A list of good/important writers of the last 100 years

[pannonian]

Chinua Achebe, a great Nigerian writer, doesn't make Wiki's list either.

W00t, an Achebe fan! For a Chinese-American version of the postcolonialist myth-writing of Achebe, try Maxine Hong Kingston.

[sniffles]

A minor correction: Tolkien himself totally strikes the balance between "high art" and entertainment. (Unlike the crowd of his epigons.)

If you want to avoid pure "high art" (gosh, how I hate this categorization ), I'd recommend some of the more sophisticated "genre" writers (G. R. R. Martin, Asimov, Holdstock, Gaiman - or the aforementioned Tolkien, but you seem to have read and misjudged him already ...). Or Moore's graphic novels...

I'm quite uninterested in contemporary mainstream, so I can't give recommendations or warnings in that area... But many of the big names from the 20th century canon (Remarque comes to mind) strike that balance you seem to look for quite perfectly.

Why last 100 years, by the way? :-) More good stuff was written BEFORE 1900...

Gosh, Cesare, I could hug you!

[junny]

W00t, an Achebe fan! For a Chinese-American version of the postcolonialist myth-writing of Achebe, try Maxine Hong Kingston.

Have heard of Maxine Hong Kingston, but never really read her stuff. As for Achebe, can't call myself a fan as I haven't read a lot of his works, but have enjoyed immensely his Things Fall Apart, which is brilliant.

[mawguy]

sorry, one more, and i can't believe i forgot him: charles de lint.

[remember_Cedric]

Among my read (past tense) list, I suggest Eoin Colfer and his anti-hero series -- Artemis Fowl. This adventure series sway towards the juvenile group but still, an entertaining read.

[Sparky]

I'm ashamed at how male-dominated my list is

- Graham Greene--both his "Catholic novels" (i.e. Power & Glory, Heart of the Matter) and his later, more political work; his character development is always brilliant
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Vladimir Nabokov
- J.D. Salinger--literary merit is probably best displayed in Nine Stories
- Franz Kafka
- Anthony Burgess
- Salman Rushdie
- Ian McEwan--both his earlier stuff (Cement Garden) and later works (Amsterdam, Atonement, Saturday); it's interesting to see his development as a writer
- Lost Generation--Hemingway, Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot (if you're into poetry)
- John Steinbeck
- The Beatniks & Hippies--Kerouac, Burroughs, Kesey, etc
- Sylvia Plath--Bell Jar and her poetry in Ariel
- Confessional poetry in general--Anne Sexton, Robert Lowell, etc
- George Bernard Shaw
- Umberto Eco
- Jorge Luis Borges
- George Orwell--read 1984, but imo his talent as a writer really shines through in his essays
- Thomas Pynchon
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Saul Bellow
- Kazuo Ishiguro
- D.H. Lawrence--some sexy stuff
- Katherine Mansfield--brilliant short stories
- Jeannette Winterson
- Walker Percy
- W. Somerset Maugham
- Patrick White
- David Foster Wallace--Infinite Jest!!
and finally...
- James Joyce--it's a bit of a love/hate relationship As far as 20th century Irish lit goes, Samuel Beckett is good too. I don't really like Yeats, but I might be alone on that stance.

(Did I mention I'm pretentious? Haha...sorry, but I genuinely love modernist/postmodernist/post-colonial literature, so I got excited.)

I've always wanted to read:
- Chinua Achebe
- Hermann Hesse
- Marcel Proust (ambitious, yes)

Though not technically 20th century literature, I do love everything I've read by Oscar Wilde (i.e. all his major plays and Dorian Gray). However, I HATE Ayn Rand. Avoid her at all costs.

[Han Solo]

You all made me felt how badly-read i am

Han Solo

[remember_Cedric]

- George Orwell--read 1984, but imo his talent as a writer really shines through in his essays

I'm quite surprised to read George Orwell in your list! More than half that I known of, doze off while reading his works.

As far as 20th century Irish lit goes, Samuel Beckett is good too. I don't really like Yeats, but I might be alone on that stance.

