Best Existential Fiction (449 books)

Novels, novellas, short stories, plays

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1	The Stranger by Albert Camus 4.03 avg rating — 1,382,915 ratings score: 26,684, and 270 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.29 avg rating — 1,068,936 ratings score: 14,867, and 151 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 3.90 avg rating — 1,407,268 ratings score: 11,145, and 116 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre 3.93 avg rating — 138,616 ratings score: 10,805, and 111 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	The Trial by Franz Kafka 3.94 avg rating — 391,712 ratings score: 10,678, and 110 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.19 avg rating — 78,432 ratings score: 10,607, and 109 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Plague by Albert Camus 4.02 avg rating — 312,334 ratings score: 8,626, and 90 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 3.84 avg rating — 221,380 ratings score: 7,694, and 80 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera 4.11 avg rating — 540,355 ratings score: 7,678, and 80 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Hamlet by William Shakespeare 4.03 avg rating — 1,044,068 ratings score: 7,442, and 77 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.39 avg rating — 383,083 ratings score: 6,861, and 71 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	1984 by George Orwell 4.20 avg rating — 5,405,983 ratings score: 6,669, and 71 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse 4.08 avg rating — 871,040 ratings score: 5,909, and 63 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 3.80 avg rating — 3,871,097 ratings score: 5,798, and 62 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse 4.13 avg rating — 213,903 ratings score: 5,779, and 60 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche 4.07 avg rating — 175,140 ratings score: 5,114, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Fall by Albert Camus 4.03 avg rating — 133,941 ratings score: 4,849, and 52 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 3.97 avg rating — 2,808,715 ratings score: 4,619, and 50 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 4.33 avg rating — 2,452,165 ratings score: 4,402, and 47 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 3.99 avg rating — 2,063,840 ratings score: 4,250, and 46 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 4.13 avg rating — 1,857,929 ratings score: 4,211, and 46 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 4.09 avg rating — 509,623 ratings score: 4,151, and 45 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey 4.20 avg rating — 777,678 ratings score: 3,735, and 40 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre 4.09 avg rating — 30,011 ratings score: 3,568, and 38 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 4.28 avg rating — 416,772 ratings score: 3,515, and 38 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Hunger by Knut Hamsun 4.04 avg rating — 64,498 ratings score: 3,264, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 4.10 avg rating — 1,476,436 ratings score: 3,086, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (Goodreads Author) 4.18 avg rating — 640,327 ratings score: 2,942, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Candide by Voltaire 3.76 avg rating — 300,187 ratings score: 2,895, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy 4.14 avg rating — 219,710 ratings score: 2,870, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	On the Road by Jack Kerouac 3.61 avg rating — 446,438 ratings score: 2,817, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Blindness by José Saramago 4.18 avg rating — 335,569 ratings score: 2,787, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 4.05 avg rating — 1,207,269 ratings score: 2,772, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 3.90 avg rating — 2,814,329 ratings score: 2,516, and 29 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Animal Farm by George Orwell 4.02 avg rating — 4,504,269 ratings score: 2,508, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	King Lear (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) by William Shakespeare 3.91 avg rating — 236,639 ratings score: 2,484, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati 4.21 avg rating — 41,196 ratings score: 2,482, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 3,536,656 ratings score: 2,409, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe 3.88 avg rating — 39,084 ratings score: 2,315, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline 4.18 avg rating — 47,623 ratings score: 2,135, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 3.92 avg rating — 32,591 ratings score: 1,911, and 22 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus 4.22 avg rating — 65,113 ratings score: 1,895, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard 4.04 avg rating — 92,866 ratings score: 1,816, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami 4.14 avg rating — 313,440 ratings score: 1,722, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien 4.30 avg rating — 4,430,578 ratings score: 1,717, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 3.89 avg rating — 50,207 ratings score: 1,708, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 3.72 avg rating — 186,196 ratings score: 1,635, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder 3.97 avg rating — 280,897 ratings score: 1,603, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	El túnel by Ernesto Sabato 4.02 avg rating — 93,333 ratings score: 1,602, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Solaris by Stanisław Lem 3.98 avg rating — 129,604 ratings score: 1,575, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 3.92 avg rating — 201,398 ratings score: 1,452, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind 4.04 avg rating — 548,780 ratings score: 1,450, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3.93 avg rating — 5,867,483 ratings score: 1,411, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	Winnie-the-Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh, #1) by A.A. Milne 4.38 avg rating — 393,963 ratings score: 1,274, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.21 avg rating — 215,538 ratings score: 1,266, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 3.69 avg rating — 154,095 ratings score: 1,213, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa 4.39 avg rating — 37,366 ratings score: 1,132, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 3.78 avg rating — 354,322 ratings score: 1,104, and 13 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	God's Unwanted Child by Reece LeResche (Goodreads Author) 4.15 avg rating — 34 ratings score: 1,100, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick 4.03 avg rating — 109,938 ratings score: 1,071, and 13 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 3.43 avg rating — 556,135 ratings score: 1,069, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand 3.89 avg rating — 336,722 ratings score: 1,067, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett 4.28 avg rating — 9,440 ratings score: 1,053, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway 4.08 avg rating — 7,047 ratings score: 1,038, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	Either/Or: A Fragment of Life by Søren Kierkegaard 4.16 avg rating — 10,238 ratings score: 1,007, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 3.81 avg rating — 213,484 ratings score: 989, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	Ubik by Philip K. Dick 4.11 avg rating — 122,090 ratings score: 988, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	Demian: Die Geschichte von Emil Sinclairs Jugend by Hermann Hesse 4.14 avg rating — 134,505 ratings score: 978, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	Swann’s Way (In Search of Lost Time, #1) by Marcel Proust 4.16 avg rating — 67,991 ratings score: 932, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	The Road by Cormac McCarthy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,029,354 ratings score: 926, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	The Possessed by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.30 avg rating — 62,206 ratings score: 914, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	A Confession by William F. Aicher (Goodreads Author) 4.07 avg rating — 54 ratings score: 900, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	The Infinite Jeff: Part 1: Journey into Insight: A Parable of Change by Will Holcomb (Goodreads Author) 4.56 avg rating — 216 ratings score: 900, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre 4.11 avg rating — 46,382 ratings score: 886, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	Native Son by Richard Wright 4.04 avg rating — 104,428 ratings score: 879, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	A Happy Death by Albert Camus 3.80 avg rating — 25,163 ratings score: 866, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	The Age of Reason (Roads to Freedom, #1) by Jean-Paul Sartre 3.98 avg rating — 15,991 ratings score: 827, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles 3.89 avg rating — 30,656 ratings score: 826, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima 3.95 avg rating — 39,116 ratings score: 825, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 3.83 avg rating — 661,559 ratings score: 790, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	Endgame by Samuel Beckett 3.79 avg rating — 24,221 ratings score: 788, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	The Magus by John Fowles 4.05 avg rating — 63,629 ratings score: 785, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 766,466 ratings score: 760, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	Le mur by Jean-Paul Sartre 4.07 avg rating — 26,812 ratings score: 755, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai 3.94 avg rating — 248,464 ratings score: 755, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe 3.90 avg rating — 15,532 ratings score: 719, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	Immortality by Milan Kundera 4.14 avg rating — 42,886 ratings score: 718, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse 4.10 avg rating — 42,240 ratings score: 710, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1) by Henry Miller 3.65 avg rating — 77,796 ratings score: 709, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff 4.01 avg rating — 130,115 ratings score: 704, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
91	The Waves by Virginia Woolf 4.14 avg rating — 53,182 ratings score: 681, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis 3.61 avg rating — 98,624 ratings score: 674, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
93	Walden or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau 3.77 avg rating — 203,668 ratings score: 666, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs 3.46 avg rating — 98,357 ratings score: 625, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	The Bald Soprano and Other Plays by Eugène Ionesco 4.03 avg rating — 6,464 ratings score: 621, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	And Then Run by Eric Hublot (Goodreads Author) 3.49 avg rating — 88 ratings score: 599, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville 3.93 avg rating — 74,764 ratings score: 585, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 3.71 avg rating — 372,886 ratings score: 571, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	The Castle by Franz Kafka 3.91 avg rating — 74,933 ratings score: 570, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	Le premier homme by Albert Camus 3.97 avg rating — 12,118 ratings score: 521, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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449 books · 767 voters · list created December 17th, 2008 by Ash (votes) .

