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Best of World Literature

Description: Literature originating from places other than America, United Kingdom or Western Europe.

Based on tag: world literature

Members: 35 participating members (show all)

All members' list: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Sort: Score | Title | Author | Date
1
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
7,329 members, 153 reviews
4 stars (4 stars)

Lists: gypsysmom (1), hipdeep (1), inge87 (1), kara.shamy (2), Himalmitra (2), aulsmith (2), Dilara86 (4), amandameale (5), ahef1963 (6)

Score: 30.15

2
Fictions
by Jorge Luis Borges
5,420 members, 81 reviews
4.39 stars (4.39 stars)

Lists: prdasilva (1), kara.shamy (1), merrystar (1), thecoroner (3), FranzK72 (5), CGlanovsky (7), roby72 (7), thorold (9), Himalmitra (15), raperper (17)

Score: 28.94

3
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
15,040 members, 337 reviews
3.75 stars (3.75 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (1), gypsysmom (2), ahef1963 (4), Dilara86 (5), roby72 (5), thorold (8), amandameale (8), Himalmitra (10), FranzK72 (19), thecoroner (24), cej1027

Score: 28.83

4
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
21,149 members, 344 reviews
4.26 stars (4.26 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (1), thecoroner (1), rplinke (1), gypsysmom (3), roby72 (4), raperper (4), amandameale (7), Himalmitra (8), iggyjreilly (14)

Score: 27.6

5
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by Milan Kundera
18,251 members, 214 reviews
4.02 stars (4.02 stars)

Lists: TehilaKoblenz (1), gypsysmom (4), amandameale (6), CGlanovsky (8), Himalmitra (9), FranzK72 (18), roby72 (21), thecoroner (22), mspixieears

Score: 21.7

6
Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie
11,184 members, 205 reviews
4.06 stars (4.06 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (6), CGlanovsky (6), roby72 (6), thecoroner (8), ahef1963 (8), Himalmitra (11), iggyjreilly (13), mspixieears

Score: 18.7

7
The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende
11,057 members, 174 reviews
4.08 stars (4.08 stars)

Lists: TehilaKoblenz (2), hipdeep (2), merrystar (3), thecoroner (7), FranzK72 (9), CGlanovsky (14), roby72 (22)

Score: 18.45

8
The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
22,206 members, 248 reviews
4.38 stars (4.38 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (2), thecoroner (2), roby72 (3), CGlanovsky (4), Himalmitra (7), raperper (16)

Score: 17.05

9
A Bend in the River
by V. S. Naipaul
2,547 members, 47 reviews
3.72 stars (3.72 stars)

Lists: philna (1), gypsysmom (5), thecoroner (6), BookWallah (11), amandameale (16), iggyjreilly (17), roby72 (41)

Score: 16.98

10
A Fine Balance
by Rohinton Mistry
7,619 members, 210 reviews
4.37 stars (4.37 stars)

Lists: KimarieBee (1), Himalmitra (3), Dilara86 (3), gypsysmom (6), iggyjreilly (16), ahef1963 (33)

Score: 16.3

11
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
10,017 members, 157 reviews
4.03 stars (4.03 stars)

Lists: 8heist (1), amandameale (10), BookWallah (13), roby72 (14), raperper (15), Himalmitra (23), mspixieears

Score: 16.25

12
The Epic of Gilgamesh
by Anonymous
7,488 members, 88 reviews
3.79 stars (3.79 stars)

Lists: Himalmitra (1), aulsmith (1), CGlanovsky (2), ahef1963 (5), raperper (13)

Score: 16.15

13
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
24,299 members, 782 reviews
4.27 stars (4.27 stars)

Lists: spamboxyay (1), TehilaKoblenz (3), BookWallah (5), gypsysmom (7), kara.shamy (10), ahef1963 (39)

Score: 16.02

14
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
34,906 members, 520 reviews
4.19 stars (4.19 stars)

Lists: thorold (2), FranzK72 (4), thecoroner (5), TehilaKoblenz (5), iggyjreilly (5), CGlanovsky (48)

Score: 15.74

15
Life and Fate
by Vasily Grossman
2,188 members, 70 reviews
4.35 stars (4.35 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (4), amandameale (4), raperper (6), roby72 (9), FranzK72 (10), Himalmitra (17)

