The Known WorldModern · Fiction, Historical Fiction, African American
The Known World
2003 · 388 pages · Fiction
44
Modern
★ 3.84 on Goodreads · 47K ratings
Critics' pick
≈ 10 hours to read · about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day
Is it worth reading?
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (2004) and 1 more win. On the NYT 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list. 3.84★ from 47K Goodreads ratings.
By the numbers
44Must-Read Score
- Readers16 out of 100 · counts 40%+7
- Critics96 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+35
- Bestseller16 out of 100 · counts 14%+2
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
Where it ranks
- #147 of the 251 historical novels we rank
- #317 of the 666 modern books we rank
- #699 of the 1,405 books we rank
Won
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (2004)
- NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (2003)
Shortlisted
- National Book Award (Fiction) finalist (2003)
On the lists
- NYT 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
Reads as
Moving
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