The longest works in the world. The longest works in the history of literature

There are many records set by books. We know about the thickest and longest books, books with record-breaking circulation and the largest books in the world. Some of them are initially published with the goal of becoming the very best.

Longest books

It should be noted that it is difficult to imagine a person who would devote years of his life to creating an actually long book. Usually writers strive to convey the meaning of their work, even the longest of all, with the depth of words and thoughts.

"People of Goodwill"

Spirituality, criminality, poverty, wealth, culture and politics can be found in the novel. In twenty-seven volumes, the author described the lives of four hundred heroes, touching on events from 1908 to 1933. Unfortunately, the literary world did not accept this work quite as the author desired. After the publication of the novel, it was subjected to severe criticism. The idea was expressed that the author distorted the events of that time, misunderstanding history.

"Fantastic"

The book was made from papyrus and wound around a pole. The record was registered by one of the notaries of the city of Castello. It includes eleven fairy tales, the main idea of ​​which is poverty and wealth.

The thickest books

Another record-breaking book is the world's thickest edition about Miss Marple, printed in the form of a complete collection of works. The works of Agatha Christie, collected in one book, fit on four thousand thirty-two pages. The spine width of this edition is three hundred and twenty-two millimeters, and the weight is eight kilograms. Despite the fact that such a gigantic book is most likely unsuitable for reading, it was published in the amount of five hundred copies.

Books with the largest circulation

Another book whose circulation can easily be called one of the largest is the quote book of Mao Zedong. Its circulation is one billion copies. Usually this book is published with a red cover, for which in Western countries the quotation book is often called the “Little Red Book”.

John Tolkien's book, written in the fantasy genre, The Lord of the Rings, which is in third place, lags significantly behind in terms of circulation. Its circulation is one hundred million copies. The circulation of a book called “The American Spelling Book” and the “Guinness Book of Records”, which are in fourth and fifth place in the ranking of books with the largest circulation, are approximately the same.

Sixth place in the ranking is occupied by the World Yearbook with a circulation of eighty million copies, and seventh place by the McGuffey Anthology of Children's Reading. The circulation of this book is sixty million copies. The book “Basics of Child Care” was published in a circulation of fifty million copies. “The Da Vinci Code” took ninth place in the rating with a circulation of forty-three million, and in tenth place of honor is the work of Elbert Hubbard with a circulation of forty million. Its title is “Message to Garcia.”

The largest book in the world

To print one book, you need to spend a roll of paper, the length of which is comparable to the length of a football field. The technology for printing this book was invented and developed by Michael Hawley, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Anyone can order the book by paying thirty thousand dollars.

There are other amazing books. For example, the most expensive volume of poetry was the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s book “Tamerlane and Other Poems.” .
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The mention of L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" somehow immediately brought back memories of reading it during my school years. Few people have mastered this work, grandiose in its scope and design. Many people thought that four volumes was simply too much. Naturally, I wanted to look to see if there were larger works, so to speak. And, of course, there were some.

Japanese chronicler Sohachi Yamaoka's novel Tokugawa Ieyasu has been serialized in Japanese daily newspapers since 1951. Today, the novel “Tokugawa Ieyasu” is completed, and if it were republished in its entirety, it would be a 40-volume edition. It is unknown whether this will ever happen, but the fact remains a fact! The novel tells the story of the adventures of the first shogun of the Tokugawa clan, who unified Japan and established peace in the country for many years.

The longest work in the history of literature is considered to be the novel “People of Goodwill” by the French writer, poet and playwright, member of the French Academy Romain Jules (real name Louis Henri Jean Farigul). "People of Goodwill" is a full-fledged publication that can be purchased and read sequentially. It was published in twenty-seven volumes from 1932 to 1946. It is estimated that the novel was 4,959 pages long and contained approximately 2,070,000 words (not counting the 100-page index and 50-page table of contents). By comparison, the Bible has about 773,700 words.

In the novel “People of Good Will,” Jules tried, from the point of view of his right-wing views, to understand and explain the historical processes that took place in France in the thirties. The prose essay was supposed to express in all its diversity and minute detail the author’s picture of the contemporary world.

The book does not have a clear plot, and the number of characters exceeds four hundred. “People of good will! Under the sign of the ancient blessing, we will look for them in the crowd and find them. ...let them find some sure way to recognize each other in the crowd, so that this world, of which they are the honor and salt, does not perish.”

In the preface of his long creative marathon, the author questioned the structure of writing Balzac's masterpieces such as Proust and Roland. Because he considered the “mechanistic” idea of ​​writing multi-volume novels, where the whole is revealed through an individual personality, unacceptable. That is, Jules Romain himself, publishing his first volume back in 1932, was confident in the idea of ​​the chaotic and disorderly plot and the lives of all his characters (and as already mentioned, there were about 400 of them in “People of Good Will”).

