The 71 best moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels

The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio and In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka lead the 71 best moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels, ranked by literary regard. To start, The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien is the most approachable of the highly regarded books here, about 34 hours to read.

Each point of light is one of the 71, placed by how hard it is to read. The brighter, the higher it ranks. The dotted line is one way up.

71
books
415
hours to read
5
free to read here
Start low: The DecameronSee all 71
Moderate25 booksChallenging46 books

Tap a light to see its book · tap a cluster to keep only its books

No. 1 of 71

The Stranger

Albert Camus · 1942

Difficulty 64/1003 hours

Open the book
SortAs rankedEasiest firstShortest first
Readable here · 5

Hours at an average pace

Showing 71 books

About 415 hours for 66 of 71 books with measured lengths. Estimates use 250 words a minute, adjusted for each book's difficulty. At 2 hours a day, about 208 days for those books.

1–10 · 117 hours

  1. No. 1 on this list. The Stranger

    Albert Camus · 1942

    Challenging3 hours

    Included in: Bokklubben World Library

    The Stranger appears on Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, the Open Syllabus Top 500 Literature list, and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Published in prestige editions by both NYRB Classics and Penguin Modern Classics, it is one of the most assigned existentialist texts in university world literature courses across Europe, North America, and beyond.

    Start this book

  2. No. 2 on this list. The Decameron

    Giovanni Boccaccio · 1353

    Moderate20 hours

    Included in: Bokklubben World Library

    Ten young Florentines flee the Black Death and tell a hundred stories—bawdy, tragic, satirical—that give prose fiction its first great architecture. Chaucer borrowed from it, and the frame-narrative technique Boccaccio perfected here became the scaffolding for centuries of European storytelling.

    Read now

  3. In the Penal Colony is among Kafka's most widely taught stories, a standard text in courses on modernism, German literature and literature and the law. It is reprinted in almost every major Kafka collection.

    Start this book

  4. No. 4 on this list. Their Eyes Were Watching God

    Zora Neale Hurston · 1937

    Challenging5.3 hours

    Taught in schools: Common Core text exemplars (Appendix B) (US)

    Appears on 3,011 university syllabi according to the Open Syllabus Project (86.97th percentile), placing it among the most-taught American novels. Featured on TIME's All-TIME 100 Novels list and published in prestigious Library of America and Everyman's Library editions — markers of sustained institutional recognition. Available in 9 Wikipedia languages, reflecting global reach in academic and literary circles.

    Start this book

  5. One of the most anthologized short stories in English, taught in high school and college courses as the model of the iceberg technique. It sits just below the novels at the centre of the American curriculum.

    Start this book

  6. No. 6 on this list. The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)

    J.R.R. Tolkien · 1954

    Moderate34 hours

    Taught in schools: Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate – English

    Widely taught in fantasy, medieval-influenced and popular literature courses and ranked among the most read novels, but less dominant on core literary syllabi than Gatsby or Crime and Punishment.

    Start this book

  7. Appears on 241 university syllabi (59th percentile, Open Syllabus Project) and is listed on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels. Wikipedia coverage in 11 languages is modest for a major English novel, suggesting strong Anglophone canonical status that has not fully globalized.

    Read now

  8. Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge is on Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, with Wikipedia articles in 14 languages. It is taught as a founding text of modernist prose in German and comparative literature courses.

    Start this book

  9. No. 9 on this list. Dune

    Frank Herbert · 1965

    Challenging17 hours

    Dune is the foundational text of modern science fiction world-building, widely included on SF literature syllabi and 'essential reading' lists across the genre. While the Open Syllabus data returned zero results — likely a metadata mismatch — Dune appears regularly in university SF literature courses and on canonical reading lists. It consistently ranks first or second on polls of the best science fiction novels ever written.

    Start this book

  10. The Rainbow is firmly established in the English literary canon as one of Lawrence's major novels and a landmark of early modernism. It appears on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list, is a staple of university curricula covering British modernism, and is widely recognized as a foundational text in the novel of sexuality and consciousness.

    Read now
11–20 · 39 hours

  1. No. 11 on this list. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie · Muriel Spark · 1961

    Taught in schools: CSEC English B – Caribbean Examinations Council

    Regularly taught in British literature and women's studies courses, considered essential modern Scottish fiction. Appears on A-level syllabi and university 20th-century literature surveys. Not as universally taught as The Great Gatsby, but firmly established in academic curricula focused on postwar British fiction and modernist technique.

