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World Literature -- Classics and Literary Fiction Around the World

One must be familiar with a range of work beyond one's own culture as well as foundational works to truly be well-read. This list includes classics and epics of old as well as drama, poetry and contemporary literary fiction from around the world, but it is by no means exhaustive. (Homer and Woolf are, alas, two of the glaring omissions.)
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The Golden Days (Cao Xueqin)
The Golden Days
1
Cao Xueqin
The Masnavi (Jalal Al-Din Rumi)
The Masnavi
2
Jalal Al-Din Rumi
The Recognition of Śakuntalā (Kālidāsa)
The Recognition of Śakuntalā
3
Kālidāsa
The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Tale of Genji
4
Murasaki Shikibu
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-En (Translated by Arthur Whaley)
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-En
5
Translated by Arthur Whaley
Kristin Lavransdatter (Sigrid Undset)
Kristin Lavransdatter
6
Sigrid Undset
Palace Walk (Naguib Mahfouz)
Palace Walk
7
Naguib Mahfouz
Swann's Way (Marcel Proust)
Swann's Way
8
Marcel Proust
Spring Snow (Yukio Mishima)
Spring Snow
9
Yukio Mishima
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The Count of Monte Cristo
10
Alexandre Dumas
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
11
Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
12
Emily Brontë
Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh (Shi Naian)
Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh
13
Shi Naian
They Were Counted
They Were Counted
14
The Waiting Years (Fumiko Enchi)
The Waiting Years
15
Fumiko Enchi
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
16
Arundhati Roy
Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
Wide Sargasso Sea
17
Jean Rhys
Epitaph of a Small Winner (Machado De Assis)
Epitaph of a Small Winner
18
Machado De Assis
Memoirs of Hadrian (Marguerite Yourcenar, Trans. Grace Frick)
Memoirs of Hadrian
19
Marguerite Yourcenar, Trans. Grace Frick
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
20
Jane Austen
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
21
Alice Walker
So Long a Letter (Mariama Bâ, Trans. Modupé Bodé-Thomas)
So Long a Letter
22
Mariama Bâ, Trans. Modupé Bodé-Thomas
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
23
Toni Morrison
Faust (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
Faust
24
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
The Bostan of Saadi
The Bostan of Saadi
25
Pedro Páramo (Juan Rulfo)
Pedro Páramo
26
Juan Rulfo
Another Country (James Baldwin)
Another Country
27
James Baldwin
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
28
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Thus Were Their Faces (Silvina Ocampo)
Thus Were Their Faces
29
Silvina Ocampo
Medea (Euripides)
Medea
30
Euripides
The Book of Lamentations (Rosario Castellanos)
The Book of Lamentations
31
Rosario Castellanos
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
32
Ralph Ellison
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
33
Charles Dickens
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
34
James Joyce
Moby-Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby-Dick
35
Herman Melville
Love in a Fallen City (Eileen Chang)
Love in a Fallen City
36
Eileen Chang
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
37
Miguel De Cervantes
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Unknown)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
38
Unknown
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger
39
Albert Camus
The Bone People (Keri Hulme)
The Bone People
40
Keri Hulme
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