In word count, not just pages, what is the longest known fictional book?

Well, the site below includes novel cycles -- that is, more than one volume -- and for western novel cycles, the longest seems to be Madeleine de Scudery's "Artemene."

However, when it comes to single-volume novels in English or other western languages, the winner would appear to Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy," at 591,552 words. I have actually read it and can highly recommend it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_novels

Henry Darger is often thought to have written the world's longest book -- "Darger began to write his epic, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in what is Known as The Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnean War Storm, caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, around 1910. He wrote first in longhand on legal-sized paper, but started retyping the story well before it was finished. Darger continued to work on In the Realms of the Unreal for many years. When he was finished, the typewritten manuscript was 15,145 pages and contained in 13 volumes."

http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/2002/eh0210.htm

I might add that at 250 words per page -- basic math would net you 3,786,250 words.

Darger's epic is include on the site I posted, zbeck, but it has never been published (though work about Darger has seen print). In my view, therefore, it doesn't yet count.

A work need not be published in order to qualify as a book, therefore, I believe my submission is acceptable. Partial definition of a book:

"A set of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers."


https://wordnerd.fun/book

Depending on your take of the Bible. Some people may consider it fictional.

The Bible word count is:
Old Testament: 593,493
New Testament: 181,253
Total: 774,746

http://www.trivia-library.com/a/bible-numbers-and-statistics.htm

My answer is not to say that either Ianfranco or zbeckabee is wrong. To me, a book is a book. 13 volumes of one novel is 13 books that make up one novel.

As the question posed was what's the longest known book and not novel I posted a different answer you you two though, yes, I know my answer can also be debated as to whether it is fictional or not.

Actually, 'The Adventures of Robboy and Chichi' is probably the longest, at approx. 3,786,252 words. I have it here, unpublished, but bound in a set of written, printed (and a few blank) pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers.

Not to be a spoiler, the last two words are, 'meow, meow'.

[Editor's note: since this book is unpublished the page count cannot be verified.]

Nothing says the book has to be in English, the longest modern work of fiction is the 40-volume novel "To-kugawa leyasu" by Sohachi Yamaoka.

https://8dori.home.blog/2019/09/06/yamaoka-sohachi/