Score: 14.74

16
Hopscotch
by Julio Cortázar
3,543 members, 78 reviews
4.21 stars (4.21 stars)

Lists: Carina.P (1), FranzK72 (3), iggyjreilly (3), thecoroner (10), roby72 (26)

Score: 14.1

17
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
22,096 members, 321 reviews
3.96 stars (3.96 stars)

Lists: ahef1963 (3), TehilaKoblenz (4), iggyjreilly (4), gypsysmom (8), roby72 (18)

Score: 13.02

18
The Bridge on the Drina
by Ivo Andrić
1,695 members, 43 reviews
4.15 stars (4.15 stars)

Lists: amandameale (1), Dilara86 (7), FranzK72 (8), thecoroner (15), roby72 (72)

Score: 12.24

19
Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
18,768 members, 256 reviews
4.27 stars (4.27 stars)

Lists: isworoami (1), 8heist (2), amandameale (3), CGlanovsky (5), raperper (5), gypsysmom (9)

Thumbs down: BookWallah, thecoroner, aulsmith

Score: 12.06

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): Western Europe

20
The Iliad / The Odyssey
by Homer
3,482 members, 33 reviews
4.16 stars (4.16 stars)

Lists: roby72 (1), raperper (1), kara.shamy (3), Himalmitra (5), gypsysmom (10), mspixieears

Thumbs down: BookWallah, thecoroner, aulsmith

Score: 11.93

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): While Greece is currently in Eastern Europe, Ancient Greece is the seat of Western European culture.

21
The English Patient
by Michael Ondaatje
9,505 members, 143 reviews
3.91 stars (3.91 stars)

Lists: philna (2), kara.shamy (9), gypsysmom (11), amandameale (13), ahef1963 (21), Himalmitra (24), mspixieears

Thumbs down: BookWallah, aulsmith

Score: 11.62

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): Canadian

22
My Name is Red
by Orhan Pamuk
5,663 members, 139 reviews
3.76 stars (3.76 stars)

Lists: amandameale (2), thorold (6), FranzK72 (15), roby72 (20), thecoroner (30)

Score: 11.55

23
Soul Mountain
by Gao Xingjian
2,009 members, 30 reviews
3.51 stars (3.51 stars)

Lists: DB71991 (1), CGlanovsky (12), FranzK72 (21), thecoroner (27), roby72 (32)

Score: 11.45

24
Complete Poems
by C.P. Cavafy
1,407 members, 20 reviews
4.38 stars (4.38 stars)

Lists: mkbird (1), thorold (3), aulsmith (7), Himalmitra (18)

Score: 11.44

25
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
43,757 members, 1,150 reviews
4.21 stars (4.21 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (2), TehilaKoblenz (7), ahef1963 (7), gypsysmom (12), kara.shamy (12), roby72 (17)

Thumbs down: librorumamans, Himalmitra

Score: 10.55

26
The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran
10,444 members, 124 reviews
4.13 stars (4.13 stars)

Lists: kara.shamy (5), gypsysmom (13), roby72 (13), ahef1963 (20), thecoroner (33)

Score: 10.45

27
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
14,481 members, 296 reviews
4.2 stars (4.2 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (9), roby72 (12), iggyjreilly (15), ahef1963 (18), mspixieears

Score: 10.4

28
Heart of Darkness [Norton Critical Edition]
by Joseph Conrad
2,715 members, 19 reviews
3.73 stars (3.73 stars)

Lists: kara.shamy (6), gypsysmom (14), Himalmitra (28), ahef1963 (54), cej1027, mspixieears

Thumbs down: aulsmith

Score: 10.36

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): I know he's Polish and this is about Africa, but he's generally considered a British author.

29
Conversation in the Cathedral
by Mario Vargas Llosa
865 members, 22 reviews
4.09 stars (4.09 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (7), roby72 (10), Himalmitra (19), raperper (24), thecoroner (26)

Score: 10.2

30
The Makioka Sisters
by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
1,568 members, 32 reviews
4.11 stars (4.11 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (9), amandameale (11), FranzK72 (12), thecoroner (17), roby72 (46)

Score: 10.16

31
The Good Soldier Svejk
by Jaroslav Hašek
2,668 members, 42 reviews
3.98 stars (3.98 stars)

Lists: thorold (4), FranzK72 (13), CGlanovsky (19), thecoroner (36), roby72 (59)

