A book is a whole world that exists not only on paper, but also in the imagination of the reader. Finding a good piece is a difficult task. This review includes best books of all time- rating of the top 10 works that everyone should read.

1. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)

One of the best Russian novels was written between 1863 and 1869, but the publication of the work did not begin until 1865. The book shows the life of the Russian nobility during the war with the army of Napoleon Bonaparte.

In St. Petersburg, Anna Scherer, who is in good standing with the Empress, arranges a reception. All the cream of Petersburg society is invited to it. The elite of the nobility speak French as well and as often as Russian. Here, for the first time, fears and assumptions are expressed about the upcoming war with the French. At the same time, in Moscow, Count Rostov is hosting a reception to celebrate the birthday of his daughter Natasha. Moscow society is less concerned with politics and more involved in everyday life. But soon the war will abruptly turn the fate of the entire nobility of the empire.

2. 1984 (George Orwell)

The dystopia was written in 1948. The events of the novel take place in 1984. The author of the book has always opposed the idealization of the party and the work has a pronounced political overtones.

In 1984 England, there is only one political party, the Outer Party. Its permanent leader is Big Brother, who has concentrated all power in his hands. The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, works for the Ministry of Truth. In appearance, he is an ordinary civil servant who adheres to the ideology of the party and strictly follows its law. In fact, Smith is not satisfied with the established order of things. He is afraid of what will happen if someone finds out about his true views. Winston's main task is to find among the employees of the Ministry those who can be trusted and those who should be kept away from.

3. Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)

One of Vladimir Nabokov's most popular and best books was written by him in 1955 in English and later translated into Russian by the author himself. The work tells about the life of a man who, due to psychological trauma in childhood, has not lost his attraction to young girls and his relationship with his stepdaughter.

Nickname of the protagonist Humbert. His main problem is that he is not attracted to adult women, but at the same time he is afraid to answer before the law for having relations with minors. His salvation is the girls involved in prostitution, whose services he periodically resorts to. Everything changes when Humbert finds a widow with a daughter named Dolly. Humbert gives the latter the nickname Lolita and marries her mother.

4. To the lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)

The novel by the English writer quickly gained popularity and entered the top of the best works of all time. The book tells about the life of a large Ramsey family in a house from which the lighthouse is visible.

Mr and Mrs Ramsay live in a house on the Isle of Skye with their eight children. They often stay with family friends and just acquaintances. Mrs. Ramsay is a strict woman, she causes envy in others and genuine love in her children. Mr. Ramsay, on the other hand, is respected by his friends, but the children consider him a tyrant. The children's dream to go at least once to the lighthouse, which they see every day since their birth, runs like a red thread through the whole novel. Every day the mother promises that tomorrow they will definitely go there, but the father opposes it. Over time, life changes dramatically and the desire to visit the lighthouse fades into the background.

5. The Great Gatsby (Francis Scott Fitzgerald)

The middle of the ranking of the best books in history is occupied by The Great Gatsby. The novel was first published in 1925. The work tells about the life of the golden elite of American society in the "roaring twenties". This is a book about people making money out of nothing and blowing it away on the cusp of the Great Depression.

The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, who was born into a wealthy family but never exalted himself above others. Nick moves to Long Island and rents a house next door to his second cousin Daisy's. There, Nick meets another neighbor - the fabulously rich, but unknown to anyone, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws amazing parties, inviting all the elite of New York to them. Something draws Nick to Gatsby. It seems to him that among the fans of all the dirt, debauchery and hopeless squandering of Long Island, Jay is the purest person.

6. Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

The only novel by an American writer, which became a real bestseller in a matter of days after publication. The work tells about the events that took place during the American Civil War and immediately after its end. The book was published in 1936.

The main character of the novel, Scarlett O'Hara, lives in the American South and is one of the most beautiful southern girls. All the young people who have ever met her are in love with her, but Scarlett herself is confident and never reciprocates anyone. Her heart belongs to Ashley Wilkes. Suddenly, war is approaching the lands of the south. The usual noise of the ball and the chirping of spring picnics is replaced by the roar of guns. The life of all southerners is changing dramatically, but Scarlett has the greatest number of upheavals.

7. The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)

The Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy book of all time. The novel was first published in 1954. This is a single work, divided into three volumes due to its impressive volume. For over 50 years The Lord of the Rings has been in print as a trilogy.

The protagonist of the Hobbit story preceding the novel, Bilbo Baggins, retired, having given his nephew the hobbit Frodo a strange ring. From the old magician, Frodo learns that this is not just an ornament, but the Ring of Omnipotence. It was created by the vain Sauron in Mordor. The Ring of Omnipotence subdues the 19 remaining rings that are held by elves, hobbits and humans. It gives its owner power over the world, while destroying all the good that was in it. Sauron is hunting for his ring and now Frodo must prevent the instrument of power from falling into the hands of the king of darkness.

8 Beloved (Toni Morrison)

Dark-skinned Sethie was once a slave in the southern states, and then fled to the lands of the free north. However, there was a law in the United States that allowed a slave to be prosecuted in any state. Many years have passed since the escape, but Sethie and her daughter Denver have not got used to a free life. One day, a girl named Beloved appears on the threshold of their house. She magically enchants Sety and completely absorbs her attention. Her friend Paul Di rushes to rescue Sethie, but he does not know the whole truth about the life of his friend. Why does Sethie feel guilty towards her Beloved?

9. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

The classic educational novel by an American writer was written in 1960 in the ranking of the best works of all time. The book is based on memories from the childhood of Harper Lee herself, all events and characters correspond to reality.

In the small town of Maycomb lives the main character of the novel - a six-year-old Jeanne, as well as her brother Jim, father Atticus and friend Dill. Atticus works as a lawyer and takes on the most complicated and, at first glance, hopeless cases. This time he is defending the black Tom, who allegedly raped a girl named Mayella. No one but Atticus and his son believes in Tom's innocence. Together, Genie, Jim and Dill become interested in a mysterious neighbor nicknamed the Scarecrow. Why does he never leave the house? And is Tom really guilty of what happened to the girl?

10. On the road (Jack Kerouac)

Rounding out our top 10 best books of all time is On the Road. The novel was written in 1951, but publishing houses rejected it for six years. Only in 1957 the work was published. The book is based on real events from the life of Jack Kerouac himself and his best friend.

Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty meet by chance during Dean's trip to New York. Moriarty admires Paradise's writing talent and together they decide to go on a journey in search of inspiration. Friends travel for three years, having traveled most of the United States during this time, and then part. Dean remarries and Sal continues to travel. The writer meets a Mexican woman and decides to arrange a life in Mexico on cotton plantations, but Dean finds him and they break off again in search of adventure.

Books are one of the greatest legacies of mankind. And if before the invention of printing, books were available only to a select caste of people, then books began to spread everywhere. In each new generation, talented writers were born who created world masterpieces of literature.

Great works have come down to us, but we are reading the classics less and less. The literary portal of Hedwig presents to your attention the 100 best books of all times and peoples that you must read. In this list you will find not only classical works, but also modern books that have left their mark on history quite recently.

1 Mikhail Bulgakov

A novel that does not fit into the usual literary framework. Philosophy and everyday life, theology and fantasy, mysticism and realism, mysticism and lyrics are mixed in this story. And all these components are intertwined by skillful hands into a coherent and vibrant story that can turn your world upside down. And yes, this is Buckley's favorite book!

2 Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

A book from the school curriculum that is difficult to understand in a tender adolescence. The writer showed the duality of the human soul, when black is intertwined with white. The story of Raskolnikov, who is going through an internal struggle.

3 Antoine de Saint-Exupery

A short story with a lot of meaning in life. A story that makes you look at familiar things in a different way.

4 Michael Bulgakov

A surprisingly subtle and sarcastic story about people and their vices. The story of an experiment that proved that it is possible to make a person out of an animal, but it is impossible to make an “animal” out of a person.

5 Erich Maria Remarque

It is impossible to tell what this novel is about. The novel needs to be read, and then the understanding will come that this is not just a story, but a confession. Confession about love, friendship, pain. A story of despair and struggle.

6 Jerome Salinger

The story of a teenager who, with his own eyes, shows his perception of the world, his point of view, the renunciation of the usual principles and foundations of the morality of society, which do not fit into his individual framework.

