bury 1900 British English
6004 The Children Of The Sea Joseph Conrad 1897 British English
6004 Geological Evidences Of The Antiquity Of Man Charles Lyell 1863 British English
6004 The Oxford Book Of English Verse Arthur Quiller-Couch 1900 British English
6073 Earthfasts William Mayne 1966 British English
6004 Men In Dark Times Hannah Arendt 1968 German English
6004 Shakespeare And Company Sylvia Beach 1959 American English
6004 A Balcony In The Forest Julien Gracq 1958 French French
6004 Five On A Treasure Island Enid Blyton 1942 British English
6004 The Wild Swans Hans Christian Andersen 1838 Danish Danish
6004 The People Of The Abyss Jack London 1903 American English
6004 Nietzsche And Philosophy Gilles Deleuze 1962 French French
6004 Inner Experience Georges Bataille 1943 French French
6004 The Story Of My Life Giacomo Casanova 1822 Italian French
6004 Chekhov's Selected Stories Anton Chekhov 1903 Russian Russian
6004 A Love Affair Dino Buzzati 1963 Italian Italian
6004 Collected Stories Franz Kafka 1931 Austrian German
6004 Ivanov Anton Chekhov 1887 Russian Russian
6004 The Lord Chandos Letter And Other Writings Hugo von Hofmannsthal 1902 Austrian German
6004 Leaves of Hypnos René Char 1946 French French
6004 Waiting For Nothing And Other Writings Tom Kromer 1935 American English
6004 A Certain Plume Henri Michaux 1930 French English
6004 A Woman Named Solitude André Schwarz-Bart 1972 French French
6004 Batailles Dans La Montagne Jean Giono 1937 French French
6004 Ceux De 14 Maurice Genevoix 1949 French French
6004 Die Niederschrift Des Gustav Anias Horn Hans Henny Jahnn 1949 German German
6004 Dire I–Ii Danielle Collobert 1972 French French
6004 Divagations Stéphane Mallarmé 1897 French French
6004 Le Bavard Louis-René Des Forêts 1946 French French
6004 Les Murs De Fresnes Henri Calet 1945 French French
6004 Les Métamorphoses Du Cercle Georges Poulet 1961 Belgian French
6004 Madness Of The Day Maurice Blanchot 1949 French French
6004 Master And Man Leo Tolstoy 1895 Russian Russian
6004 Mes Heures Perdues Félix Arvers 1833 French French
6004 My Feminine Brother Marina Tsvetaeva 1923 Russian Russian
6004 Night Edgar Hilsenrath 1964 German German
6004 No One's Rose Paul Celan 1963 German German
6004 Note Conjointe Charles Péguy 1914 French French
6004 Notebooks Joseph Joubert 1883 French French
6004 Poem Of The End Marina Tsvetaeva 1923 Russian Russian
6004 Pylon William Faulkner 1935 American English
6004 Septentrion Louis Calaferte 1963 French French
6004 Seven Gothic Tales Karen Blixen 1934 Danish Danish
6004 Someone Robert Pinget 1965 French French
6004 Sonnets Louise Labé 1556 French French
6004 Testimony Charles Reznikoff 1965 American English
6004 The Burrow Franz Kafka 1924 Austrian German
6004 The Flood Yevgeny Zamyatin 1929 Russian Russian
6004 The Golden Fruits Nathalie Sarraute 1963 French French
6004 The Life Of Rancé François-Auguste-René de Chateaubriand 1844 French French
6004 The Motorcycle André Pieyre de Mandiargues 1963 French French
6004 The Pine Wood Notebook Francis Ponge 1947 French French
6004 The Ratcatcher Marina Tsvetaeva 1926 Russian Russian
6004 The Return Of Münchausen Sigismund Krzyzanowski 1927 Russian Russian
6004 The Sailor From Gibraltar Marguerite Duras 1952 French French
6004 The Wonderful Farm Marcel Aymé 1939 French French
6004 Theatre Of The World Frances A. Yates 1969 British English
6004 Things Seen Victor Hugo 1887 French French
6004 Three Women Robert Musil 1924 Austrian German
6004 Tous N'étaient Pas Des Anges Joseph Kessel 1970 French French
6004 Travaux Georges Navel 1945 French French
6004 Van Gogh Antonin Artaud 1947 French French
6004 Which Moped With Chrome Plated Handlebars At The Back Of The Yard? Georges Perec 1966 French French
6074 The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein 1985 American English
6075 The Voyeur Alain Robbe-Grillet 1955 French French
6077 The Darkest Road Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
6076 A Knight In Shining Armor Jude Deveraux 1989 American English
6078 The Questionnaire Jiří Gruša 1975 Czech Czech
6079 John Keats Robert Gittings 1968 British English
6081 Essential Cuisine Michel Bras 1996 French French
6080 The Power Of The Dog Don Winslow 2005 American English
6082 The Lamplighter Maria Susanna Cummins 1854 American English
6083 Dissolution C. J. Sansom 2003 British English
6085 Sundog Jim Harrison 1984 American English
6086 The Maker Of Universes Philip José Farmer 1965 American English
6087 Danse Macabre Stephen King 1981 American English
6088 The End Of The World News Anthony Burgess 1982 British English
6088 An Ice Cream War William Boyd 1982 British English
6090 All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders 2016 American English
6091 Good Company Frances Partridge 1977 British English
6095 True Betrayals Nora Roberts 1995 American English
6095 Tonight And Forever Brenda Jackson 1995 American English
6094 The Secret History Of The World Jonathan Black 2007 British English
6091 Herr Gustafsson Himself Lars Gustafsson 1983 Swedish Swedish