The longest book really has it all: criminality and spirituality, wealth and poverty, politics and culture. Moreover, of course, all events are supported by the ideas of history of that time. In general, the novel told about the events of 1908-1933. With this work, the author rather tried to help understand all the vicissitudes of the time of crisis that the French people faced. However, Jules Romain did not shy away from writing articles and essays on various scientific, political and literary topics - he was known as an erudite person.

However, the novel itself was subsequently subjected to harsh criticism. The literary world did not accept the work the way the creator wanted. The prosecution prescribed this work as a distorted statement of facts. Jules Romain has been criticized for misunderstanding history. Therefore, if you are ready to justify the writer, even in the 21st century, then start reading the longest book in the world.

The mention of L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" somehow immediately brought back memories of reading it during my school years. Few people have mastered this work, grandiose in its scope and design. Many people thought that four volumes was simply too much. Naturally, I wanted to look to see if there were larger works, so to speak. And, of course, there were some.

Japanese chronicler Sohachi Yamaoka's novel Tokugawa Ieyasu has been serialized in Japanese daily newspapers since 1951. Today, the novel “Tokugawa Ieyasu” is completed, and if it were republished in its entirety, it would be a 40-volume edition. It is unknown whether this will ever happen, but the fact remains a fact! The novel tells the story of the adventures of the first shogun of the Tokugawa clan, who unified Japan and established peace in the country for many years.

The longest work in the history of literature is considered to be the novel “People of Goodwill” by the French writer, poet and playwright, member of the French Academy Romain Jules (real name Louis Henri Jean Farigul). "People of Goodwill" is a full-fledged publication that can be purchased and read sequentially. It was published in twenty-seven volumes from 1932 to 1946. It is estimated that the novel was 4,959 pages long and contained approximately 2,070,000 words (not counting the 100-page index and 50-page table of contents). By comparison, the Bible has about 773,700 words.

In the novel “People of Good Will,” Jules tried, from the point of view of his right-wing views, to understand and explain the historical processes that took place in France in the thirties. The prose essay was supposed to express in all its diversity and minute detail the author’s picture of the contemporary world.

The book does not have a clear plot, and the number of characters exceeds four hundred. “People of good will! Under the sign of the ancient blessing, we will look for them in the crowd and find them. ...let them find some sure way to recognize each other in the crowd, so that this world, of which they are the honor and salt, does not perish.”

In the preface of his long creative marathon, the author questioned the structure of writing Balzac's masterpieces such as Proust and Roland. Because he considered the “mechanistic” idea of ​​writing multi-volume novels, where the whole is revealed through an individual personality, unacceptable. That is, Jules Romain himself, publishing his first volume back in 1932, was confident in the idea of ​​the chaotic and disorderly plot and the lives of all his characters (and as already mentioned, there were about 400 of them in “People of Good Will”).

The longest book really has it all: criminality and spirituality, wealth and poverty, politics and culture. Moreover, of course, all events are supported by the ideas of history of that time. In general, the novel told about the events of 1908-1933. With this work, the author rather tried to help understand all the vicissitudes of the time of crisis that the French people faced. However, Jules Romain did not shy away from writing articles and essays on various scientific, political and literary topics - he was known as an erudite person.

However, the novel itself was subsequently subjected to harsh criticism. The literary world did not accept the work the way the creator wanted. The prosecution prescribed this work as a distorted statement of facts. Jules Romain has been criticized for misunderstanding history. Therefore, if you are ready to justify the writer, even in the 21st century, then start reading the longest book in the world.

Here are the top 12 longest works in the history of literature, which prove that not every catchphrase needs to be believed blindly.

James Joyce (1882-1941)
"Ulysses" (1922)

The main character is Leopold Bloom, a Dublin Jew. The day is filled with events - Bloom manages to visit a funeral, on the shore of the bay, in a maternity hospital, in a brothel and in several other places in between. The plot of the novel revolves around the betrayal of Bloom's wife. However, it is impossible to describe this work in such a flat and everyday way.

In the semantic depths of Ulysses one can see analogies and allusions to many works and heroes of world literature, to the archetypes of the feminine and masculine, and the relations of generations. The most obvious, of course, is the appeal to Homer's Odyssey, which Joyce considered one of the most universal myths

1926

The novel does not have a single style - the author parodies or imitates different styles and different authors, as if playing with all layers of the world literary heritage. This is a mirror novel, which reflects the whole world, merged into one city and all times, united in one day.