    Challenging3.5 hours

    Start this book

  2. No. 12 on this list. The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen: Passing, Quicksand, and The Stories · Nella Larsen · 2001

    Passing and Quicksand are standard in American literature, Harlem Renaissance and gender and race studies courses. Larsen is widely anthologized, though less ubiquitous than Gatsby.

    Moderate5.2 hours

    Start this book

  3. No. 13 on this list. Against Nature · Joris-Karl Huysmans · 1884

    It is the founding text of French decadence and is taught in late 19th-century French and European literature courses. It is less ubiquitous than the major novels of the canon.

    Challenging6.6 hours

    Start this book

  4. No. 14 on this list. Zazie in the Metro · Raymond Queneau · 1959

    Zazie in the Metro appears on Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century (1999) and in the Open Syllabus Top 500 for literature, placing it firmly within the French literary canon. It is published by NYRB Classics, the most prestigious English-language imprint for foreign literary fiction. The novel is taught in French literature and postmodern fiction courses internationally, though it remains more of a cult text than a curriculum fixture outside France. Its canonical standing in France itself is considerably higher than its anglophone footprint suggests.

    Moderate2.9 hours

    Start this book

  5. No. 15 on this list. The Luzhin Defense · Владимир Владимирович Набоков · 1930

    One of Nabokov's major Russian-period novels, regularly taught in Nabokov and emigre literature courses, though less central than Lolita.

    Challenging5.4 hours

    Start this book

  6. No. 16 on this list. Breakfast of Champions · Kurt Vonnegut · 1973

    Breakfast of Champions appears regularly on college syllabi in American literature and postmodern fiction courses, though it is less taught than Slaughterhouse-Five. It has maintained continuous print presence since 1973 and appears on multiple 'best American novels' lists, including TIME's All-TIME 100 Novels. Its cultural recognition places it well above genre fiction but below the canonical apex of The Great Gatsby (95).

    Challenging4.6 hours

    Start this book

  7. No. 17 on this list. Nox · Anne Carson · 2010

    Nox has become a touchstone of contemporary poetry and book-art courses, and Carson's Nobel Prize in Literature in 2026 raises its standing further. It remains a niche text compared with the major canon.

    Moderate

    Start this book

  8. No. 18 on this list. Checkout 19 · Claire-Louise Bennett · 2022

    Published in 2021, too recent for canonical assessment, though it appeared on New York Times '10 Best Books of the Year' and received significant critical attention. Bennett engages canonical modernist traditions (Woolf, Joyce) and the autofiction movement. The work's experimental ambition and metafictional sophistication position it as a serious literary achievement, but its ultimate place in the canon remains uncertain.

    Challenging5.8 hours

    Start this book

  9. No. 19 on this list. Batman: The Killing Joke · Alan Moore · 1995

    Widely regarded as one of the most important Batman stories and a staple of comics studies and graphic novel lists. Less often taught in general literature courses than prose classics.

    Moderate55 min

    Start this book

  10. No. 20 on this list. Woodcutters · Thomas Bernhard · 1984

    It is a significant work by a major Austrian author, part of a trilogy with The Loser and Old Masters, and is published by Suhrkamp and Knopf. It is taught in German and world literature courses but is not a universal staple.

    Challenging4.3 hours

    Start this book
21–30 · 82 hours

  1. No. 21 on this list. Zama · Antonio di Benedetto · 1956

    Zama is widely regarded as a landmark of Latin American literature and has been reissued in translation and adapted for film. It is taught less often than the major Boom novels.

    Challenging4.6 hours

    Start this book

  2. No. 22 on this list. Almanac of the Dead · Leslie Marmon Silko · 1991

    It is widely taught in Native American, postcolonial and borderlands literature courses and a major text of the field, though less universal than Beloved. Silko's work anchors Native American literary studies.

    Challenging18 hours

    Start this book

  3. No. 23 on this list. Flatland · Edwin A. Abbott · 1884

    It is a standard text in mathematics and science-fiction courses and a long-running touchstone of Victorian satire. It sits below the core novel canon.

