Best European literature ever?

[Era]

I relate more with French and Russian classics. From your list I prefer Les Miserables the most.

[Sebastianus Rex]

Most people here will just vote for their countries and ethnic groups.

And that is meaningless...can't people just enjoy genius and not be blinded by exogenous factors.

The Sorrows of Young Werther is the cornerstone of the Sturm und Drang movement. But in my opinion, Faust had a deeper impact on German culture, with this memorable quote: "zwei Seelen wohnen ach! in meiner Brust". You don't need to speak German to understand that Goethe, with this story of a man who sells his soul to the Devil to quench his thirst for knowledge, was telling with precognition the future of Germany, from Nietzsche to Hitler.

That's a bit far fetched, I detest those rebuscated political analogies, the author was talking about the temptations of the individual soul.

[wvwvw]

I haven't read most of these to compare but I'd like to read George Orwells nighteen eighty four

[Era]

I haven't read most of these to compare but I'd like to read George Orwells nighteen eighty four

I've read it. It's a valid concern regarding interference of state in private lives. Is it good writing, not in my opinion.

[Yehiel]

The Prince, but I picked the Illiad because its my 2nd favorite.

[Laberia]

I relate more with French and Russian classics. From your list I prefer Les Miserables the most.

Yes, the same. But i want to add "Three Comrades" from Erich Maria Reamarque. It's really a beautiful book.
Jack London, "Martin Eden" and "The call of the wild".
I want to add also Ismail Kadare, not because he is an Albanian, but he is really one of the best writers in the world.
I have read many books in my life, maybe thousands, i don't know how many. I was lucky because in the home of my grandfather from my mother side, there was an entire room full with books in original languages, Russian and English mostly but also some in French because my uncles and my aunt speaks different languages, but first of all my grandfather spoke perfectly English and Italian. He finished his studies in the American school "Harry Fultz" and continued to study in Italy. And of course, the majority was translated in Albanian. That room was like a golden mine for me.

[Melki]

Most people here will just vote for their countries and ethnic groups.

I think I'm a good counterexample for that matter. I haven't voted for any French work. My first choice is Don Quixote, and I also selected The Iliad, The Divine Comedy, Crime and Punishment (although I personally prefer The Karamazov Brothers) and I should have ticked the box of Shakespeare's plays, surprisingly underrated in this poll.

Here's my personal Big 5 lost of European (and possibly world) literature.
-Homer (the father of European culture)
-Dante Alighieri (Renaissance began with him)
-Cervantes (perhaps the inventor of modern novel)
-Shakespeare (Dawn of England's power under Elizabeth I.)
-Dostoyevski (the tortured Russian soul)

[Kamal900]

Beowulf of course. I watched the movie as well.

[Melki]

Yes, the same. But i want to add "Three Comrades" from Erich Maria Reamarque. It's really a beautiful book.
Jack London, "Martin Eden" and "The call of the wild".
I want to add also Ismail Kadare, not because he is an Albanian, but he is really one of the best writers in the world.
I have read many books in my life, maybe thousands, i don't know how many. I was lucky because in the home of my grandfather from my mother side, there was an entire room full with books in original languages, Russian and English mostly but also some in French because my uncles and my aunt speaks different languages, but first of all my grandfather spoke perfectly English and Italian. He finished his studies in the American school "Harry Fultz" and continued to study in Italy. And of course, the majority was translated in Albanian. That room was like a golden mine for me.

Ismail Kadare is a great author. Sadly, only few people on France and Europe knows him, perhaps because nobody knows where to put Albania in a map.
At home, I have two of his books: The General of the Dead Army and The Palace of Dreams.

[Laberia]

Ismail Kadare is a great author. Sadly, only few people on France and Europe knows him, perhaps because nobody knows where to put Albania in a map.
At home, I have two of his books: The General of the Dead Army and The Palace of Dreams.

Kadare is really a great writer.

The London newspaper The Independent said of Kadare: "He has been compared to Gogol, Kafka and Orwell. But Kadare's is an original voice, universal yet deeply rooted in his own soil".[20]

France is the country that helped him a lot during his life. If the dictator could not do anything against him, it is because Kadare has always the support of his French friends but also of the French state. Then Enver Hoxha studied and lived in France and Belgium and he wanted to keep this mask of an illuminated dictator. I have read most of his books. He is my favorite writer.
With Kadare there is a problem. Being from a small country like Albania, it is difficult for him to win the Nobel Prize. The awarding of the Nobel Laureates suffers a little from the influence of geopolitics. However, he is known and rewarded in several European countries.