Tags: existential, existentialism, existentialist, fiction, french, philosophy, psychology

870 likes · Like

Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.

People Who Voted On This List (767)

Ash 362 books
25 friends

Lindsay 700 books
51 friends

Cody 498 books
56 friends

jo 2849 books
364 friends

Jennifer (formerly Eccentric Muse) 2677 books
105 friends

Jessica 1809 books
1091 friends

Matthew 189 books
7 friends

Vivian 100 books
3 friends

More voters…

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Comments Showing 1-23 of 23 (23 new)

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message 1: by jo (new)

Jan 17, 2009 02:40PM

i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!

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message 2: by Vivian (new)

Mar 10, 2009 09:27PM

my favorite is richard wright's the outsider.

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message 3: by Stef (new)

Jul 25, 2009 07:30PM

Where's Milan Kundera on this list? Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment"? "Waiting for Godot"? "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"? Etc...?

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message 4: by Rye (new)

Oct 17, 2012 10:19PM

Nothing by Janne Teller

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message 5: by Rob (new)

Mar 07, 2013 12:08PM

When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin Yalom (an existential psychotherapist)

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message 6: by Momina (new)

Jun 28, 2013 01:17AM

I really didn't know that The Alchemist could be called an existential fiction. o_0

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message 7: by Sentimental Surrealist (new)

Aug 02, 2013 09:21PM

I'd personally put Native Son on this list; it has so much in common with the Stranger that I'd be surprised if Camus wasn't drawing from Wright.