Though, you're not oblige to like him, but why do you not like Yeats as much? Share with me.

[remember_Cedric]

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde can be an interestingly artistic read!

[Sparky]

Picture of Dorian Gray
Such a ingenious, thought-provoking read. I once wrote my term paper on the novel; I tried some strange deconstructionist framework...it came out strangely...

I'm quite surprised to read George Orwell in your list! More than half that I known of, doze off while reading his works.

Nooo...how dare they dislike Orwell? Heh, I kid...but I did go through an Orwell phase wherein I read almost all his major works and essays (my commute is an hour to and fro, so I have time for such endeavours). I admit he's a bit dry at times (e.g. middle section in 1984 where he sticks in Emmanuel Goldstein's book and expounds upon his anti-fascism forever...I skip it every time) but his prose in his essays is just remarkable, especially his narratives. It's a very understated but still inspirational sort of brilliance.

Though, you're not oblige to like him, but why do you not like Yeats as much? Share with me.

It's a personal preference more than anything. I've studied a few of his poems in depth mainly to supplement my understanding of Joyce and I just don't care for his poetics. He tends to be a bit too esoteric for my taste and he's also a bit too...nationalist. How do I say this...I love Irish literature and I'm all for national self-determination (those silly Britons), but I dislike how Yeats glorifies the Irish culture. I think he overly romanticizes Irish peasant culture to achieve his end. I guess fundamentally I'm a bit opposed to nationalism because it does create that us/them dichotomy and is susceptible to propaganda.

Fun fact though--Yeats and I share a birthday The irony.

Oh, I forgot the existentialists. Very important folks.

[remember_Cedric]

Picture of Dorian Gray
Such a ingenious, thought-provoking read. I once wrote my term paper on the novel; I tried some strange deconstructionist framework...it came out strangely...

Yes, Dorian Gray, and I'm gonna get that book to read it through completely.

Nooo...how dare they dislike Orwell? Heh, I kid...but I did go through an Orwell phase wherein I read almost all his major works and essays (my commute is an hour to and fro, so I have time for such endeavours). I admit he's a bit dry at times (e.g. middle section in 1984 where he sticks in Emmanuel Goldstein's book and expounds upon his anti-fascism forever...I skip it every time) but his prose in his essays is just remarkable, especially his narratives. It's a very understated but still inspirational sort of brilliance.

You got that right! 1984.... I honestly find it difficult to survive through... zzzz

It's a personal preference more than anything. I've studied a few of his poems in depth mainly to supplement my understanding of Joyce and I just don't care for his poetics. He tends to be a bit too esoteric for my taste and he's also a bit too...nationalist. How do I say this...I love Irish literature and I'm all for national self-determination (those silly Britons), but I dislike how Yeats glorifies the Irish culture. I think he overly romanticizes Irish peasant culture to achieve his end. I guess fundamentally I'm a bit opposed to nationalism because it does create that us/them dichotomy and is susceptible to propaganda.

Fun fact though--Yeats and I share a birthday The irony.

Oh, I forgot the existentialists. Very important folks.

Oh, I like how you always sound like an academically-inclined scholar while also a fashion giz.

It slipped my mind that he shares a same birthday with you.

You know what? Yeats is among my favourite poet.

[Sparky]

Oh, I like how you always sound like an academically-inclined scholar while also a fashion giz.

The key phrase is 'sound like.' At heart I'm just a fashionista through and through.

You know what? Yeats is among my favourite poet.

Hm, I may have to re-evaluate our friendship Unless you tell me Eliot is another one of your favourites.

[remember_Cedric]

Hm, I may have to re-evaluate our friendship Unless you tell me Eliot is another one of your favourites.

Hmm, in all honesty, Eliot ain't within my list of favourite because I have yet to get in touch with her works (it's George Eliot you're referring to, right?)!

Somehow, I play to Yeat's kind of tune for his passion in his literature works.

[kayacamilla]

Hands down.....
J.D. Salinger

enough said.