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
7795 The Rebel Angels Robertson Davies 1981 Canadian English
7794 The Gay Science Friedrich Nietzsche 1882 German German
7796 The Politics of American English, 1776-1950 David Simpson 1986 American English
7799 Dreamsnake Vonda N. McIntyre 1978 American English
7799 The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi 2009 American English
7799 Network Effect Martha Wells 2020 American English
7802 Another Brooklyn Jacqueline Woodson 2016 American English
7804 Anno Dracula Kim Newman 1992 British English
7805 Havoc, In Its Third Year Ronan Bennett 2004 Irish English
7807 Lick Kylie Scott 2013 Australian English
7809 Twilight of the Superheroes Deborah Eisenberg 2006 American English
7808 Products Of The Perfected Civilization Sébastien-Roch Nicolas de Chamfort 1969 French French
7812 The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbery 2006 French French
7812 The Blind Side of the Heart Julia Franck 2007 German German
7812 Cain José Saramago 2009 Portuguese Portuguese
7812 The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides 2011 American English
7810 Bullet Park John Cheever 1969 American English
7811 The Song Of The Dodo David Quammen 1996 American English
7812 Shrill Lindy West 2016 American English
7817 In My Hands Irene Opdyke 1999 American English
7818 Ties That Bind, Ties That Break Lensey Namioka 1999 American English
7820 Women Of Messina Elio Vittorini 1949 Italian Italian
7820 Collected Stories Colette 1949 French French
7820 Selected Writings Henri Michaux 1949 French French
7820 Transparence Of The World Jean Follain 1949 French French
7820 Five Novels Ronald Firbank 1949 British English
7820 Hugo Von Hofmannsthal And His Time Hermann Broch 1949 Austrian German
7828 Noci, Po Nichž Nepřichází Ráno J. H. Krchovský 1996 Czech Czech
7828 Mezi Oknem, Stolem A Postelí Petr Borkovec 1996 Czech Czech
7819 Sister Gin June Arnold 1975 American English
7820 On The Track Of Unknown Animals Bernard Heuvelmans 1955 Belgian French
7830 Purple America Rick Moody 1997 American English
7831 The Blue Flowers Raymond Queneau 1965 French French
7832 Elling Ingvar Ambjørnsen 1996 Norwegian Norwegian
7832 La Larga Marcha Rafael Chirbes 1996 Spanish Spanish
7832 Ein Mann Im Haus Ulla Hahn 1996 German German
7837 The Midnight Library Matt Haig 2020 British English
7838 Sag Harbor Colson Whitehead 2009 American English
7839 The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue V. E. Schwab 2020 American English
7840 Riverfinger Women Elana Nachman 1974 American English
7841 Stick Elmore Leonard 1983 American English
7842 The Little Drummer Girl John le Carré 1983 British English
7843 Black And Blue Ian Rankin 1997 British English
7844 If Only It Were True Marc Levy 1999 French French
7845 The Accidental Ali Smith 2005 British English
7847 The Case Against Satan Ray Russell 1962 American English
7848 The Aesthetics Of Fantasy Literature And Art Roger Schlobin 1982 American English
7848 The Darkangel Meredith Ann Pierce 1982 American English
7850 The Birth House Ami McKay 2006 Canadian English
7851 Paula Spencer Roddy Doyle 2006 Irish English
7852 Thinking In Pictures Temple Grandin 1995 American English
7853 L'organisation Jean Rolin 1996 French French
7853 La Sorcière Marie NDiaye 1996 French French
7856 Salvation on Sand Mountain Dennis Covington 1995 American English
7857 Autobiography Of Red Anne Carson 1998 Canadian English
7858 Jennie Gerhardt Theodore Dreiser 1911 American English
7859 Phantom Evil Heather Graham Pozzessere 2011 American English
7859 The Scorpio Races Maggie Stiefvater 2011 American English