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message 8: by Sara (new)

Aug 20, 2013 11:14AM

Why on earth (and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong) are there so few female existential writers? Does the existential struggle not resonate as strongly with women? The women that do write in this genre are notoriously polarizing...

Any advice on women in this genre or men who write about the female experience?

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message 9: by J. Matthew (new)

Sep 09, 2013 06:04PM

Why are there so many works of non-fiction on this list?

Where's the rest of Dostoyevsky? At least The Possessed...

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message 10: by Flo (new)

Mar 15, 2014 02:37PM

Good lord, The Alchemist is on this list...

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message 11: by Susannah (new)

Jul 07, 2014 09:47AM

I wonder if it's significant that so many of these have made brilliant movies.

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message 12: by Paul (new)

Sep 27, 2014 04:34AM

Checked for duplicates: 3 books removed.

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message 13: by Paul (new)

Sep 27, 2014 05:01AM

Removed 18 non-fiction titles.

As a general observation, this list is weakened by the fact that the list originator doesn't offer a definition of 'existentialist'. As a result, many of the books listed have only the vaguest connection to existentialism as it is commonly understood.

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message 14: by J. Matthew (new)

Sep 29, 2014 06:23AM

Yay Paul! Very strong!

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message 15: by Bamawalt84 (new)

Sep 30, 2014 11:55PM

I must say I am glad to see fight club on this list after not seeing any works by palahniuk on the list of best satirist novels. I am so sick of reading analyses of fight club that only focus on the homoerotic undertones or the critique of consumerism that I feel the movie made too prevalent and kind of missed the point of the novel. The character of tyler durden is existentialism and absurdism incarnate. Also, kudos on including bret easton ellis and cuckoo's nest, also absent from the best satires list. I can't say that I agree with on the road and tropic of cancer being included though. Those books are nothing but tasteless drivel. I never really noticed the existentialism in catcher in the rye before, hut it makes sense. The metaphor of holden wanting to save children from falling of a cliff as they play in a rye field while in reality he was the one who needed saving from himself perfectly sums up the futility that is the basis for absurdism. Great list! Really got me thinking.

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message 16: by [deleted user] (new)

Nov 24, 2014 09:34AM

jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!"
Stories of people interacting with their worlds from a experiential stance. Mostly with a 'working out their existence' feel, with emotional responses to angst, death, responsibility, loneliness and connectedness. Basically any story that makes you think of existence.

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message 17: by Paul (new)

Dec 02, 2014 04:45AM

Eric wrote: "jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!"
Stories of people intera..."
"Basically any story that makes you think of existence." Way too vague: this could be said of almost any book at all.

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message 18: by [deleted user] (new)

Dec 02, 2014 05:30AM

Paul wrote: "Eric wrote: "jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!"
Stories of ..."

Paul wrote: "Eric wrote: "jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!"
Stories of ..."

You're right. Suppose existentialism is an attempt to give life meaning without God.

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message 19: by Paul (new)

Dec 14, 2014 07:26AM

Eric wrote: "Paul wrote: "Eric wrote: "jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentialist-authors!..."

Or more generally, an investigation of the meaning of life in the absence of authoritative rules and meanings supplied from outside the self. This allows for the possibility that, without God, life is actually 'meaningless', in the common-language sense of the term: any meaning it may seem to have being a provisional one that we have to supply for ourselves.

Another possibility would be to limit it historically: but then people would disagree on what was the first existentialist writing. Do we go back as far as Kierkegaard, or Dostoevsky, or Nietzsche, or Heidegger? Or do we have to wait for the term 'existentialism' to come into common use, with Sartre? And when does it become meaningless to speak of existentialism as a coherent movement? Sartre died in 1980: but many people would say that existentialism's creative period was already long in the past by that point, and essentially limited to the period 1929-1960.

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message 20: by [deleted user] (new)

Dec 14, 2014 09:39AM

Paul wrote: "Eric wrote: "Paul wrote: "Eric wrote: "jo wrote: "i would love a definition of existential fiction, other than fiction-by-existentialist-authors-or-fictions-the-looks-like-the-fiction-of-existentia..."
no Kierkegaard or Nietzche = no Satre. Philosophy or ways of thinking develop. I would think existential themes are mostly, like all other ideas, found in movies. Like some Coen brother movies. They use a lot of existential themes. It goes deeper than thinking and into feeling. Also, there is a lot of existentialism in therapy, thanks to Rollo May. But as a movement, probably that 1929-1960 mention, I think.

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message 21: by Paul (new)

Dec 28, 2014 07:31AM

Checked for duplicates: 1 book removed.

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message 22: by Paul (new)

May 01, 2016 04:55AM

Checked for duplicates: 1 book removed.

Also: one very obvious instance of spam. Please don't do this - nobody is fooled.

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message 23: by Milan (new)

Jul 02, 2016 10:49AM

Sara wrote: "Why on earth (and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong) are there so few female existential writers? Does the existential struggle not resonate as strongly with women? The women that do wri..." Honey, numbers are speaking... Homeless : 85% man, 15% - women, same in almost any other field. Calm down and read something good from any gender.

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