Score: 9.93

32
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street
by Naguib Mahfouz
927 members, 12 reviews
4.38 stars (4.38 stars)

Lists: Dilara86 (2), iggyjreilly (10), thecoroner (11), FranzK72 (14)

Score: 9.88

33
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
28,799 members, 800 reviews
3.58 stars (3.58 stars)

Lists: merrystar (2), TehilaKoblenz (6), ahef1963 (9), roby72 (39)

Score: 9.83

34
The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
7,787 members, 368 reviews
3.78 stars (3.78 stars)

Lists: kara.shamy (11), gypsysmom (15), roby72 (15), ahef1963 (47), mspixieears

Score: 9.76

35
Oedipus Rex
by Sophocles
4,684 members, 46 reviews
3.69 stars (3.69 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (3), raperper (3), kara.shamy (4), roby72 (8), Himalmitra (16), ahef1963 (17)

Thumbs down: BookWallah, thecoroner, aulsmith

Score: 9.26

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): I think of Ancient Greece as Western

36
The Satanic Verses
by Salman Rushdie
9,444 members, 114 reviews
3.76 stars (3.76 stars)

Lists: thorold (7), CGlanovsky (10), ahef1963 (10), Himalmitra (12)

Score: 9.11

37
Labyrinths
by Jorge Luis Borges
5,377 members, 64 reviews
4.44 stars (4.44 stars)

Lists: thorold (5), kara.shamy (7), CGlanovsky (17), roby72 (37)

Score: 8.73

38
Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4,899 members, 245 reviews
4.14 stars (4.14 stars)

Lists: Dilara86 (6), amandameale (14), gypsysmom (16), ahef1963 (52)

Score: 8.11

39
Omeros
by Derek Walcott
851 members, 16 reviews
3.9 stars (3.9 stars)

Lists: thorold (1), thecoroner (9), roby72 (64)

Score: 7.72

40
Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
14,026 members, 374 reviews
4.07 stars (4.07 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (13), gypsysmom (17), roby72 (36), mspixieears

Score: 7.68

41
Mother
by Maxim Gorki
821 members, 16 reviews
3.55 stars (3.55 stars)

Lists: Dilara86 (10), thecoroner (19), FranzK72 (23), roby72 (70)

Score: 7.38

42
The Nose
by Nikolai Gogol
256 members, 9 reviews
3.67 stars (3.67 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (14), FranzK72 (17), CGlanovsky (22), roby72 (67)

Score: 7.28

43
Arrow of God
by Chinua Achebe
941 members, 17 reviews
3.74 stars (3.74 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (4), Dilara86 (9), gypsysmom (18)

Score: 7.08

44
Snow Country
by Yasunari Kawabata
2,378 members, 55 reviews
3.73 stars (3.73 stars)

Lists: gypsysmom (19), thecoroner (20), FranzK72 (33), roby72 (43)

Score: 7.04

45
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy
15,815 members, 289 reviews
3.89 stars (3.89 stars)

Lists: philna (4), iggyjreilly (12), kara.shamy (15)

Score: 7.01

46
Waiting for the Barbarians
by J. M. Coetzee
3,388 members, 60 reviews
3.96 stars (3.96 stars)

Lists: gypsysmom (20), FranzK72 (27), thecoroner (32), CGlanovsky (54)

Score: 6.8

48
The Housekeeper and the Professor
by Yoko Ogawa
2,197 members, 176 reviews
3.96 stars (3.96 stars)

Lists: KimarieBee (2), mkbird (3)

Score: 6.4

49
To the End of the Land
by David Grossman
1,109 members, 55 reviews
4.11 stars (4.11 stars)

Lists: iggyjreilly (7), inge87 (14), gypsysmom (22)

Score: 6.37

50
The Home and the World
by Rabindranath Tagore
444 members, 5 reviews
3.59 stars (3.59 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (10), roby72 (11), Himalmitra (21)

Score: 6.31

51
Children of the Alley
by Naguib Mahfouz
645 members, 13 reviews
3.98 stars (3.98 stars)

Lists: Dilara86 (1), kara.shamy (13)

Score: 6.11

52
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1 (Penguin Classics)
by Anonymous
339 members, 5 reviews
4.04 stars (4.04 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (5), CGlanovsky (24), thecoroner (40)

