Literary Canon
Best Books from India
India's literary landscape is uniquely plural: an enormous tradition of classical Sanskrit, Tamil, and regional literature sits alongside one of the most dynamic bodies of English-language fiction anywhere on earth. Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European Nobel laureate in literature, wrote in Bengali and translated himself into a world language. Arundhati Roy's debut novel won the Booker Prize and became a global phenomenon. Vikram Seth, Rohinton Mistry, and Amitav Ghosh have mapped the subcontinent's history with novelistic ambition, while a new generation of writers in Hindi, Malayalam, and Marathi is claiming equal prominence.
#1
literary-fiction
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie· 1981
★Nobel Prize in Literature★Booker Prize
Editorial Score100/100
#2
literary-fiction
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy· 1997
★Nobel Prize in Literature★Booker Prize
Editorial Score100/100
#3
literary-fiction
The White Tiger
Aravind Adiga· 2008
★Nobel Prize in Literature★Booker Prize
Editorial Score100/100
#4
literary-fiction
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Salman Rushdie· 1990
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#5
horror
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie· 1981
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#6
romance
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy· 1997
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#7
travel-exploration
The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie· 1988
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#8
religion-spirituality
Grimus
Salman Rushdie· 1975
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#9
short-stories
Imaginary Homelands
Salman Rushdie· 1991
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#10
short-stories
The Vintage Book of Indian Writing 1947-1997
Salman Rushdie· 1997
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#11
literary-fiction
A Suitable Boy
Vikram Seth· 1993
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score42/100
#12
literary-fiction
Gitanjali (song offerings)
Rabindranath Tagore· 1910
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#13
literary-fiction
The Moor's Last Sigh
Salman Rushdie· 1995
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score38/100
#14
philosophy
Languages of Truth
Salman Rushdie· 2021
Editorial Score38/100
#15
politics-society
An ordinary person's guide to empire
Arundhati Roy· 2004
Editorial Score38/100
#16
religion-spirituality
Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie· 2003
Editorial Score38/100
#17
short-stories
Step Across This Line
Salman Rushdie· 2002
Editorial Score38/100
#18
short-stories
Power Politics
Arundhati Roy· 2001
Editorial Score38/100
#19
literary-fiction
Bonheur d'occasion
Gabrielle Roy· 1945
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#20
literary-fiction
The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy· 1987
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#21
literary-fiction
The disinherited
Jack Conroy· 1933
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#22
literary-fiction
The feud of Oakfield Creek
Josiah Royce· 1887
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#23
classic-literature
The hungry stones
Rabindranath Tagore· 1916
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#24
fantasy
David and the Phoenix
Edward Ormondroyd· 1957
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#25
romance
The Glass Palace
Amitav Ghosh· 2000
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#26
biography-memoir
Andersonville; a story of rebel military prisons
John McElroy· 1879
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#27
biography-memoir
Mémoires
Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy duc de· 1818
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#28
biography-memoir
My Life in the South
Jacob Stroyer· 1885
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#29
biography-memoir
Eduardo Arroyo
Eduardo Arroyo· 1973
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#30
biography-memoir
Daughters of the Puritans
Seth Curtis Beach· 1905
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#31
psychology
Outlines of psychology
Josiah Royce· 1903
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#32
psychology
Pictures at an Exhibition
Andrea Gilroy· 1989
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#33
travel-exploration
Across Mongolian Plains
Roy Chapman Andrews· 1921
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#34
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travel-exploration
The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society ...: General index to the fifth ten volumes of the ...
Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain)· 1835
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#35
travel-exploration
Ends of the earth
Roy Chapman Andrews· 1929
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#36
adventure
My Name is Aram
William Saroyan· 1937
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#37
historical-fiction
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Roy Thomas· 1993
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#38
politics-society
The Enlightenment
Roy Sydney Porter· 1990
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#39
politics-society
Garbage Land
Elizabeth Royte· 2005
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#40
art-design
Les musées d'Europe
Gustave Geffroy· 1900
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#41
art-design
La vie artistique
Gustave Geffroy· 1892
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#42
religion-spirituality
The religion of man
Rabindranath Tagore· 1931
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#43
religion-spirituality
The religious aspect of philosophy
Josiah Royce· 1885
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#44
religion-spirituality
The sources of religious insight
Josiah Royce· 1912
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#45
short-stories
Selected Short Stories
Rabindranath Tagore· 1918
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#46
history
Life & Lore Along Illinois Waterways
Raya· 2001
Editorial Score35/100
#47
short-stories
My Seditious Heart
Arundhati Roy· 2019
Editorial Score35/100
#48
literary-fiction
The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie· 1988
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score34/100
#49
literary-fiction
Suicide Hill
James Ellroy· 1986
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score30/100
#50
literary-fiction
Clandestine
James Ellroy· 1982
Library Journal
Editorial Score30/100
Genres
Literary Fiction26Art & Design25Politics & Society18Travel & Exploration16Adventure14Religion & Spirituality13Biography & Memoir11Psychology11Cooking & Food11Historical Fiction10Short Stories9Classic Literature9Graphic Novels9Mystery & Thriller7Fantasy6Horror6Romance4Science Fiction4Philosophy1History1