7 Mikhail Lermontov

A lyric-psychological novel that tells about a man with a complex character. The author shows it from different angles. And the broken chronology of events makes you completely immerse yourself in the story.

8 Arthur Conan Doyle

The legendary investigations of the great detective Sherlock, which reveal the meanness of the human soul. Stories told by friend and assistant detective Dr. Watson.

9 Oscar Wilde

A story about pride, selfishness and a strong soul. A story that clearly shows what can happen to the soul of a person tormented by vices.

10 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

A fantastic trilogy about people and non-humans who fell under the power of the Ring of Omnipotence and its lord Sauron. The story of those who are ready to sacrifice the most precious and even their lives for the sake of friendship and saving the world.

11 Mario Puzo

A novel about one of the most powerful mafia families in America of the last century - the Corleone family. Many people know the movie, so it's time to start reading.

12 Erich Maria Remarque

After the First World War, many emigrants ended up in France. Among them is the talented German surgeon Ravik. This is the story of his life and love against the backdrop of the war.

13 Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

The history of the Russian soul and stupidity. And the amazing style and language of the author makes the sentences sparkle with colors and shades that fully reveal the history of our people.

14 Colin McCullough

An amazing novel that tells not only about the love of a man and a woman and difficult relationships, but also about feelings for family, native places and nature.

15 Emily Bronte

In a secluded estate lives a family whose house is filled with a tense atmosphere. Difficult relationships have deep roots that are hidden in the past. The story of Heathcliff and Catherine will not leave indifferent any reader.

16 Erich Maria Remarque

A book about war from the perspective of a simple soldier. A book about how war breaks and cripples the souls of innocent people.

17 Hermann Hesse

The book simply turns all ideas about life upside down. After reading it, it is already impossible to get rid of the feeling that you have become one step closer to something incredible. This book has answers to many questions.

18 Stephen King

Paul Edgecomb is a former prison officer who served on the death row unit. He tells the story of the life of suicide bombers who were destined to walk the Green Mile.

20 Victor Hugo

Paris 15th century. On the one hand, it is full of grandeur, and on the other, it looks like a sewer. Against the backdrop of historical events, a love story unfolds - Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Claude Frollo.

21 Daniel Defoe

Diary of a sailor who was wrecked and lived alone on the island for 28 years. He had to endure too many trials.

22 Lewis Carroll

A strange and mysterious story about a girl who, in pursuit of a white rabbit, finds herself in a different and wonderful world.

23 Ernest Hemingway

There is war on the pages of the book, but even in a world full of pain and fear, there is a place for beauty. A wonderful feeling called love that makes us stronger.

24 Jack London

What can love do? Martin's love for the beautiful Ruth made him struggle. He overcame many obstacles to become something big. A story about spiritual development and personality formation.

25 Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

A fantastic and captivating tale in which magic is intertwined with reality.

26 We are Evgeny Zamyatin

The novel is a dystopia that describes an ideal society where there is no personal opinion, and everything happens according to a schedule. But even in such a society there is a place for freethinkers.

27 Ernest Hemingway

Frederick volunteered for the war, where he became a doctor. In the sanitary unit, where even the air is saturated with death, love is born.

28 Boris Pasternak

Beginning of the XX century. The Russian Empire has already embarked on the path of revolution. The story about the life of the intelligentsia of that time, as well as the book, raises questions of religion and touches on the mystery of life and death.

29 Vladimir Nabokov

A cautionary tale about people who betrayed their ideals. The book is about how light and beautiful feelings evolve into something dark and disgusting.

30 Johann Wolfgang Goethe

The greatest work that draws you into the story of Faust, who sold his soul to the Devil. By reading this book, you can go on the path of knowing life.

31 Dante Alighieri

The work is in three parts. First we go to Hell, so that all 9 circles are against us. Then Purgatory awaits us, after passing which you can atone for your sins. And only when you reach the top you can get to Paradise.

32 Anthony Burgess

Not the most pleasant story, but it shows the human nature. A story about how you can make an obedient and silent doll out of any person.

33 Viktor Pelevin

A complex story that is difficult to understand the first time. A story about the life of a decadent poet who is looking for his own path, and Chapaev leads Peter to enlightenment.

34 William Golding

What will happen to the children if they are all alone? Children have a delicate nature, which is quite prone to vices. And cute kind children turn into real monsters.

35 Albert Camus

36 James Clavell

The story of an English sailor who, by the will of fate, ended up in Japan. An epic novel, where there are historical realities, intrigues, adventures and secrets.

37 Ray Bradbury

A collection of fantasy stories about the life of people on Mars. They almost destroyed the Earth, but what awaits another planet?

38 Stanislav Lem

This planet has an ocean. He is alive and has a mind. The researchers face the difficult task of transferring knowledge to the ocean. He will help make their dreams come true...

39 Hermann Hesse

The book is about an internal crisis that can happen to anyone. Inner devastation can destroy a person, if one day you don’t meet a person on the way who will give you just one book in your hands ...

40 Milan Kundera

Immerse yourself in the world of sensations and feelings of the libertine Tomasz, who is used to changing women so that no one dares to take away his freedom.

41 Boris Vian

Each of the company of friends has its own destiny. Everything goes easy and simple. Friendship. Love. Conversations. But one event can change everything and destroy the usual life.

42 Ian Banks

Frank tells the story of his childhood and describes the present. He has his own world, which can collapse at any moment. Unexpected turning points in the plot give a special flavor to the whole story.

43 John Irving

This book raises themes of family, childhood, friendship, love, betrayal and betrayal. This is the world in which we live with all the problems and shortcomings.

44 Michael Ondaatje

This book contains many topics - war, death, love, betrayal. But the main leitmotif is loneliness, which can take on a variety of forms.

46 Ray Bradbury

Books are our future, but what will happen if they are replaced by TV and one opinion? The answer to this question is given by a writer who was ahead of his time.

47 Patrick Suskind

The story of a crazy genius. His whole life is enclosed in smells. He will go to any lengths to create the perfect fragrance.

48 1984 George Orwell

Three totalitarian states where even thoughts are controlled. A world of hate, but there are people who can still resist the system.

49 Jack London

Alaska, late 19th century. The era of the gold rush. And among human greed lives a wolf named White Fang.

50 Jane Austen

There are only daughters in the Bennet family, and a distant relative is the heir. And if the head of the family dies, young girls will be left with nothing.

51 Evgeny Petrov and Ilya Ilf

Who does not know Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov and their eternal failures, which are associated with the search for the ill-fated diamonds.

52 Fedor Dostoevsky

53 Charlotte Bronte

Jane became an orphan early, and life in her aunt's house was far from happy. And love for a strict and gloomy man is far from a romantic story.

54 Ernest Hemingway

A small story from the life of the most ordinary person. But reading this work, you penetrate into an amazing world that is full of emotions.

55 Francis Scott Fitzgerald

A wonderful novel filled with emotion. The pages of the book are waiting for the beginning of the 20th century, when people were full of illusions and hopes. This story is about values ​​and true love.

56 Alexandr Duma

We are all familiar with the adventures of d'Artagnan and his closest friends. A book about friendship, honor, devotion, fidelity and love. And of course, like other works of the author, it was not without intrigue.

57 Ken Kesey

This story will be told to the reader by a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Patrick McMurphy ends up in prison, in a psychiatric ward. But some people think that he is just feigning his illness.

59 Victor Hugo

The novel describes the life of a runaway convict who is hiding from the authorities. After the flight, he had to go through a lot of hardships, but he was able to change his life. But police inspector Javert is ready to do anything to catch the criminal.

60 Victor Hugo

The actor-philosopher met on his way a mutilated boy and a blind girl. He takes them under his care. Against the background of physical shortcomings, the perfection and purity of souls are clearly visible. And also this is a great contrast to the life of the aristocracy.

61 Vladimir Nabokov

The novel draws on its unhealthy web of passion and unhealthy love. The main characters gradually go crazy, subject to their base desire, like their whole world around them. This book will definitely not have a happy ending.

62 Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

A fantastic story that describes the life of the stalker Redrick Shewhart, who extracts extraterrestrial artifacts from the anomalous Zones on Earth.

63 Richard Bach

Even a simple seagull can get bored with a gray life, and the routine has become boring. And then Chaika devotes his life to a dream. The seagull gives all his soul on the way to the cherished goal.