    Challenging2.5 hours

    Read now

  4. No. 24 on this list. House of Leaves · Mark Z. Danielewski · 2000

    House of Leaves (2000) is a cult classic that has become a regular text in university courses on postmodern fiction, horror and the book as a physical object. It is set less often than Infinite Jest but holds a secure place in discussions of experimental American fiction.

    Moderate13 hours

    Start this book

  5. No. 25 on this list. Sometimes a Great Notion · Ken Kesey · 1964

    A standard of American West and 1960s literature courses, often paired with Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, though it does not match that book's reach. It holds an established but not definitive place.

    Challenging16 hours

    Start this book

  6. No. 26 on this list. Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth · Grant Morrison · 2005

    A leading graphic novel on comics and gothic studies reading lists, bestselling and in print for decades, but not a standard part of general literature curricula.

    Challenging5.4 hours

    Start this book

  7. No. 27 on this list. Love in the New Millennium · Can Xue · 2013

    Highly regarded in avant-garde circles. Less widely known than more accessible Chinese novelists.

    Moderate5.7 hours

    Start this book

  8. No. 28 on this list. Sexing the Cherry · Jeanette Winterson · 1998

    It is widely taught in contemporary British fiction, feminist and queer literature courses, though not at the level of a core canon text. Its standing is below The Remains of the Day but above commercial fiction.

    Challenging4 hours

    Start this book

  9. No. 29 on this list. Last Words from Montmartre · Qiu Miaojin · 1996

    Qiu is a central figure in Taiwanese and queer Chinese-language literature, and this book is widely read in translation and in courses on world queer writing. Its wider canonical reach is still growing.

    Moderate3.2 hours

    Start this book

  10. No. 30 on this list. Biography of X · Catherine Lacey · 2023

    Likely to be taught in contemporary fiction and experimental fiction courses. The alternate history element invites academic attention.

