Literary Canon
Best Books from Japan
Japanese literature offers two great traditions in constant dialogue: the classical refinement of Murasaki Shikibu, Matsuo Bashō, and the court poets, and the cosmopolitan modernity of Soseki, Mishima, Kawabata, Oe, and Murakami. The Japanese novel has a distinctive relationship to the interior life — to loneliness, impermanence, and aesthetic sensitivity — that sets it apart from Western fiction. Haruki Murakami has brought Japanese literature to a global mass readership, but the quieter voices — Banana Yoshimoto, Yoko Ogawa, Hiromi Kawakami — are equally essential to understanding a literary culture of extraordinary range.
#1
literary-fiction
Snow Country
Yasunari Kawabata· 1968
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score71/100
#2
literary-fiction
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Yukio Mishima· 1963
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score66/100
#3
literary-fiction
The Makioka Sisters
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki· 1943
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score60/100
#4
literary-fiction
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Yukio Mishima· 1956
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score48/100
#5
literary-fiction
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Haruki Murakami· 1994
Goodreads Choice AwardKirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#6
literary-fiction
Moll Flanders
Daniel Defoe· 1722
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#7
fantasy
Foul Lady Fortune
Chloe Gong· 2022
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#8
biography-memoir
Goethe's Werke
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#9
biography-memoir
Sämtliche Werke
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#10
science-fiction
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami· 1985
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score43/100
#11
literary-fiction
Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami· 2002
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score42/100
#12
literary-fiction
Kitchen
Banana Yoshimoto· 1988
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score42/100
#13
literary-fiction
Sputnik Sweetheart
Haruki Murakami· 1999
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score40/100
#14
literary-fiction
The history of the great plague in London in the year 1665
Daniel Defoe· 1722
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#15
literary-fiction
Die Leiden des jungen Werthers
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1779
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#16
literary-fiction
O Alquimista
Paulo Coelho· 1988
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#17
literary-fiction
A Knight of the Nineteenth Century
Edward Payson Roe· 1877
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#18
literary-fiction
The fortunate mistress, or, Roxana
Daniel Defoe· 1724
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#19
literary-fiction
Egmont
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1788
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#20
literary-fiction
Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#21
mystery-thriller
The Fireman
Joe Hill· 2016
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#22
horror
The best ghost stories
Daniel Defoe· 1919
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#23
biography-memoir
Aus meinem Leben
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#24
biography-memoir
Italienische Reise
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1860
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#25
cooking-food
Food selection and preparation
Marion Deyoe Sweetman· 1943
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#26
art-design
Oudtestamentische studiën
Pieter Arie Hendrik de Boer· 1943
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#27
literary-fiction
Norwegian Wood
Haruki Murakami· 1987
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score39/100
#28
literary-fiction
The Sound of Waves
Yukio Mishima· 1954
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score38/100
#29
literary-fiction
Faust
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#30
literary-fiction
Sonnenfinsternis
Arthur Koestler· 1940
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#31
literary-fiction
Barriers Burned Away
Edward Payson Roe· 1800
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#32
literary-fiction
Captain Singleton
Daniel Defoe· 1720
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#33
literary-fiction
Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Ein Roman
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1809
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#34
literary-fiction
Memoirs of a cavalier, or, A military journal of the wars in Germany and the wars in England
Daniel Defoe· 1720
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#35
literary-fiction
Stones for Ibarra
Harriet Doerr· 1920
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#36
literary-fiction
The Jesuit Martyrs of Japan
Giuseppe Boero· 1862
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#37
literary-fiction
The shadow between his shoulder-blades
Joel Chandler Harris· 1909
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#38
literary-fiction
Arrival and Departure
Arthur Koestler· 1943
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#39
literary-fiction
Wilhelm Meister
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· 1843
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#40
literary-fiction
The Italian novelists
Thomas Roscoe· 1825
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#41
literary-fiction
The German novelists
Thomas Roscoe· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#42
classic-literature
The Consolidator
Daniel Defoe· 1705
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#43
classic-literature
Nan Sherwood's Winter Holidays
Annie Roe Carr· 1916
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#44
classic-literature
From London to Land's End
Daniel Defoe· 1888
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#45
classic-literature
Essay Upon Projects
Daniel Defoe· 1702
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#46
classic-literature
Hormiguitita
Aldo Boetto· 2003
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#47
classic-literature
A critical concordance to Seneca's Medea
L. Belle Voegelein· 1913
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#48
mystery-thriller
The Bottoms
Joe R. Lansdale· 2000
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#49
mystery-thriller
The maelstrom
Frank Froest· 1916
Library Journal
Editorial Score35/100
#50
mystery-thriller
Chasing the Dead
Joe Schreiber· 2006
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