7861 Poems Of Blas De Otero Blas de Otero 1950 Spanish Spanish
7861 Selected Writings Paul Valéry 1950 French French
7861 Poems Of René Char René Char 1950 French French
7861 The Rehearsal Jean Anouilh 1950 French French
7861 A Rhetoric Of Motives Kenneth Burke 1950 American English
7861 World Enough And Time Robert Penn Warren 1950 American English
7861 Language, Thought, And Reality Benjamin Lee Whorf 1956 American English
7861 The Barbarous Coast Ross Macdonald 1956 American English
7861 The Plains Gerald Murnane 1982 Australian English
7870 The Life Changing Magic Of Numbers Bobby Seagull 2019 British English
7871 Незнайка на Луне Nikolay Nosov 1965 Russian Russian
7872 Mr Standfast John Buchan 1919 British English
7872 Poor Cow Nell Dunn 1967 British English
7872 Psmith, Journalist P. G. Wodehouse 1915 British English
7876 World's Fair E. L. Doctorow 1985 American English
7877 Baumgartner Paul Auster 2023 American English
7878 The Fountains of Paradise Arthur C. Clarke 1979 British English
7878 Forever Peace Joe Haldeman 1997 American English
7878 Blackout/All Clear Connie Willis 2010 American English
7881 Safe Area Joe Sacco 2000 American English
7884 Archer's Goon Diana Wynne Jones 1984 British English
7890 The Dog Star Agneta Pleijel 2023 Swedish Swedish
7888 The Courtesan's Daughter Claudia Dain 2007 American English
7888 The Vampire Queen's Servant Joey W. Hill 2007 American English
7891 Love Toni Morrison 2003 American English
7892 Shutter Island Dennis Lehane 2003 American English
7894 Communion Whitley Strieber 1987 American English
7895 The Bone Clocks David Mitchell 2014 British English
7897 Dangerous Laughter Steven Millhauser 2008 American English
7898 The Night Watch Sarah Waters 2006 British English
7900 Spreadeagle Kevin Killian 2012 American English
7900 The Gentrification of the Mind Sarah Schulman 2012 American English
7900 Capital John Lanchester 2012 British English
7903 The House in the Cerulean Sea Tj Klune 2020 American English
7899 The Great Alone Kristin Hannah 2018 American English
7904 The Social Transformation of American Medicine Paul Starr 1982 American English
7904 Move Your Shadow Joseph Lelyveld 1986 American English
7904 Arab and Jew David K. Shipler 1986 American English
7904 Locking Up Our Own James Forman 2017 American English
7909 The Lincoln Lawyer Michael Connelly 2005 American English
7908 That Deadman Dance Kim Scott 2010 Australian English
7911 The Lesson Eugène Ionesco 1951 French French
7911 Poems Of Keith Douglas Keith Douglas 1951 British English
7911 The Necessary Angel Wallace Stevens 1951 American English
7915 Musicophilia Oliver Sacks 2007 British English
7915 The Braindead Megaphone George Saunders 2007 American English
7915 How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read Pierre Bayard 2007 French French
7910 Bad Day In Blackrock Kevin Power 2008 Irish English
7911 The Town William Faulkner 1957 American English
7920 Red Rising Pierce Brown 2014 American English
7920 Mr. Mercedes Stephen King 2014 American English
7923 Uprooted Naomi Novik 2015 American English
7922 Small Mercies Dennis Lehane 2023 American English
7924 Shatuny Yuri Mamleev 1966 Russian Russian
7925 Myths Of The Near Future J. G. Ballard 1982 British English
7926 Letters From The Earth Mark Twain 1962 American English
7927 Die Auflösung Der Weimarer Republik Karl Dietrich Bracher 1955 German German
7928 Autobiographie De Mon Pere Pierre Pachet 1997 French French
7932 The Judas Child Carol O'Connell 1998 American English
7931 Four Essays On Liberty Isaiah Berlin 1969 British English
7930 Winterwood Patrick McCabe 2006 Irish English
7929 Abundance Ezra Klein 2025 American English