    Challenging9.1 hours

    Start this book
31–40 · 51 hours

  1. No. 31 on this list. The Suicides

    Antonio di Benedetto · 2025

  2. No. 32 on this list. On Being Blue

    William H. Gass · 1975

  3. No. 33 on this list. Requiem: A Hallucination

    Antonio Tabucchi · 2002

  4. No. 34 on this list. Same Bed Different Dreams

    Ed Park · 2023

  5. No. 35 on this list. Save Me the Waltz

    Zelda Fitzgerald · 2001

  6. No. 36 on this list. The Sandman, Vol. 7: Brief Lives

    Neil Gaiman · 1999

  7. No. 37 on this list. Frisk

    Dennis Cooper · 1991

  8. No. 38 on this list. The King in Yellow

    Robert W. Chambers · 1895

  9. No. 39 on this list. The Candy House

    Jennifer Egan · 2022

  10. No. 40 on this list. Death of the Author

    Nnedi Okorafor · 2025

41–50 · 60 hours

  1. No. 41 on this list. The End of Everything

    M. John Harrison · 2026

  2. No. 42 on this list. Witch Grass

    Raymond Queneau · 1942

  3. No. 43 on this list. Bleeding Edge

    Thomas Pynchon · 2013

  4. No. 44 on this list. August Blue

    Deborah Levy · 2023

  5. No. 45 on this list. The Faces

    Tove Ditlevsen · 2021

  6. No. 46 on this list. Lunar Park

    Bret Easton Ellis · 2005

  7. No. 47 on this list. The Vampire Lestat

    Anne Rice · 1985

  8. No. 48 on this list. The Kindness of Women

    J.G. Ballard · 1991

  9. No. 49 on this list. Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom

    Sylvia Plath

  10. No. 50 on this list. Alphabetical Diaries

    Sheila Heti · 2024

51–60 · 27 hours

  1. No. 51 on this list. Life of M

    Rachel Cusk · 2026

  2. No. 52 on this list. They: A Sequence of Unease

    Kay Dick · 1977

  3. No. 53 on this list. Switzy

    Emma Cline · 2026

  4. No. 54 on this list. Weird Fucks

    Lynne Tillman · 1980

  5. No. 55 on this list. Scary Monsters

    Michelle de Kretser · 2022

  6. No. 56 on this list. We Are Light

    Gerda Blees · 2023

  7. No. 57 on this list. Love Novel

    Ivana Sajko · 2022

  8. No. 58 on this list. My Work

    Olga Ravn · 2020

  9. No. 59 on this list. Paradise Rot

    Jenny Hval · 2009

  10. No. 60 on this list. The Red Tree

    Caitlín R. Kiernan · 2000

61–70 · 37 hours

  1. No. 61 on this list. Transcription

    Ben Lerner · 2026

  2. No. 62 on this list. Godlike

    Richard Hell · 2005

  3. No. 63 on this list. Y/N: A Novel

    Esther Yi · 2023

  4. No. 64 on this list. How It Works Out

    Myriam Lacroix · 2024

  5. No. 65 on this list. Coup de Grâce

    Sofia Ajram · 2024

  6. No. 66 on this list. The Mechanics of Homosexual Intercourse (Little House on the Bowery)

    Lonely Christopher · 2011

  7. No. 67 on this list. Negative Space

    B.R. Yeager · 2020

  8. No. 68 on this list. Clinical Intimacy

    Ewan Gass · 2024

  9. No. 69 on this list. Amygdalatropolis

    B.R. Yeager · 2017

  10. No. 70 on this list. Habitat

    Catriona Shine · 2024

71–71 · 2 hours

  1. No. 71 on this list. Hey Boy

    A.W.W. Bremont · 2019

About this list

These 71 books are the highest-scoring eligible moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels currently in the catalogue. About 415 hours of reading in all, for the 66 with measured lengths. Difficulty runs from 52 to 62 out of 100 for the middle half of the list; the summit is On Being Blue at 65.

This list is ranked by literary regard, with a consistent order for equal scores. Membership follows authors and co-authors, not translators or editors. A book is here when ReadingRate files it under Modernist & Experimental Fiction as one of its primary reading domains. Catalogue coverage and the historical canon both limit what this list can represent.

When we matched the Canons dataset to our catalogue in October 2026, our canonical-status scores rose with the number of school curricula, publisher series and lists in it that cite a work: the median score was 72 for books one such source cites, 84 at two, 88 at three, 92 at four and 93 at five or more. Prizes are left out of that count. Outside the state curricula, the dataset’s sources choose mostly from what has been translated into English or French, so it is a weaker check on other literatures. Source: Canons (Andrew Piper), CC BY 4.0

Questions people actually ask

What are the best moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels?
By literary regard, which weighs canonical status, critical standing and influence: The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. ReadingRate ranks 71 such books, each with a difficulty score and a reading-time estimate.
Which moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels should I read first?
Start from difficulty, not from rank. The most approachable books on this list that still carry top literary regard are The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien (about 34 hours), The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway.
What are the shortest of the best moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels?
Among the top 25, the shortest are Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway (about 7 min), In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka (about 42 min) and Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore (about 55 min), at an average pace of 250 words a minute adjusted for each book's difficulty.
Which of the best moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels are the established classics?
By canonical status, how firmly a book sits in curricula, anthologies and the canon: The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka.
Can I read any of these moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels for free?
5 of the 71 open in ReadingRate's reader with a free account, from public-domain editions: The Decameron, Women in Love, The Rainbow, Flatland and The King in Yellow.
How long would it take to read the top ten?
About 117 hours, at an average pace of 250 words a minute adjusted for each book's difficulty: 59 days at two hours a day. Set your own pace on the page and the list's reading times change to it.
How hard are moderately difficult modernist and experimental novels to read?
Most of this list sits between 52 and 62 on ReadingRate's 100-point difficulty scale, where 40 to 55 is moderate. The summit is On Being Blue at 65. Every entry carries its own score, so a reader can pick a great book at a difficulty they will finish.
How is this list ranked?
On literary-regard data: how canonically established a work is, its critical standing, and its influence on later writing. It is not a readers’ poll, which is why recent bestsellers rarely appear. Membership follows authors and co-authors, not translators or editors. Lists by country, author, period, theme or difficulty keep to literature (fiction, poetry, drama and philosophy), their novels, poems and plays first and their philosophy after them; a list of a kind of book, such as memoir or criticism, keeps every book of that kind. Every list holds at most three works by one author. A book is here when ReadingRate files it under Modernist & Experimental Fiction as one of its primary reading domains.