Score: 6.07

53
Collected Fictions
by Jorge Luis Borges
3,995 members, 47 reviews
4.61 stars (4.61 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (11), amandameale (15), roby72 (29)

Score: 5.95

54
Dead Souls
by Nikolai Gogol
6,985 members, 86 reviews
3.96 stars (3.96 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (11), thecoroner (12), roby72 (47)

Score: 5.87

55
1Q84
by Haruki Murakami
5,759 members, 250 reviews
3.84 stars (3.84 stars)

Lists: TehilaKoblenz (9), CGlanovsky (18), roby72 (55)

Score: 5.72

56
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid
4,115 members, 215 reviews
3.68 stars (3.68 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (1), kara.shamy (33)

Score: 5.67

57
2666
by Roberto Bolaño
4,911 members, 145 reviews
4.13 stars (4.13 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (13), roby72 (25), FranzK72 (29)

Score: 5.62

58
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
by Jorge Amado
1,003 members, 21 reviews
3.9 stars (3.9 stars)

Lists: iggyjreilly (1), thecoroner (44)

Score: 5.55

59
A Hero of Our Time
by Mikhail Lermontov
2,863 members, 44 reviews
3.92 stars (3.92 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (16), FranzK72 (25), roby72 (31)

Score: 5.48

60
Snow
by Orhan Pamuk
5,915 members, 135 reviews
3.56 stars (3.56 stars)

Lists: CGlanovsky (16), roby72 (27), FranzK72 (30)

Score: 5.46

61
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
by Patrick Süskind
14,516 members, 353 reviews
3.94 stars (3.94 stars)

Lists: martensgirl (1), philna (3), amandameale (9), ahef1963 (15), mspixieears

Thumbs down: BookWallah, thecoroner, aulsmith, inge87

Score: 5.35

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): German

62
The Woman in the Dunes
by Kōbō Abe
2,234 members, 46 reviews
3.83 stars (3.83 stars)

Lists: iggyjreilly (18), CGlanovsky (20), roby72 (50)

Score: 5.34

63
A Personal Matter
by Kenzaburo Oë
1,408 members, 27 reviews
3.77 stars (3.77 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (16), thecoroner (28), roby72 (48)

Score: 5.26

64
Resurrection
by Leo Tolstoy
2,148 members, 21 reviews
3.8 stars (3.8 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (23), FranzK72 (32), roby72 (33)

Score: 5.18

65
The Sound of the Mountain
by Yasunari Kawabata
851 members, 14 reviews
4.14 stars (4.14 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (26), roby72 (69), mspixieears

Score: 5.13

66
Oblomov
by Ivan Goncharov
2,540 members, 53 reviews
4.02 stars (4.02 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (21), FranzK72 (34), roby72 (42)

Score: 5.1

67
Pedro Páramo
by Juan Rulfo
2,054 members, 49 reviews
4 stars (4 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (20), thecoroner (34), CGlanovsky (46)

Score: 5.08

68
War with the Newts
by Karel Čapek
1,456 members, 42 reviews
4.07 stars (4.07 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (29), CGlanovsky (33), FranzK72 (35)

Score: 5.04

69
The President
by Miguel Ángel Asturias
643 members, 12 reviews
4.08 stars (4.08 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (24), thecoroner (38), roby72 (53)

Score: 4.9

70
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
7,427 members, 295 reviews
4.18 stars (4.18 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (9), cej1027

Score: 4.87

71
Heart of a Dog
by Mikhail Bulgakov
2,285 members, 45 reviews
3.87 stars (3.87 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (28), thecoroner (39), roby72 (52)

Score: 4.83

72
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories
by Leo Tolstoy
1,854 members, 18 reviews
3.98 stars (3.98 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (22), thecoroner (48), roby72 (61)

Score: 4.8

73
The Invention of Morel
by Adolfo Bioy Casares
1,668 members, 43 reviews
3.93 stars (3.93 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (36), thecoroner (43), CGlanovsky (49)

Score: 4.71

74
The Black Book
by Orhan Pamuk
1,780 members, 30 reviews
3.67 stars (3.67 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (31), thecoroner (46), roby72 (56)

Score: 4.69

75
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz
2,507 members, 39 reviews
3.97 stars (3.97 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (41), roby72 (44), thecoroner (45)

Score: 4.68

76
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
4,683 members, 283 reviews
4 stars (4 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (4), gypsysmom (23)

