Sarah Bakewell's top novels (2026)

The Guardian recently released a list of 'the 100 best novels of all time'. The older I get, the less interesting these lists become, but it'd be a mistake to not read the list and pick the cherries off the list. Sarah Bakewell has added some books to the list. In case you don't know who Sarah is, I urge you to read her books. Start with the one about Montaigne or the one about existentialists. It's worth it. The list Scroll to the end of the text to see a list of Bookwyrm links to all books. All of the quotes are what Sarah told The Guardian about the books. 1 - The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann "The novel I reread more than any other, running the gamut of lust, politics, romanticism and science. Like a lot of books that are considered humourless, it's also full of humour." 2 - In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust "There are a couple of volumes in the middle I'll probably never read again, but this is still on a different planet from all other novels." 3 - The Life and Opinions of…