Classic Fiction reading

Here is my idiosyncratic reading list of classic fiction (“modern” fiction is covered here). This is not supposed to be representative at all. It reflects my biases and many books that I should have read but never have (oops!), many that I’ve never carefully read, and many I’d like to (potentially) reread, and some that I perhaps should reread but do not feel like doing so at the moment (e.g., Shakespeare).

But I’d love to hear from you if there are any that you think I should add or reprioritize!

Completed

The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov The Master and Margarita ★★★

Higher priority

Possessed by Memory Harold Bloom Possessed by Memory
The Western Cannon Harold Bloom The Western Cannon
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote
Bleak House Charles Dickens Bleak House
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment
Notes from Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky Notes from Underground
The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky The Idiot
The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo
The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers
The Opposing Shore Julien Gracq The Opposing Shore
Life and Fate Vasily Grossman Life and Fate
The Odyssey Homer The Odyssey
The Golden Bowl Henry James The Golden Bowl
The Portrait of a Lady Henry James The Portrait of a Lady
The Wings of the Dove Henry James The Wings of the Dove
In Search of Lost Time Marcel Proust In Search of Lost Time
Swann's Way Marcel Proust Swann's Way
Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina
Hadji Murad Leo Tolstoy Hadji Murad
The Death of Ivan Ilych Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilych
War and Peace Leo Tolstoy War and Peace

Lower priority

Lost Illusions Honore de Balzac Lost Illusions
Pere Goriot Honore de Balzac Pere Goriot
Ficciones Jorge Luis Borges Ficciones
The Aleph and Other Stories Jorge Luis Borges The Aleph and Other Stories
The Complete Short Novels Anton Chekhov The Complete Short Novels
Journey to the West Wu Cheng'en Journey to the West
The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy
No Longer Human Osamu Dazai No Longer Human
The Alexandria Quartet Lawrence Durrell The Alexandria Quartet
Middlemarch George Eliot Middlemarch
Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary
Sentimental Education Gustave Flaubert Sentimental Education
Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol Dead Souls
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Luo Guanzhong Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Les Miserables Victor Hugo Les Miserables
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Ulysses James Joyce Ulysses
House of the Sleeping Beauties Yasunari Kawabata House of the Sleeping Beauties
Snow Country Yasunari Kawabata Snow Country
The Master of Go Yasunari Kawabata The Master of Go
The Sound of the Mountain Yasunari Kawabata The Sound of the Mountain
Arabian Nights and Days Naguib Mahfouz Arabian Nights and Days
The Beggar, The Thief and the Dogs, and Autumn Quail Naguib Mahfouz The Beggar, The Thief and the Dogs, and Autumn Quail
The Cairo Trilogy Naguib Mahfouz The Cairo Trilogy
Buddenbrooks Thomas Mann Buddenbrooks
Death in Venice Thomas Mann Death in Venice
The Magic Mountain Thomas Mann The Magic Mountain
The Man Without Qualities Robert Musil The Man Without Qualities
Ada, or Ardor Vladimir Nabokov Ada, or Ardor
Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov Pale Fire
Water Margin Shi Nai'an Water Margin
Jaya Devdutt Pattanaik Jaya
Sita Devdutt Pattanaik Sita
Mahabharata Carole Satyamurti Mahabharata
Kokoro Natsume Soseki Kokoro
The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal The Charterhouse of Parma
The Red and the Black Stendhal The Red and the Black
Fathers and Sons Ivan Turgenev Fathers and Sons
On the Eve Ivan Turgenev On the Eve
A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf A Room of One's Own
Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf Mrs. Dalloway
The Crowded Dance of Modern Life Virginia Woolf The Crowded Dance of Modern Life
The Waves Virginia Woolf The Waves
To The Lighthouse Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse
Dream of the Red Chamber Cao Xuequin Dream of the Red Chamber
Germinal Emile Zola Germinal
Nana Emile Zola Nana


Emma Jane Austen Emma
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility
Les Fleurs du Mal Charles Baudelaire Les Fleurs du Mal
Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable Samuel Beckett Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot
Herzog Saul Bellow Herzog
Humboldt's Gift Saul Bellow Humboldt's Gift
Ravelstein Saul Bellow Ravelstein
The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow The Adventures of Augie March
The Tattered Cloak Nina Berberova The Tattered Cloak
Nadja Andre Breton Nadja
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange
A Love Affair Dino Buzzati A Love Affair
The Tartar Steppe Dino Buzzati The Tartar Steppe
The Fall Albert Camus The Fall
The Plague Albert Camus The Plague
The Stranger Albert Camus The Stranger
Journey to the End of the Night Louis-Ferdinand Celine Journey to the End of the Night
Belle du Seigneur Albert Cohen Belle du Seigneur
Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
Lord Jim Joseph Conrad Lord Jim
Nostromo Joseph Conrad Nostromo
The Mahabharata Bibek Debroy (translator), Vyasa The Mahabharata
The Valmiki Ramayana Bibek Debroy The Valmiki Ramayana
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe
Classics for Pleasure Michael Dirda Classics for Pleasure
Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner Absalom, Absalom!
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner As I Lay Dying
Light in August William Faulkner Light in August
The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury
Strait is the Gate Andre Gide Strait is the Gate
The Immoralist Andre Gide The Immoralist
Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Faust
The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Sorrows of Young Werther
Far From the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy Far From the Madding Crowd
Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure
Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy Tess of the d'Urbervilles
The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy The Mayor of Casterbridge
Siddhartha Hermann Hesse Siddhartha
Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse Steppenwolf
The Glass Bead Game Hermann Hesse The Glass Bead Game
The Illiad Homer The Illiad
The Castle Franz Kafka The Castle
The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
The Trial Franz Kafka The Trial
Lady Chatterley's Lover D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover
Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence Sons and Lovers
The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence The Rainbow
Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory Le Morte d'Arthur
The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni The Betrothed
Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez Love in the Time of Cholera
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham The Razor's Edge
My Name is Red Orhan Pamuk My Name is Red
The Museum of Innocence Orhan Pamuk The Museum of Innocence
Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin Eugene Onegin
Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow
Gargantua and Pantagruel Francois Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel
Duino Elegies Rainer Maria Rilke Duino Elegies
Letters to a Young Poet Rainer Maria Rilke Letters to a Young Poet
The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye
Blindness Jose Saramago Blindness
No Exit Jean-Paul Sartre No Exit
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Laurence Sterne The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
Zeno's Conscience Italo Svevo Zeno's Conscience
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The House of Mirth Edith Wharton The House of Mirth
Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

All book cover images are from Goodreads unless specified otherwise.