64 Bernard Werber

Michel got to the court of the archangels, where he will have to undergo the weighing of the soul. After the trial, he faces a choice - to go to earth in a new incarnation or become an angel. The path of an angel is not easy, just like the life of mere mortals.

65 Ethel Lilian Voynich

A story about freedom, duty and honor. And also about different types of love. In the first case, this is the love of a father for his son, which has survived many trials and will pass through generations. In the second case, it is love between a man and a woman, which is like a fire, then it goes out, then it flares up again.

66 John Fowles

He is a simple town hall attendant, lonely and lost. He has a passion - collecting butterflies. But one day he wanted a girl in his collection who conquered his soul.

67 Walter Scott

The narrative of the novel will take readers into the distant past. During the time of Richard the Lionheart and the first crusades. This is one of the first historical novels that everyone should read.

68 Bernhard Schlink

There are a lot of unanswered questions in the book. The book makes you think and analyze not only what is happening on the pages, but also your life. This is a story about love and betrayal that will not leave anyone indifferent.

69 Ayn Rand

Socialists come to power and head for equal opportunities. The authorities believe that the talented and wealthy should improve the well-being of others. But instead of a happy future, the familiar world plunges into chaos.

71 Somerset Maugham

The story of an actress who has been working in the theater all her life. And what is reality for her - a game on stage or a game in life? How many roles do you have to play every day?

72 Aldous Huxley

A dystopian novel. A satire novel. A world where Henry Ford became God, and the creation of the first Ford T car is considered the beginning of time. People are simply grown, but they know nothing about feelings.

75 Albert Camus

Meursault lives a detached life. It seems that his life does not belong to him at all. He is indifferent to everything and even his actions are saturated with loneliness and renunciation of life.

76 Somerset Maugham

Philip's life story. He is an orphan and throughout his life he is not only looking for the meaning of life, but also for himself. And the main thing is to understand the world and people.

77 Irvine Welsh

The story of friends who one day discovered drugs and euphoria. Each character is unusual and quite smart. They valued life and friendship, but exactly until the moment when heroin came first.

78 Herman Melville

Ahab, the captain of a whaling ship, has made it his life's goal to take revenge on a whale named Moby Dick. Wit ruined too many lives to keep him alive. But as soon as the captain starts hunting, mysterious and sometimes terrible events begin to occur on his ship.

79 Joseph Heller

One of the best books about World War II. In it, the author was able to show the senselessness of war and the monstrous absurdity of the state machine.

80 William Faulkner

Four characters, each of which tells his version of events. And in order to understand what is at stake, you need to read to the end, where the puzzles will form a single picture of life and secret desires.

82 Joanne Rowling

83 Roger Zelazny

Classic fantasy genre. The chronicles are divided into two volumes of 5 books. In this cycle, one can find travel in space and time, wars, intrigues, betrayal, as well as loyalty and courage.

84 Andrzej Sapkowski

One of the best fantasy series. The series includes 8 books, while the last one is "Season of Thunderstorms", it is better to read after the first or second book. This is a story about the Witcher and his adventures, his life and love, and also about the girl Ciri, who can change the world.

85 Honore de Balzac

An amazing story about the boundless and sacrificial love of a father for children. About a love that was never reciprocated. About the love that killed Father Goriot.

86 Günther Grass

The story is about a boy named Oskar Macerath who, with the coming to power of the National Socialists in Germany, refuses to grow up in protest. Thus, he expresses his protest against the changes in German society.

87 Boris Vasiliev

A poignant tale of war. About true love for parents, friends, and the Motherland. This story must be read to feel the whole emotional component of this story.

88 Stendhal

The story of Julien Sorel and the soul, in which there is a confrontation between two feelings: passion and ambition. The two feelings are so intertwined that it is often impossible to tell them apart.

89 Lev Tolstoy

An epic novel that describes an entire era, delving into the historical realities and the artistic world of that time. War will be replaced by peace, and the peaceful life of the characters depends on the war. Many heroes with unique characters.

90 Gustave Flaubert

This story is recognized as the greatest work of world literature. Emma Bovary dreams of a beautiful social life, but her husband, a provincial doctor, cannot satisfy her requests. She finds lovers, but can they fulfill Madame Bovary's dream?

91 Chuck Palahniuk

No matter how much the work of this author is scolded, it cannot be denied that his book "Fight Club" is one of the symbols of our generation. This is a story about people who decided to change this dirty world. A story about a man who was able to resist the system.

92 Markus Zusak

Winter Germany in 1939, when Death has too much work to do, and six months later there will be more work to do. A story about Liesel, about fanatical Germans, about a Jewish fighter, about thefts and about the power of words.

93 Alexander Pushkin

The novel in verse tells the story of the fate of the noble intelligentsia with their vices and selfishness. And at the center of the story is a love story without a happy ending.

94 George Martin

A fantastic story about another world ruled by kings and lived by dragons. Love, betrayal, intrigue, war and death, and all for the sake of power.

95 David Mitchell

History of the past, present and future. Stories of people from different times. But these stories form a single picture of our entire world.

96 Stephen King

Fantastic cycle of novels of the master of horrors. In this series there is an interweaving of genres. The books closely coexist with horror, western, science fiction and other genres. This is the story of the gunslinger Roland, who is looking for the Dark Tower.

97 Haruki Murakami

A story about human destinies in Japan in the 60s of the twentieth century. A story about human loss. Memoirs of Tooru, which will introduce the reader to different people and their stories.

98 Andy Weir

By chance, an astronaut is left alone on a space base on Mars. He has a limited amount of resources, but there is no connection with people. But he does not give up, he believes that they will return for him.

100 Samuel Beckett

An amazing play where everyone defines the mysterious personality of Godot for himself. The author makes it possible to find the answer to the question "who is he?". Specific person? Strong personality? Collective image? Or God?

There are many more books that I would like to include in this list. Therefore, dear readers, write in the comments about those books that you consider the best. We will add books to the top and with your help we will expand it to the top 1000 books of all time.

(ratings: 50 , the average: 4,00 out of 5)

In Russia, literature has its own direction, different from any other. The Russian soul is mysterious and incomprehensible. The genre reflects both Europe and Asia, therefore the best classical Russian works are unusual, amaze with sincerity and vitality.

The main character is the soul. For a person, the position in society, the amount of money is not important, it is important for him to find himself and his place in this life, to find truth and peace of mind.

The books of Russian literature are united by the traits of a writer who possesses the gift of the great Word, who has completely devoted himself to this art of literature. The best classics saw life not flatly, but multifaceted. They wrote about the life of not random destinies, but expressing being in its most unique manifestations.

Russian classics are so different, with different destinies, but they are united by the fact that literature is recognized as a school of life, a way of studying and developing Russia.

Russian classical literature was created by the best writers from different parts of Russia. It is very important where the author was born, because this determines his formation as a person, his development, and it also affects writing skills. Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky were born in Moscow, Chernyshevsky in Saratov, Shchedrin in Tver. Poltava region in Ukraine is the birthplace of Gogol, Podolsk province - Nekrasov, Taganrog - Chekhov.

The three great classics, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Dostoevsky, were absolutely different people, had different destinies, complex characters and great talents. They made a huge contribution to the development of literature, writing their best works, which still excite the hearts and souls of readers. Everyone should read these books.

Another important difference between the books of Russian classics is the ridicule of the shortcomings of a person and his way of life. Satire and humor are the main features of the works. However, many critics said that this was all slander. And only true connoisseurs saw how the characters are both comical and tragic at the same time. Books like this always touch my soul.

Here you can find the best works of classical literature. You can download Russian classic books for free or read online, which is very convenient.

We present to your attention the 100 best books of Russian classics. The complete list of books includes the best and most memorable works of Russian writers. This literature is known to everyone and recognized by critics from all over the world.

Of course, our list of top 100 books is just a small part of the best works of the great classics. It can be continued for a very long time.

One hundred books that everyone should read in order to understand not only how they used to live, what were the values, traditions, priorities in life, what they aspired to, but to find out in general how our world works, how bright and pure a soul can be and how valuable it is for a person, for the formation of his personality.

The top 100 list includes the best and most famous works of Russian classics. The plot of many of them is known from the school bench. However, some books are difficult to understand at a young age, and this requires wisdom that is acquired over the years.

Of course, the list is far from complete and can be continued indefinitely. Reading such literature is a pleasure. She not only teaches something, she radically changes lives, helps to realize simple things that we sometimes do not even notice.