Score: 4.66

77
Black Rain
by Masuji Ibuse
671 members, 21 reviews
3.96 stars (3.96 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (38), roby72 (49), thecoroner (51)

Score: 4.62

78
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
by Mario Vargas Llosa
2,023 members, 59 reviews
3.89 stars (3.89 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (37), thecoroner (49), roby72 (62)

Score: 4.56

79
The Bhagavad Gita
by Anonymous
7,194 members, 73 reviews
3.93 stars (3.93 stars)

Lists: kara.shamy (8), Himalmitra (13)

Score: 4.49

80
Inés of My Soul
by Isabel Allende
2,090 members, 76 reviews
3.65 stars (3.65 stars)

Lists: inge87 (5), gypsysmom (24)

Score: 4.48

81
Kusamakura
by Natsume Soseki
442 members, 8 reviews
3.8 stars (3.8 stars)

Lists: FranzK72 (40), thecoroner (50), roby72 (71)

Score: 4.47

82
Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel
9,717 members, 215 reviews
3.85 stars (3.85 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (6), gypsysmom (25)

Score: 4.35

83
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
9,833 members, 221 reviews
4.08 stars (4.08 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (7), gypsysmom (26)

Score: 4.23

84
Poems of a Black Orpheus
by Leopold Sedar Senghor
4 members, 0 reviews

Lists: thorold (12), aulsmith (16)

Score: 4.15

85
Season of Migration to the North
by Tayeb Salih
1,165 members, 37 reviews
3.81 stars (3.81 stars)

Lists: Dilara86 (8), CGlanovsky (29)

Score: 4.1

86
The Namesake: A Novel
by Jhumpa Lahiri
10,415 members, 279 reviews
3.91 stars (3.91 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (8), gypsysmom (37)

Score: 4

87
The Grass is Singing
by Doris Lessing
1,779 members, 62 reviews
3.95 stars (3.95 stars)

Lists: thorold (10), gypsysmom (36)

Score: 3.88

88
R.U.R.
by Karel Čapek
655 members, 18 reviews
3.63 stars (3.63 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (13), CGlanovsky (35)

Score: 3.75

89
The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai
5,906 members, 169 reviews
3.41 stars (3.41 stars)

Lists: ahef1963 (23), gypsysmom (35)

Score: 3.47

90
At the Still Point
by Mary Benson
54 members, 2 reviews
4.4 stars (4.4 stars)

Lists: inge87 (2)

Score: 3.36

91
A House for Mr. Biswas
by V. S. Naipaul
2,643 members, 56 reviews
3.77 stars (3.77 stars)

Lists: iggyjreilly (19), roby72 (60)

Score: 3.35

92
Gitanjali
by Rabindranath Tagore
907 members, 14 reviews
4.17 stars (4.17 stars)

Lists: Himalmitra (20), ahef1963 (59)

Score: 3.34

93
Cancer Ward
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2,834 members, 38 reviews
4.08 stars (4.08 stars)

Lists: gypsysmom (34), roby72 (38)

Score: 3.27

94
Mr. Mani
by A. B. Yehoshua
365 members, 2 reviews
3.86 stars (3.86 stars)

Lists: thecoroner (31), roby72 (45)

Score: 3.24

95
Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu
13,521 members, 150 reviews
4.22 stars (4.22 stars)

Lists: aulsmith (3)

Score: 3.04

96
Unaccustomed Earth
by Jhumpa Lahiri
4,584 members, 187 reviews
4.13 stars (4.13 stars)

Lists: BookWallah (3)

Score: 3.04

97
The First Century After Beatrice
by Amin Maalouf
296 members, 16 reviews
3.43 stars (3.43 stars)

Lists: inge87 (3)

Score: 3.04

98
The Sound of Waves
by Yukio Mishima
1,338 members, 31 reviews
3.79 stars (3.79 stars)

Lists: inge87 (4)

Score: 2.83

100
Sophie's World
by Jostein Gaarder
14,907 members, 224 reviews
3.77 stars (3.77 stars)

Lists: TehilaKoblenz (8), ahef1963 (30), cej1027, mspixieears

Thumbs down: BookWallah, aulsmith, raperper

Score: 2.61

Explanations:

aulsmith (0): Norway

All members' list: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Sort: Score | Title | Author | Date

About this list

Started by: sturlington (September 2013)

Type: Numbered and unnumbered

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