Here is a list of 12 novels that, for various reasons, have been considered some of the greatest works of literature ever written. Anna Karenina. Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. ... To Kill a Mockingbird. ... The Great Gatsby. ... One Hundred Years of Solitude. ... A Passage to India. ... Invisible Man. ... Don Quixote. ... Beloved. More items...