We hope you enjoyed our list of classic Russian literature books. Perhaps you have already read something from it, but something not. A great occasion to make your personal list of books, your top books that you would like to read.

Reading time: 26 min.

Big Rating magazine brings to your attention the best books of all time in the TOP-20 rating. The list includes world bestsellers by domestic and foreign authors. Something in them catches, not letting go, and each of these works is worth reading at least once in a lifetime.

The great American writer Francis Fitzgerald touched upon the hottest topics of the dashing 1920s in his novel. Despite the chronological remoteness of the events described in the book, today many people find the novel close to their spirit. Fitzgerald was the first of the US prose writers to announce to the world the beginning of a new century - the "jazz age" and spoke on behalf of the "lost generation". Reading the novel "The Great Gatsby" you seem to plunge into the era of jazz music and "dry law". Using the main character as an example, Fitzgerald demonstrates the life path of those rich people who rose from the bottom thanks to bootlegging. The author shows his admiration for these personalities, but at the same time condemns their moral foundations and principles. The protagonist of the novel personifies the "American dream" of that time - he is a real minion of fate, who made his fortune and achieved power. But are money and power capable of making a person truly happy? Don't forget about love too...

We are all accustomed to pirates as terrible and bloodthirsty creatures that commit robberies, rape women and kill everyone who gets in their way. Such is the opinion about the representatives of this "profession". In most cases, this is exactly what happens. But when there is an exception to the general rule, it is very interesting. It is precisely such an atypical pirate that the main character of the work of Rafael Sabatini, Peter Blood, is. Far from piracy, the young Irishman worked in the medical field and was, by the will of fate, drawn into the Monmouth uprising that broke out in England at the end of the 17th century. Absolutely uninvolved in the events of the rebellion, Peter Blood, among others, was accused of treason to the monarch and sentenced to death. But luck smiled at the hero when the death sentence was replaced by exile in the southern colonies, where he went in the status of a slave. It is here that the young Blood has to start his career anew, only not as a bachelor of medicine, but as a pirate. Now the hero of the book has one goal - to regain freedom.

Any person sooner or later wants to take a break from the daily routine, pack up and go on at least a short trip. It is not necessary to undertake an epochal climb to Elbrus or go to the wilds of the Amazon. Sometimes a short river boat trip, such as the Thames, is enough. Traveling in the company of your closest friends is already more fun, and even more so in the company of a small four-legged companion. The only important condition is a strictly male company. This is exactly what the three English bosom friends Harris, Jay and George decided to take a break from the bustle of the city while drinking tea. But having decided to implement the idea, the gentlemen realized that not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. Every little thing, starting with the preparations and ending with an attempt to open canned food, turns into a funny and fun adventure for friends. And the presence in the boat of an extremely energetic fox terrier named Montmorency adds additional sparks of humor to the general fireworks of events. Jerome K. Jerome's novel "Three Men in a Boat, Not Counting the Dog" contains a lot of funny misunderstandings, hilarious collisions and comical situations from which our heroes get out of while maintaining a truly British sense of dignity.

One of the largest and undoubtedly the greatest creations of world literature. And although historians and writers have not fully figured out whether Homer really existed or was a collective image, one thing is known for certain - the Iliad is a description of truly grandiose events.

The starting point of the story was the strong romantic attachment of the Trojan prince Paris, who burned with an ardent love for the most beautiful woman of that time - Helen. That's just the beauty, who reciprocated the young man, at that moment was already bound by marriage with the Spartan king Menelaus. When Paris, inflamed with passion, dared to kidnap his lady of the heart, the enraged husband of Elena declared war on Troy, gathering loyal kings and warriors under his banner. The scale of events was so great that even the gods of Olympus did not remain indifferent and took part in the war, predicting the victory of each of the chosen parties. The protracted struggle lasted for many years, reaping a bountiful harvest of death. Wives were widows, children were orphans. There is no worthy justification for any of the wars of mankind, just as there is none for the Trojan War. But for many centuries, the epochal nature of Homer's Iliad was preserved.

A controversial work, perceived by some as the notes of a madman, by others as a philosophical treatise, and by others as a fascinating fairy tale. Alice in Wonderland was written by the English mathematician, poet and writer Charles Dodgson, better known to us as Lewis Carroll. After many decades, critics can only guess what exactly the author was trying to convey to us by writing such an original work. There is only one way out - to read the novel and put forward your own theory.

The book tells us about a far from stupid, but slightly frivolous, girl Alice, who accidentally met the White Rabbit during her vacation. Noticing his pocket watch, and sensibly reasoning that rabbits do not have watches, Alice rushes after the White Rabbit in order to find out where he is in such a hurry. In pursuit of a nimble beast, our young adventurer falls safely down the rabbit hole. And now Alice is waiting for real miracles and amazing adventures that defy common sense. Or maybe you should not try to understand everything? After all, you can simply immerse yourself in the phantasmagoric world of the White Rabbit, the smoking caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Cards, attend an unforgettable tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. We assure you it won't be boring.

Delightful dystopia, frightening and beautiful at the same time. The author realistically depicts a society with the ideas of hedonism and consumerism flourishing in it. There is no place for love here, and sex is just a pleasant pastime. Huxley describes it so emotionally that it becomes scary to read, but it’s impossible to tear yourself away from the book. Here, people are created in a test tube, and the "manufacturers" initially choose who will be intellectually developed and who will be mentally retarded. Habitual human values ​​like self-development, culture, religion and knowledge are not needed for nothing and are not at all interesting. People seek only to have fun in any way they can, and enthusiastically waste their precious time on uninterrupted recreation. Reading Brave New World, you understand that everything described here is pure fiction, from cover to cover, but you never cease to be horrified by the similarity of the events described in the book with the vices of modern society. And this is the whole point of the work.

The eminent French writer Alexandre Dumas was able to breathe life into a boring and confusing story of battles, intrigues and political games of the French court. The main characters of Dumas' novel are the three brave musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis, as well as the young Gascon d'Artagnan, who arrived to conquer Paris. An ambitious young man came to the capital from the outback and dreams of getting into the service of His Majesty. d'Artagnan is agile, agile, cheerful and noble. But these features attract not only friends, but also enemies who want to see the young man on their side. Devoted to the king and queen, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan will have a life full of conspiracies, intrigues, exploits and fights. And the motto "One for all and all for one" confidently leads the heroes to victory.

The title of the novel is a reference to the song of the Beatles, and the work itself is a demonstration of the complexity, sinuosity and intricacies of the life path of any person. Murakami clearly showed a wide range of readers that for confusion in making decisions and a painful choice of one's own path, it is not necessary to be a great person, because difficulties and trials can fall to the lot of each of us. Among these people is the protagonist of the novel, student Tooru Watanabe. The storyline consists of Tooru telling about his youth spent at the university and the events that happen to him at this stage of life. As the story progresses, the hero reminisces about his best friends Naoko and Kizuki. Tooru will talk about Kizuki's suicide and the rapid development of relations with Naoko. He will remember how the girl went to the clinic for treatment. He will tell about student riots and the girl Midori, who shed color on his gray life.

What is unique is the fact that even those of us who have never held this book in our hands are still aware of the plot of this tragic love story of a young man from the Montague family for a girl from the Capulet family. And the phrase: “There is no sadder story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet” can be heard even in the texts of modern songs. The main characters of the novel were not originally destined to live happily ever after. Both warring families took up arms against their great and pure love. But the difficulties not only did not stop the lovers, but also pushed the representatives of the houses of Montague and Capulet to each other. Although the first meeting lasted only a few moments, this was enough for young people to realize the desire to be together forever. Their love was so strong that Romeo and Juliet were ready to give their lives for her. And if fate does not allow them to be together in this life, then at least their souls will be reunited in the next world.

A wonderful touching tale about the adventures of a teddy bear. This character, which first appeared in England in the 1920s, is now famous all over the world. The story begins with a teddy bear given to the boy by his young father, Christopher Robin. The child names the toy Winnie, after a live bear living in the London Zoo. Next, father and son have fun writing stories together that could take place in real life with cute Winnie the bear. So the bear cub has such friends as Piglet the pig, Kenga the kangaroo and her baby Little Roo, Eeyore the donkey, the owl, the rabbit and many others. Over the years, more than one generation of children managed to grow up on the stories of the adventures of a funny bear cub - about bees, about a heffalump and about Winnie's friends. An important fact remains that the main character of the book does not lose its popularity among modern children. Apparently such a charming bear cub as Winnie the Pooh cannot leave anyone indifferent.