“Stream of consciousness,” the style of Joyce’s novel, allows you to see the characters from the inside, as if trying on someone else’s life, which, it turns out, is not so different from your own.

The plot is a boy's search for his father and an attempt to unravel the reasons for the series of events that haunt the hero and his mother. The novel, despite its considerable volume (from 800 pages, depending on the edition), has a very clear and rigid structure, in which every word and action, even seemingly trivial, is in its place.

Each of the narrators within the novel has his own subjective view of what is happening, which in no way helps the reader understand where the truth is hidden. She, as they say, is always somewhere nearby.

A very atmospheric and multi-layered novel in which the author managed to maintain the intrigue until the last word.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
"War and Peace" (1865-1869)

Americans call “War and Peace” one of the main works of mankind. Well, those who read the original are divided into two groups: some are delighted with the novel, and others cannot stand it. This does not count those who did not master the text at all.

To some, Lev Nikolayevich's language seems cumbersome and clumsy; some even call him a graphomaniac. And, for example, Boris Strugatsky believes that: “the language can be clumsy and filled with Gallicisms (like Leo Tolstoy), clumsy, incorrect and even unnatural (like Dostoevsky), abstruse and difficult to read (like Platonov or Velimir Khlebnikov) - and when all the while being able to have a strong, sometimes inexplicable, purely emotional impact on the reader.”

Everyone who was forced to study Tolstoy’s novel as part of the school curriculum has their own opinion and vision. As a rule, this is difficult reading for a teenager. Maybe the secret is to read “War and Peace” at the right time, that is, when you can already understand what family, duty and love for the Fatherland are. In general, when abstract concepts become real things.

John Galsworthy (1867-1933)
"The Forsyte Saga" (1906-1921)

Generation after generation of Forsytes pass before the reader in three large cycles of novels - “The Forsyte Saga”, “Modern Comedy” and “End of the Chapter”. Each of the Forsytes is an extraordinary personality, the characters’ characters are written so subtly by the author that over time it begins to seem as if they are not only living people, but also people you know well. Family ties, which are difficult to trace at first, become clear and familiar, each family figure takes its place and one overall picture is formed.

And the scenery for the life of the Forsytes are the events that happen in the world. And, of course, money. After all, Forsyte money is a kind of refrain of this story. They love, fight, die and are born against the background of capital.

“Forsytes, you know, these are people who manage their capital with the expectation that their grandchildren, if they were to die before their parents, are forced to draw up a will for their property, which, however, comes into their possession only after death their parents. Do you understand this? Well, I don’t either, but be that as it may, it’s a fact; We live by the principle: “as long as it is possible to keep capital in the family, it should not leave it.”

Proust did not have time to edit the last three volumes; they were published after his death. The first volume of the series - “Towards Swann” was not very favorably received by critics, but this did not bother Proust, because he considered the main goal of this novel to be self-knowledge through associative perception - emotional outbursts, quirks of memory.

This quote is the leitmotif of the work, the truest definition of lost time, never found either by Proust himself or anyone else:

“The past is out of reach, in some thing (in the feeling we get from it), where we least expected to find it. Whether we find this thing during our lifetime or whether we never find it is pure chance.”

The writer himself spoke about him like this:

“As long as poverty and ignorance reign on earth, books like this cannot be useless. I wish to destroy the evil fate that weighs on humanity; I denounce slavery, I persecute poverty, I eradicate ignorance, I cure diseases, I illuminate darkness, I abhor hatred. That's what I believe and that's why I wrote Les Misérables."

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821—1881)
"The Brothers Karamazov" (1880)

Dostoevsky conceived “The Karamazovs” as the first part of “The Great Sinner,” but did not have time to realize his plan. However, even without a continuation, this, without exaggeration, great work provides many topics for thought.

You can believe or not believe in the special faith of Russians, share or not share your attitude towards the “mysterious Russian soul”, you can be critical of the detective component of the novel - Dostoevsky is unlikely to be a competitor to Agatha Christie, that’s not the point.

The essence is in the Karamazov family, with all its background and background, the psychological roots of the behavior of each of the members of this family and the common root for all - provincial Russia, the Orthodox faith.

Twenty-seven volumes, more than four hundred characters, twenty-five years of the life of the country - that’s a lot. There is no unity of action or plot - this novel is like a journey through the layers of French society at the beginning of the twentieth century - lawyers and officials, workers and artists, bankers and teachers pass before the reader.

What is especially interesting is that each of Roman’s heroes, like a living person, develops, changes, reacts to events in external and internal life - this is not a faceless series of characters, this is a community of individuals, people of good will.

