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Top 100 Works in World Literature by Norweigen Book Clubs and Norweigen Nobel Institute

The editors of the Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, polled a panel of 100 authors from 54 countries on what they considered the "best and most central works in world literature." Among the authors polled were Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing, Seamus Heaney, Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka, John Irving, Nadine Gordimer, and Carlos Fuentes. The list of 100 works appears alphabetically by author. Although the books were not ranked, the editors revealed that Don Quixote received 50% more votes than any other book.
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Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
1
Miguel De Cervantes
Book of Job
Book of Job
2
Odyssey (Homer)
Odyssey
3
Homer
Iliad and Odyssey (Homer)
Iliad and Odyssey
4
Homer
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Anonymous)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
5
Anonymous
Ramayana
Ramayana
6
Medea (Euripides)
Medea
7
Euripides
Oedipus the King (Sophocles)
Oedipus the King
8
Sophocles
The Recognition of Sakuntala (Kalidasa)
The Recognition of Sakuntala
9
Kalidasa
Aeneid (Virgil)
Aeneid
10
Virgil
Metamorphoses (Ovid)
Metamorphoses
11
Ovid
Mahabharata (Anonymous; Trans. John D. Smith)
Mahabharata
12
Anonymous; Trans. John D. Smith
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
13
Murasaki Shikibu
Children of Gebelawi
Children of Gebelawi
14
Njal's Saga
Njal's Saga
15
Masnavi
Masnavi
16
The Bostan of Saadi
The Bostan of Saadi
17
Decamerone (Giovanni Boccaccio)
Decamerone
18
Giovanni Boccaccio
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
19
Geoffrey Chaucer
Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)
Divine Comedy
20
Dante Alighieri
Gargantua and Pantagruel (François Rabelais)
Gargantua and Pantagruel
21
François Rabelais
The Complete Essays of Montaigne
The Complete Essays of Montaigne
22
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
23
William Shakespeare
Othello (William Shakespeare)
Othello
24
William Shakespeare
King Lear (William Shakespeare)
King Lear
25
William Shakespeare
One Thousand and One Nights (Anonymous)
One Thousand and One Nights
26
Anonymous
Gullivers Travels (Jonathan Swift)
Gullivers Travels
27
Jonathan Swift
Tristram Shandy (Laurence Sterne)
Tristram Shandy
28
Laurence Sterne
Jacques the Fatalist (Denis Diderot)
Jacques the Fatalist
29
Denis Diderot
Faust (Goethe)
Faust
30
Goethe
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
31
Jane Austen
Red and Black (Stendhal)
Red and Black
32
Stendhal
Father Goriot
Father Goriot
33
Dead Souls (Nikolai Gogol)
Dead Souls
34
Nikolai Gogol
Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales (Hans Christian Anderson)
Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales
35
Hans Christian Anderson
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Wuthering Heights
36
Emily Bronte
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
37
Herman Melville
Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman)
Leaves of Grass
38
Walt Whitman
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Madame Bovary
39
Gustave Flaubert
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
40
Charles Dickens
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