Cleary's family chronicles have riveted the attention of readers at all times. That's just a different age audience perceives them far from the same. So young people are more interested in a love storyline that evokes sensual experiences about the fate of the main characters with an eternal intrigue - whether they should be together. The younger generation needs bright colors, battles, action and passions. Older readers are interested in the complexity of the characters and relationships of the main characters. This audience is looking for a deep meaning in the work, knowing full well that it is not always hidden precisely in parts containing violent passions and many events.

In the center of the plot of this story is the large Cleary family, who moved to Australia from New Zealand. McCullough displays the entire palette of goals, motivations and actions of each character. But the main storyline is firmly connected with the main character of the novel - Maggie, whose personal life the reader can trace from the girl's 4 years old until her death at 58 years old.

Psychiatric hospitals with their inhabitants have always been a separate world, living by its own laws and rules. And since you have been brought here by a whim of fate, you will have to adapt to the existing order. This unspoken rule is fully extended to the hospital, which is described in the novel Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Everything changed with the appearance of a new patient in the psychiatric hospital - Randall Patrick McMurphy. Randall is a cunning criminal who masterfully portrays a madman in order to escape prison. Having settled into a new place, McMurphy makes acquaintances and begins to communicate with the local guests. Randel is overwhelmed with frank horror at the realization that there are absolutely healthy people in the hospital, no more crazy than himself. All of them stay in the hospital of their own free will, just trying to hide within its walls from the hardships of the outside world. And the patients are also very intimidated by Mildreth Ratched, a local nurse who runs the hospital and does not tolerate disobedience. McMurphy not only declares battle to the local order, but also tries to rescue patients from an unhealthy environment by showing them what a full life looks like.

In the terrible worlds of dystopias described by such literary geniuses as Ray Bradbury, consumerism reigns as the only value of humanity. The true eternal values ​​like knowledge and age-old wisdom, enclosed in books, are subject to universal condemnation and even destruction. For the possession of great literary works or just books, people are condemned or sentenced to death. Burning books is becoming commonplace, and most of the people living in this world are accustomed to such a course of things. Those who do not understand the importance of this view of life are declared fools by society. Shared a similar philosophy and the main character of the work - Guy Montag. He worked as a "fireman" (in the context of this work) and was unshakable in his worldview. But his whole ideology went to hell when Guy met the one who managed to show him the other side of the coin.

Perhaps Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 has not lost its relevance today precisely because of the flourishing era of consumerism in modern society. People have a lot to think about.

The brilliant works of Erich Maria Remarque had a great influence on the literary world of Germany. The novel "Three Comrades" immerses its readers throughout life, the depth of thoughts and feelings of people who went through the meat grinder of the First World War and managed to get out of it alive. And the book is not about the victims, but about the people who unleashed this very war. The protagonist of the novel - Robert Lokamp - tells about the problems and events that concern him. Robbie explains in detail that the most important things in a person's life are the people around him. He openly promotes the importance of friendship in relationships. But Robert also emphasizes that even being among people who understand and accept you unconditionally, you cannot always count on happiness. "Three Comrades" is a book about the "lost generation" of people trying to live in a difficult and ambiguous era.

With his epochal and loud fantasy novel, John Tolkien opened a new round of literary fashion for works about elves, hobbits, wise and strong kings, great wizards, goblins and fire-breathing dragons. And although the first time The Lord of the Rings was published in the distant 1950s, readers still do not lose interest in it. Fans not only do not stop re-reading Tolkien's work over and over again, but also review Peter Jackson's films, and also play games that managed to recreate the writer's unique fairy-tale world. The novel is about the Ring of Omnipotence and the uncompromising thousand-year war for the right to possess it. The young hobbit Frodo must travel through the hostile Mordor to the fiery Mount of Doom in order to destroy the Ring. In a difficult journey, Frodo is supported by friends (dwarves, humans, elves) and opposed by the evil Sauron, who is eager to get his Ring back and gain world domination. The plot of The Lord of the Rings attracts the reader with its unique atmosphere, allowing him to immerse himself in the world of elves, dwarves, hobbits, wizards and evil rulers.

In this work, Turgenev not only raised the eternal problem of fathers and children, but also, ahead of the wide spread of the ideas of nihilism in Russia, managed to show readers an example of an adherent of the movement in the form of Evgeny Bazarov. It was with this ardent supporter of nihilism that the young son of the landowner Kirsanov, Arkady, made a strong friendship. Fascinated by the ideas of a new acquaintance, Arkady sincerely accepts all the convictions of Bazarov. The young man even brings a newly-made friend to visit his father and uncle - Pavel Petrovich and Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov. Representatives of the older generation of the family do not perceive the new youth philosophy, considering it too radical. That's just Nikolai Petrovich listens to the thoughts of the nihilist calmly and with a smile, and Pavel Nikolayevich goes into open conflict with Bazarov. Eugene is firm in his convictions, he is sure that he needs for life, rejects the old principles, not wanting to blindly accept them on faith, as people of the older generation do. The steadfastness of Bazarov's views was shaken after meeting the landowner Anna Odintsova, who aroused previously unknown feelings in the nihilist.

Although this work of the author is less well known compared to Lolita, it definitely deserves the close attention of readers. In his novel, Nabokov, in his unique manner, reveals the hidden nature of the human character and clearly demonstrates the blackness that can hide in the heart of a young and, at first glance, harmless creature. The events of the novel unfold in Germany, where the art critic Kretschmar leaves his wife and daughter for sixteen-year-old Magda, a girl with a dubious biography. The love of a man is so strong that even the death of his own daughter did not overshadow his ardent passion for Magda. But a happy life together was short-lived. The girl meets with the artist Gorn - her former lover. Past feelings flare up in them with renewed vigor and the couple begins to meet in secret from Krechmar, since Magda is still financially dependent on him. For credibility, Horn appears to Kretschmar as a homosexual. Evil lovers are plotting, mocking Krechmar, gradually depriving him of his mind.

The events and actions of the book are presented from the point of view of Holden Confield and are a reflection of the perception of a 16-year-old boy to the reality around him. In his narration, Holden talks about the period of his life before entering the clinic for treatment. The story reveals to the reader the whole depth of hopelessness and experiences of a young man who remained misunderstood by the big and cruel world. At the same time, Holden does not fall into philosophical reasoning, does not express value judgments, he simply describes the events taking place and tries to understand what can give him a feeling of happiness. So the little boy's song he heard about "how you catch someone in the rye ..." leads Holden to understand the happy moment. But, alas, it is impossible to achieve it, because the reality is completely different.

In "NG - ExLibris" in the issue of 31.01.2008 under the heading "From the Divine Bottle of Master Francois Rabelais to the scandalous "Blue Fat" by Vladimir Sorokin" a very curious and indisputable list of "100 novels, which, according to the editorial staff of" NG-Ex libris" shocked the literary world and influenced the entire culture."