Sohachi Yamaoka (1907-1978)

(published in Japanese daily newspapers since 1951)

This is the story of the shogun who united Japan into a single country. A reformer who brought peace to his country and problems to the foreigners who inhabited it.

It was Tokugawa Ieyasu who began the mass repression of Christians, and also forbade the Japanese from sailing and even the construction of ships capable of long voyages. And this despite the fact that his adviser was the Englishman William Adams.

The longest American novel. This book cannot be found in Russian, perhaps because it is a specifically American work, or perhaps because it is simply too much work for translators.

Sironia, Texas is one of those American novels that celebrates small towns and their simple lives. Where everything is leisurely, everyone knows everyone, the main life line for everyone is Main Street, and all the newcomers, even after twenty years of living side by side, remain a little strangers.

The heroine, the girl Clarissa, dies, dishonored by the socialite Robert Lovelace. The antihero's surname has become a household name, although today not many people know where the name “Lovelace” actually came from.

This novel, not very “driven” for modern tastes, was a breakthrough not only in Richardson’s work, but also generally significant compared to other works of that time - the tragic death of an innocent victim, noble revenge and punishment of a scoundrel - an exciting plot for the leisurely audience of the eighteenth century, not spoiled by events in novels. The public was especially struck by the lack of a happy ending. The writer was even offered to rewrite the work, but he insisted on his own and “The Story of a Young Lady” has come to us in the same form in which it was first presented to readers.

At one time, it created a sensation and enjoyed tremendous popularity in the circles of aristocrats in France and Germany. By the way, the images of many of the characters in the book were based on famous people contemporary to the author. This novel was highly regarded by many writers and playwrights - for example, Moliere, Corneille and La Rochefoucauld.

Not all writers agree with the statement “Brevity is the sister of talent.” In addition, many of us prefer that our favorite book or story never ends. Below is a list of the ten longest novels in the world, based on estimated word count.

Sironia, Texas is a novel by American author Madison Cooper that describes life in the fictional town of Sironia, Texas at the beginning of the 20th century. The book contains approx. 840,000 words and over 1,700 pages, making it one of the longest novels in the English language. It was written over 11 years and published in 1952. Recipient of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award.

Women and Men is a 1987 novel by Joseph McElroy. Contains 1,192 pages and 850,000 words. Considered the most difficult novel in the world to read.

Poor Fellow My Country is a novel by Australian writer Xavier Herbert that won the Miles Franklin Award. Was published in 1975. Consists of 1,463 pages and 852,000 words. Is the longest Australian piece of fiction ever written. The theme of the novel includes issues of Aboriginal rights, and also describes the life and problems of Northern Australia.

Son of Ponni (Ponniyin Selvan) is a Tamil historical novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. It is one of the greatest works of Tamil literature. Tells the story of Prince Arulmozhivarman (later crowned Rajaraja Chola I), one of the prominent kings of the Chola dynasty who ruled in the 10th–11th centuries. The novel was published in the 1950s. Contains 2,400 pages and 900,000 words.

Kelidar is a monumental novel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. One of the most famous Persian novels and certainly one of the best. Contains 2,836 pages in five volumes, consists of ten books and 950,000 words. Depicts the life of a Kurdish family from an Iranian village in Khorasan province between 1946–1949 who faces hostility from their neighbors despite their cultural similarities.

Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady is an epistolary novel by English writer Samuel Richardson, written in 1748. Consists of 1,534 pages and 984,870 words. Included in the list of the 100 best novels of all time. It tells the tragic story of a heroine whose pursuit of virtue is constantly thwarted by her family.

Zettels Traum is a work by West German writer Arno Schmidt, published in 1970. Contains 1,536 pages and 1,100,000 words. The story here is told in the form of notes, collages and typewritten pages.

Venmurasu is a Tamil novel by writer Jeyamohan. This is the author's most ambitious work, which he began in January 2014 and later announced that he would write it every day for ten years. The total length of the novel is expected to be 25,000 pages. As of December 2017, 15 books have been published online and in print. So far they total 11,159 pages and 1,556,028 words.

In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu) is a French epic novel, the main work of the writer Marcel Proust, created by him during 1908/1909–1922 and published in seven parts from 1913 to 1927. Describes the author's childhood memories and teenage experiences in aristocratic France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examining the waste of time and the lack of meaning in the world. The novel consists of 3,031 pages and 1,267,069 words.

Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus is a French river novel originally published in ten volumes in the 17th century by Madeleine de Scudiri and her brother Georges de Scudiri. In total, the original edition has 13,095 pages and 1,954,300 words. It is considered the longest novel in the history of world literature. The type refers to secular novels (with a key), where modern people and events are subtly disguised as classical characters from Roman, Greek or Persian mythology.

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