What are the longest novels in the world?

86% of French people declare themselves readers in 2023, according to an Ipsos study. Novels, comics, essays, mangas, readings vary depending on ages and characters. And among the most read books in the world are some unsuspected titles.

Let’s dispel preconceived ideas: the French read, and much more than we imagine. For 96% of them, it is a leisure activity, and almost half read on a daily basis. Among the favorite books, there are great classics, such as Germinal by Zola, as well as other very long works. In 2022, France Télévisions has also launched a very large survey to find out the French’s favorite book. At the top of the list were It’s high time to light the stars again by Virginie Grimaldi, le manga One Piece by Eiichirō Oda, and the saga Harry Potter by JK Rowling. A list that says a lot about the eclectic side of our readings.

Text: what is the book that contains the most pages in the world?

Several books are fighting for the title of the longest book in the world. Among them, Artamenes or the Great Cyruscomplete version, by Madeleine and Georges de Scudéry, published in the 17th century. This novel is said to be the longest ever written, with the original edition containing 13,000 pages. Inside, more than 400 characters take place through the adventures of the conqueror Cyrus. Closer to us, the essential Marcel Proust has nothing to be ashamed of with his novel In search of lost timewhich is divided into seven volumes with a total of 3,724 pages, or some 9,609,000 characters. The work can even boast of being included in the Guinness Book of Records.

What is the most read book in the world?

Whoever wants is not a bestseller! In the list of the most read works in the world, we find in terms of fiction Don Quixote of Cervantes, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, or the saga Harry Potter by JK Rowling, and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. But these are not the books that dominate the rankings. Religious works are indeed among the most read books in the world. Whether it is the Bible or Koranthe latter retain their first place year after year, alongside the Little Red Book of Mao Tse-Tung.

What is the shortest book in the world?

According to beliefs, we owe the shortest novel in the world to Ernest Hemingway. And to speak of a novel in this specific case is hyperbole, since it contains only six words, namely: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn“, or 33 characters that could be translated as “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”. The writer defends the shortest novel in the world tooth and nail, arguing that his writing opens the door to infinite possibilities. The English also call it a “flash fiction” or “micro-news” in French. But after carrying out the investigation, the website Quote Investigator was able to demonstrate that the expression had already been used in newspapers long before Hemingway.

Sources :

Call to write: the shortest novelMyBestSeller, December 19, 2022
Reading practices in FranceFinance for all, August 17, 2023
“For sale, baby shoes, never worn” would not be from HemingwaySlate, February 1, 2013
In Search of Lost Time: Analysis and PlotMarcel Proust
6 legendary anecdotes about Ernest Hemingwaygive up
The French and reading in 2023CNL
What is the greatest book ever written by man? Which book contains the greatest number of pages?Eurekoi, February 8, 2018
France Télévisions: the complete list of “French favorite books”Livres Hebdo, December 16, 2022