“The millennium has just begun, we can sum up the results. including literary ones. The year is also at the very beginning, we bring to your attention a list of the 100 best, in the opinion of the editors of NG-EL, novels of all times and peoples.
After all, why are we worse? The English/Americans make their lists of great novels, including either boring modern English-language fiction, or even more boring but long-forgotten English-language fiction. Adding "for objectivity" a few Russian novels, a few things from world literature. We are also tendentious, we also include only what we know, what we are sure of - after all, this is our choice. We really want to be objective, but absolute objectivity in such lists is impossible. Although we, of course, have much more English-language novels than the English-Russians. We are not touchy. And if we like something, we say so - we like it.
Of course, the novels of living (or recently deceased) authors are closer to us, more understandable, therefore there are more of them than we should. If we had written our list 100 years ago, we would certainly have included Artsybashov, Veltman, Chernyshevsky, Pisemsky, Krestovsky, Leskov and Merezhkovsky (they should still be included now, but their stories and stories, like many others not included, perhaps all is better), etc. Of course, many did not enter. Those without which literature is unthinkable. Ivan Bunin, for example. Or Edgar Poe. Or Anton Chekhov. Or Knut Hamsun, the author of many great novels. But his best thing is “Hunger” - a story! A similar story, by the way, with Yuz Aleshkovsky. He has novels, but his "calling cards" - "Disguise" and "Nikolai Nikolaevich" - stories, if they are three times wrong!
Others, on the contrary, entered "by pull". For example, Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" is a poem, but the author called his work "a novel in verse." So romance. On the other hand, both “Dead Souls” by Gogol and “Moscow-Petushki” by Erofeev, according to the authors, are poems. Yes, poems. But if these are not novels, then what are novels? What do Sergei Minaev and Oksana Robski write? So our position is not a contradiction, it is a dialectic, our editorial arbitrariness.
Despite the exceptional prevalence of the novel genre, its boundaries are still not clearly defined. Most literary scholars believe that the genre of large narrative works, called the novel, arose in Western European literature of the 12th-13th centuries, when the literary work of the third estate began to take shape, headed by the merchant bourgeoisie. As a result, the heroic epic and the legend that dominated ancient and feudal-chivalric literature were replaced by the genre of the novel. Hegel called the novel a "bourgeois epic" for a reason. Therefore, you will not find in our list either Apuleius' Golden Ass or Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parsifal. An exception is made only for the works of Rabelais and Cervantes, which can be considered embryonic novels, or proto-novels.
We repeat: this is solely our choice, subjective and biased. We, as is customary, included some in vain, while others, on the contrary, were unfairly ignored. Make up your own version. The one who does nothing makes no mistakes.
You can see the list itself in today's issue of NG-EL. With brief comments. We have arranged the novels in chronological order (either by the time of writing or by the date of the first publication).

"100 novels that, according to the editorial staff of NG - Ex libris, shocked the literary world and influenced the entire culture"

1. Francois Rabelais. "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (1532-1553).
An extravaganza of mental health, rough and good jokes, a parody of parodies, a catalog of everything. How many centuries have passed, but nothing has changed.

2. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" (1605-1615).
A parody that survived for many centuries parodied works. A comic character that has become tragic and a household name.

3. Daniel Defoe. “The life and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived for twenty-eight years all alone on a desert island off the coast of America near the mouth of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown out by a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship except him died; with an account of his unexpected release by pirates, written by himself ”(1719).
An extremely accurate embodiment in the artistic form of the ideas of humanism of the Renaissance. A fictionalized proof that a single person has an independent value.

4. Jonathan Swift. Travels of Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships (1726).
The biography of a man who encountered incredible forms of intelligent life - midgets, giants, intelligent horses - and found not only a common language with them, but also many common features with his fellow tribesmen.

5. Abbe Prevost. "The Story of the Chevalier de Grieux and Manon Lescaut" (1731).
In fact, "Manon ..." is a story, an inserted chapter in the multi-volume novel "Notes of a noble man who retired from the world." But it was this inserted chapter that became the masterpiece of a love story that struck not so much contemporaries as descendants, a masterpiece that overshadowed everything else written by Prevost.

6. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. "The Suffering of Young Werther" (1774).
They say that in the 18th century, young people committed suicide after reading this novel. And today the story of a vulnerable person, unable to defend his "I" in the face of hostile reality, leaves no one indifferent.

7. Lawrence Stern. "The Life and Beliefs of Tristram Shandy" (1759-1767).
A charming game of nothing and never. Subtle postmodernism, cheerful and light struggle of witty and risky. The whole text is on the brink, hence, from the opinions of the gentleman Shandy, not only Sasha Sokolov, not only Bitov, but even Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky arose, alas, a storyteller, not a novelist.

8. Choderlos de Laclos. "Dangerous Liaisons" (1782).
A moralizing novel in letters from the life of a courtly 18th century. Vice weaves cunning intrigues, forcing to exclaim: “O times! Oh manners! However, virtue still prevails.

9. Marquis de Sade. "120 days of Sodom" (1785).
The first computer game in the history of world literature with cut off parts of the bodies and souls of puppet characters, a multi-level cutter-choker-burner. Plus black-black humor in a black-black room on a black-black night. Scary, creepy.

10. Jan Potocki. "Manuscript found in Zaragoza" (1804).
Labyrinth-like novel-box in short stories. The reader gets from one story to another without having time to take a breath, and there are only 66 of them. Amazing adventures, dramatic events and mysticism of the highest standard.

11 Mary Shelley "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" (1818).
A gothic story that unleashed a whole "brood" of themes and characters, subsequently picked up by many and still exploited. Among them are an artificial person, and a creator who is responsible for his work, and a tragically lonely monster.

12. Charles Maturin. "Melmoth the Wanderer" (1820).
A true gothic romance full of mystery and horror. Paraphrase on the theme of the Eternal Jew Ahasuerus and the Seville Seducer Don Juan. And also a novel of temptations, varied and irresistible.

13. Honore de Balzac. "Shagreen leather" (1831).
The most terrible novel by Balzac, the first and best author of serials to date. “Shagreen Skin” is also part of his big series, just a piece is getting smaller and smaller, I really don’t want to finish reading it, but it already irresistibly leads me into the abyss.

14. Victor Hugo. "Notre Dame Cathedral" (1831).
An apology for romance and social justice based on the French Middle Ages, which still has a lot of fans - at least in the form of a musical of the same name.

15. Stendhal. "Red and Black" (1830–1831).
Dostoevsky made from this - from a newspaper criminal chronicle - a tendentious accusatory pamphlet with philosophy. Stendhal has a love story where everyone is to blame, everyone is sorry, and most importantly - passion!

16. Alexander Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin" (1823-1833).
A novel in verse. The story of love and the life of an "extra person" and an encyclopedia of Russian life, which, thanks to the critic Belinsky, we know from school.

17. Alfred de Musset. "Confessions of a Son of the Century" (1836).
"A Hero of Our Time", written by Eduard Limonov, only without obscenities and loving African Americans. Lovingness, however, is enough here too, full of melancholy, despair and self-pity, but there is also a sober calculation. I'm the last bastard, says the lyrical hero. And he is certainly right.

18. Charles Dickens. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837).
Surprisingly funny and positive work of the English classic. All of old England, all the best that was in it, was embodied in the image of a noble, good-natured and optimistic old man - Mr. Pickwick.

19. Mikhail Lermontov. "A Hero of Our Time" (1840).
The story of the "superfluous man", who nevertheless became, or rather, for this very reason, an example to follow for many generations of pale young men.

20. Nikolai Gogol. "Dead Souls" (1842).
It is difficult to find a larger picture of Russian life at its deepest, mystical level. Moreover, written with such a combination of humor and tragedy. In her heroes they see both accurate portraits painted from life and images of evil spirits that burden the nation.

21. Alexandre Dumas. "Three Musketeers" (1844).
One of the most famous historical adventure novels is an encyclopedia of French life in the era of Louis XIII. Musketeer heroes - romantics, revelers and duelists - still remain the idols of young men of primary school age.

22. William Thackeray. "Vanity Fair" (1846).
Satire, only satire, no humor. All against all, snobs sit on snobs and accuse each other of snobbery. Some contemporaries laughed because they did not know that they were laughing at themselves. Now they also laugh, and also because they don’t know that time has changed, not people.

23. Herman Melville. "Moby Dick" (1851).
A novel-parable about American whalers and the consequences of obsession with a single unfulfilled desire that completely enslaves a person.

24. Gustave Flaubert "Madame Bovary" (1856).
A novel that ended up in the dock in the form of a magazine publication - for insulting morality. The heroine, who sacrificed family ties and reputation for love, is tempted to call the French Karenina, but "Madame" was ahead of "Anna" by more than twenty years.

25. Ivan Goncharov. "Oblomov" (1859).
The most Russian hero of the most Russian novel about Russian life. There is nothing more beautiful and more destructive than Oblomovism.

26. Ivan Turgenev. "Fathers and Sons" (1862).
The anti-nihilistic satire, which became a revolutionary guide to action, then satire again, will soon be a guide again. And so without end. Because Enyusha Bazarov is eternal.

27. Mine Reid. "Headless Horseman" (1865).
The most tender, the most American, the most romantic of all American novels. Because, probably, that the Briton wrote, really in love with Texas. He scares us, but we are not afraid, for this we love him even more.

28. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Crime and Punishment" (1866).
A novel of contrasts. The Napoleonic plans of Rody Raskolnikov lead him to the most vulgar crime. No scope, no grandeur - only abomination, dirt and an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. He can't even use stolen goods..

29. Leo Tolstoy. "War and Peace" (1867–1869).
War, peace and the inhabited universe of the human spirit. An epic about any war, about any love, about any society, about any time, about any people.

30. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Idiot" (1868–1869).
An attempt to create an image of a positively beautiful person, which can be considered the only successful one. And that Prince Myshkin is an idiot, that's just normal. As well as the fact that everything ends in failure.

31. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. "Venus in furs" (1870).
The work on the eroticization of suffering, begun by Turgenev, was continued by his Austrian admirer. In Russia, where suffering is one of the “most important, most fundamental spiritual needs” (according to Fyodor Dostoevsky), the novel is of unflagging interest.

32. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Demons" (1871–1872).
About Russian revolutionaries - atheists and nihilists - of the second half of the 19th century. Prophecy and warning, which, alas, was not heeded. And besides, murders, suicides, vagaries of love and passion.

33. Mark Twain. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) / "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884).
A novel in two books. Forerunner of postmodernism: the same events are shown through the eyes of two boys - younger (Tom) and older (Huck).

34. Leo Tolstoy. "Anna Karenina" (1878).
A violent love story, a married woman's rebellion, struggle and defeat. Under the wheels of the train. Even militant feminists are crying.

35. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "The Brothers Karamazov" (1879-1880).
Parricide, in which - one way or another - all the sons of Fyodor Karamazov are involved. Freud read and came up with the Oedipus complex. For Russians, the main thing is: is there a God and the immortality of the soul? If there is, then not everything is permitted, and if not, then I'm sorry.

36. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. "Gentlemen Golovlevs" (1880-1883).
The pinnacle of the literary activity of the toughest Russian satirist of the 19th century, the final verdict on the feudal system. An unusually relief image of an ugly family - people, distorted by a combination of physiological and social conditions.

37. Oscar Wilde. "Portrait of Dorian Gray" (1891).
A magical, fabulous, wonderful, touching and airy story of the rapid transformation of a young scoundrel into an old bastard.

38. HG Wells. "Time Machine" (1895).
One of the pillars of modern social fiction. He was the first to demonstrate that you can move back and forth in time, and also that the light genre can raise very serious problems.

39. Bram Stoker. "Dracula" (1897).
A bridge between measured Victorian literature and energetic adventure prose of the 20th century. A work that first turned a petty Orthodox prince, balancing between Islamic Turkey and Catholic Germany, into the embodiment of absolute Evil, and then made him a movie star.

40. Jack London. "Sea Wolf" (1904).
Maritime romance is just the backdrop for the portrait of Captain Larson, an amazing personality that combines brute force and philosophical thought. Later, such people became the heroes of the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky.

41. Fedor Sologub. "Small demon" (1905).
The most realistic thing in all decadent literature. A story about what envy, anger and extreme selfishness lead to.

42. Andrey Bely. "Petersburg" (1913-1914).
A novel in verse written in prose. In addition, about terrorists and Russian statehood.

43. Gustav Meyrink. "Golem" (1914).
A bewitching occult novel, the action of which takes place on the verge of reality and sleep, the gloomy streets of the Prague ghetto and the intricate labyrinths of the author's consciousness.

44. Evgeny Zamyatin. "We" (1921).
An ideal totalitarian state seen through the eyes of a mathematician. Literary proof that social harmony cannot be verified by algebra.

45. James Joyce. "Ulysses" (1922).
A novel is a labyrinth from which, to date, no one has managed to get out alive. Not a single literary Theseus, not a single literary Minotaur, not a single literary Daedalus.

46. ​​Ilya Ehrenburg. "The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito" (1922).
A satire in which the 20th century is displayed as the protagonist Julio Jurenito. A book, some pages of which turned out to be prophetic.

47. Yaroslav Gashek. "The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik during the World War" (1921-1923).
Common sense during the plague. A hero who is declared an idiot for being the only normal one. Funniest war book ever.

48. Mikhail Bulgakov. "White Guard" (1924).
The sinking ship of the past is nothing and no one can save. The more tempting is the toy house, where real soldiers who lost the war against their people will be truly killed.

49. Thomas Mann. "Magic Mountain" (1924).
Tomorrow was the war. Only World War I. And indeed - the Magic Mountain. Up there, where the mountains are, you want to sit out, to escape from the plague (any, it is approximately the same at all times and in all countries), but you just can’t. The magic does not work, they are already waiting downstairs, and they have very good arguments.

50. Franz Kafka. "Process" (1925).
One of the most complex and multifaceted novels of the 20th century, which gave rise to hundreds of mutually exclusive interpretations ranging from an entertainingly told dream to an allegory of a metaphysical search for God.

51. Francis Scott Fitzgerald. "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
A novel from the era of the American Jazz Age. Literary critics are still arguing: whether the author buried the great American dream in him, or simply regrets the eternal delay of today, sandwiched between the memory of the past and the romantic promise of the future.

52. Alexander Green. "Running on the waves" (1928).
A beautiful-hearted romantic extravaganza that has already helped a generation of young people and girls to survive the puberty period and gain faith in the Good and the Light and in their own higher destiny.

53. Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov. "Twelve Chairs" (1928).
A picaresque novel of the era of building socialism with the main character-adventurer Ostap Bender. A satire on Soviet society in the 1920s is on the verge of anti-Sovietism, fortunately almost unnoticed by the censors of those years.

54. Andrey Platonov. "Chevengur" (1927-1929).
The history of building communism in a single village. Perhaps the most disturbing novel about the explosion of messianic and eschatological sentiments in the first post-revolutionary years.

55. William Faulkner. "The Sound and the Fury" (1929).
The discreet charm of the magical American South. Legends, fairy tales, myths. They don't let go, they still call back to the Americans, because you have to be afraid of the past. Faulkner comes up with the American Zurbagan, only there you can be saved.

56. Ernest Hemingway. "A Farewell to Arms!" (1929).
Military prose, overseas military prose. War without war, world without peace, people without faces and eyes, but with glasses. The glasses are full, but they drink from them slowly, because the dead don't get drunk.

57. Louis Ferdinand Celine. "Journey to the End of the Night" (1932).
Stylish and sophisticated black. Without hope. Slums, poverty, war, dirt, and no light, no ray, one dark kingdom. Even the corpses are not visible. But they are, the journey must continue while Charon is having fun. Especially for tolerant optimists.

58. Aldous Huxley. "Oh Brave New World" (1932).
Interpreters argue: is it a utopia or a dystopia? Be that as it may, Huxley was able to anticipate the blessings and plagues of the modern "consumer society".

59. Lao She. "Notes on the Cat City" (1933).
Cats have nothing to do with it. Even foxes, traditional for the Chinese, also have nothing to do with it. This is power, this is plainclothes readers who come and knock on the door. It begins cheerfully and allegorically, and ends with a Chinese torture chamber. Very beautiful, very exotic, you just want to howl and growl, not meow.

60. Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer (1934).
The groan and howl of the male, longing for cities and years. The most physiologically crude prose poem.

61. Maxim Gorky. "The Life of Klim Samgin" (1925–1936).
Almost an epic, a political leaflet written almost in verse, the agony of the intelligentsia at the beginning of the century is relevant both at the end of it and in the middle.

62. Margaret Mitchell "Gone with the Wind" (1936).
A harmonious combination of female prose with an epic picture of American life during the Civil War of the North and South; deservedly became a bestseller.

63. Erich Maria Remarque. "Three comrades" (1936–1937).
One of the most famous novels on the theme of the "lost generation". People who have gone through the crucible of war cannot escape the ghosts of the past, but it was the military brotherhood that rallied the three comrades.

64. Vladimir Nabokov. "The Gift" (1938–1939).
The piercing theme of exile: a Russian emigrant lives in Berlin, writes poetry and loves Zina, and Zina loves him. The famous chapter IV is the biography of Chernyshevsky, the best of all existing ones. The author himself said: “The Gift” is not about Zina, but about Russian literature.

65. Mikhail Bulgakov. "Master and Margarita" (1929-1940).
A unique synthesis of satire, mystery and love story, created from a dualistic perspective. A hymn to free creativity, for which you will definitely be rewarded - even after death.

66. Mikhail Sholokhov. "Quiet Don" (1927-1940).
Cossack "War and Peace". The war during the Civil War and the world, which we will destroy to the ground, so that later we will never build anything again. The novel dies towards the end of the novel, a surprising occurrence in literature.

67. Robert Musil "A Man Without Qualities" (1930–1943).
For many years, Musil adjusted one to the other polished lines to the limit. It is not surprising that the filigree novel remained unfinished.

68. Hermann Hesse. "The Glass Bead Game" (1943).
A philosophical utopia written in the midst of the most terrible war of the 20th century. Anticipated all the main features and theoretical constructions of the era of postmodernism.

69. Veniamin Kaverin. "Two Captains" (1938–1944).
A book that called on the Soviet youth to "fight and seek, find and not give up." However, the romance of distant wanderings and scientific research captivates and attracts so far.

70. Boris Vian. "Foam of days" (1946).
The elegant French Kharms, an ironist and postmodernist, dumped all the culture of his time in feathers and diamonds. Culture cannot be washed off until now.

71. Thomas Mann. "Doctor Faustus" (1947).
Composer Adrian Leverkühn sold his soul to the devil. And he began to compose magnificent, but terrifying music, where hellish laughter and a pure children's choir sound. His fate reflects the fate of the German nation, which succumbed to the temptation of Nazism.

72. Albert Camus. "Plague" (1947).
A metaphorical novel about the "plague of the 20th century" and the role that the invasion of evil plays in the existential awakening of man.

73. George Orwell. "1984" (1949).
A dystopia imbued with Western society's hidden fear of the Soviet state and pessimism about the human ability to resist social evil.

74. Jerome D. Salinger. "The Catcher in the Rye" (1951).
Touching teenager Holden Caulfield, who does not want (and cannot) be like everyone else. That is why everyone immediately loved him. Both in America and in Russia.

75. Ray Bradbury. "451 Fahrenheit" (1953).
A dystopia that came true a long time ago. Books are not burned now, they are simply not read. We switched to other media. Bradbury, who always wrote about the village (well, Martian or whatever, but still - the village), is especially furious here. And he is absolutely right in his rage.

76. John R. R. Tolkien. "The Lord of the Rings" (1954-1955).
A three-volume saga-tale about the struggle between Good and Evil in a fictional world, which most accurately reflected the aspirations of the people of the twentieth century. Made millions of readers worry about the fate of the gnomes, elves and furry hobbits, as for their fellow tribesmen. Formed the fantasy genre and spawned many imitators.

77. Vladimir Nabokov. "Lolita" (1955; 1967, Russian version).
A shocking, but literary sophisticated story about the criminal passion of an adult man for a youngster. However, lust here strangely turns into love and tenderness. Lots of touching and funny stuff.

78. Boris Pasternak. "Doctor Zhivago" (1945-1955).
A novel by a poet of genius, a novel that won the Nobel Prize in Literature, a novel that killed a poet—killed him physically.

79. Jack Kerouac "On the road" (1957).
One of the cult compositions of the beatnik culture. The poetics of the American freeway in all its raw charm. A hipster chase that ends in nothing. But the chase is interesting.

80. William Burroughs. "Naked Lunch" (1959).
Another cult composition of beatnik culture. Homosexuality, perversions, glitches and other horrors. Interzone populated by secret agents, mad doctors and all sorts of mutants. But in general - a hysterical rhapsod, repulsive and bewitching.

81. Witold Gombrowicz. "Pornography" (1960).
Despite the fact that the provocative title does not match the content, none of those who mastered this sensual-metaphysical novel was left disappointed.

82. Kobo Abe. "Woman in the Sands" (1962).
Russian melancholy without Russian expanses. Vertical escape. From skyscrapers to the sand pit. Escape with no right to return, no right to stop, no right to rest, no rights whatsoever. A woman can only cover with sand, only fall asleep. Which she does. The escape is considered successful: the fugitive is not found.

83. Julio Cortazar. "Playing Hopscotch" (1963).
A novel made up of novels. Interactive games, call, mister reader, live, I'll do as you say. Latin Americans love to play, they are very reckless. This novel is a big game of literary gambling. Some win.

84. Nikolay Nosov. "Dunno on the Moon" (1964-1965).
A novel is a fairy tale. Only there is very little fairy tale, but a lot of funny and scary. The most accurate, most come true dystopia of the twentieth century. And now this book is still coming true and coming true.

85. John Fowles Magus (1965).
The life and terrifying adventures of the soul and meaning of modern Robinson Crusoe on, alas, an inhabited island of sheer nightmares. No one will ever forgive anyone or anything.

86. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967).
The story of the fictional city of Macondo, full of drama, was founded by a passionate tyrant leader interested in the mystical secrets of the Universe. A mirror reflecting the real history of Colombia.

87. Philip K. Dick. "Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep" (1968).
A work that asks the question “Are we who we take ourselves to be, and is the reality as our eyes see it?”. It forced serious philosophers and culturologists to turn to fantasy and at the same time infected several generations of writers and filmmakers with a specific paranoia.

88. Yuri Mamleev. "Connecting Rods" (1968).
A metaphysical novel about a mysterious esoteric circle, whose members try in various ways to escape from the ordinary world into the beyond.

89. Alexander Solzhenitsyn. "In the first circle" (1968).
A novel about a “good” camp, a novel about what, it would seem, is not so scary, which, apparently, is why it has such a strong effect. In a complete nightmare, you no longer feel anything, but here - when "you can live" - ​​here you understand that there is no life and cannot be. The novel is not even devoid of humorous scenes, and this also acts even more strongly. Let's not forget that the circle may be the first, but this is not a lifeline, but one of the circles of the Kolyma hell.

90. Kurt Vonnegut "Slaughterhouse Five, or the Children's Crusade" (1969).
A funny and crazy novel in a schizophrenic-telegraphic style. The bombing of Dresden by the Americans and the British in 1945, aliens dragging Billy Pilgrim to the planet Tralfamador. And "things like that," said every time someone dies.

91. Venedikt Erofeev. "Moscow-Petushki" (1970).
Underground encyclopedia of Russian spiritual life of the second half of the twentieth century. The funny and tragic Bible of a dervish, an alcoholic and a passion-bearer - whoever is closer.

92. Sasha Sokolov "School for Fools" (1976).
One of those rare novels in which it is not what is more important, but how. The protagonist is by no means a schizophrenic boy, and the language is complex, metaphorical, musical.

93. Andrey Bitov. "Pushkin House" (1971).
About the charming conformist, philologist Lev Odoevtsev, who leaves the vile "Soviet" 1960s for the golden 19th century, so as not to get dirty. Truly an encyclopedia of Soviet life, an organic part of which is the great Russian literature.

94. Eduard Limonov. "It's me - Eddie" (1979).
A novel-confession, which became one of the most shocking books of its time thanks to the utmost frankness of the author.

95. Vasily Aksenov. "Island of Crimea" (1979).
The Taiwanese version of Russian history: the Bolsheviks did not get the Crimea in Civil War. The plot is fantastic, but the feelings and actions of the characters are real. And noble. For which they have to pay very dearly.

96. Milan Kundera "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1984).
Intimate life against the background of political cataclysms. And the conclusion - any choice is unimportant, "what happened once, could not happen at all."

97. Vladimir Voinovich. "Moscow 2042" (1987).
The most sophisticated work of the writer. Four utopias inserted into each other like nesting dolls. Tricks with the chronotope and other fun. And also - the most eccentric manifestations of the Russian mentality in all its glory.

98. Vladimir Sorokin. "Romance" (1994).
This book is primarily for writers. Roman, the hero of Roman, arrives in a typical Russian village, where he lives a typical village life - everything is like in the realistic novels of the 19th century. But the ending - special, Sorokinsky - symbolizes the end of traditional novel thinking.

99. Victor Pelevin. "Chapaev and Void" (1996).
Buddhist thriller, mystical thriller about two eras (1918 and 1990s). Which of the eras is real is unknown, and it doesn’t matter. A keen sense of life in different dimensions, flavored with signature irony. Sometimes even breathtaking. Scary and fun.

100. Vladimir Sorokin. "Blue fat" (1999).
The most scandalous novel by this author. A stormy plot, a whirlpool of events. A fascinating play with language - like in a symphony. Chinaized Russia of the future, Stalin and Hitler in the past, and much more. But in general, when you finish reading, it breaks to tears.