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

[PJ]

Howdy,

I'm reading again!

Do you know of a list of good/important writers of the last 100 years, preferably striking a balance between "high art" (Woolf, Joyce, etc) and entertainment (Tolkien, Dan Brown, etc).

Thanks for helping me discover great literature.

[Han Solo]

Oh please god, not dan brown.

I had just endured reading his book which all follows the same formula.



Han Solo

[xJadedx]

I'm glad to see someone else sharing that opinion of Dan Brown.

I only read DaVinci Code (and saw the movie and read the Wikipedia summary for Angels and Demons). His books to me are equivalent to adults' Harry Potter. They are decently-written, have a decent ploy, and are fun to read. But that's about it. It's just something you read for fun or when you're bored. It's not inspiring nor does it make me want to read it again, unlike some other books I have read in the past.

[junny]

So... any genre preferences?

[remember_Cedric]

I don't know but, among books from Dan Brown, I prefer Digital Fortress than Da Vinci Code. Maybe due to the originality factor.

I suggest Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong, if you have yet to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Totem

[PJ]

So... any genre preferences?

Not really.

[PJ]

Oh please god, not dan brown.

I had just endured reading his book which all follows the same formula.



Han Solo

which has only furthered my desire to read his works to see what the fuss is about

[remember_Cedric]

which has only furthered my desire to read his works to see what the fuss is about

In that case, I suggest to start off Digital Fortress, 'cause it's unique and unlike Da Vinci Code, which has continuation (Angel & Demons, The Lost Symbol) and beginning to prolong like X-Men series.

[Banh Mi]

First I read Mario Puzo's The Godfather after I saw the movie. The book is really good. Somewhat self indulgement but it explores the characters really well.

So now I'm reading Puzo's other books, The Last Don and The Family. The Last Don is turning out to be pretty good.

And if you haven't already, I recommend Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire for an awesome retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. It's everything that 300 lacked.

[junny]

Not really.

Not very helpful.

Start with Neil Gaiman's stuff then.

[Cesare]

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...

[Han Solo]

Not very helpful.

Start with Neil Gaiman's stuff then.

Start with Gaiman's graphic novels, imho.

Han Solo

[PJ]

Thanks for your suggestions of individual writers, but actually, what I was after is a comprehensive list of, perhaps, the 100 - 500 important writers of the last century. I'm trying to get to know more authors, even if I can't read each of their works. Just wondered if you can recommend a list like that (that is already out there online). I've been looking but haven't found one that incorporates both high art and entertainment (they're either one or the other).

[PJ]

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...

Actually, what I meant is the list should strike the balance, but it is nevertheless great to know authors who incorporates such balance and I do enjoy that kind of style also.

I'm not trying to avoid "high art" per se (or avant garde, or whatever); I want to read that in conjunction with mainstream material.

[Cesare]

Ah, sorry. My bad. Got up early. Brain not working.

Well... In that case...

A few more people whose work I like...
Angela Carter
H.P. Lovecraft
Roald Dahl
P. D. James
J. M. Coetzee
Kurt Vonnegut
H. H. Munro - Saki
Joseph Heller

Are you interested in poetry or do you want only prose?

[junny]

Thanks for your suggestions of individual writers, but actually, what I was after is a comprehensive list of, perhaps, the 100 - 500 important writers of the last century. I'm trying to get to know more authors, even if I can't read each of their works. Just wondered if you can recommend a list like that (that is already out there online). I've been looking but haven't found one that incorporates both high art and entertainment (they're either one or the other).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...terature#1990s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century_in_literature
http://blogcritics.org/books/article...lish-language/

Frankly I find it useless to look for any sort of list or make a distinction between high art and entertainment. A good book is a good book and will do its job properly. A list says nothing, at best it artificially puts a ranking on each writer's work and his/her contribution to literature of that era/of all time. For example, people can say F Scott Fitzgerald is one of 20th century's greatest writers, but I think his stuff is absolute bollocks. Han Solo and I both think Neil Gaiman writes excellent stuff, but a list like Wiki's, for example, doesn't include him even chronologically. Chinua Achebe, a great Nigerian writer, doesn't make Wiki's list either. And are you looking for authors who do not write in English but whose works are translated into English?

We can list plenty of names, and Cesare has already provided some. I can flood you with more lists of 20th century works. But you would really benefit from some time in the bookshop sifting out names, titles and writing styles that you think you would enjoy. And it shouldn't matter whether they are 'great' or not.

[PJ]

Frankly I find it useless to look for any sort of list or make a distinction between high art and entertainment. A good book is a good book and will do its job properly. A list says nothing, at best it artificially puts a ranking on each writer's work and his/her contribution to literature of that era/of all time.

Maybe true for a seasoned reader, but I'm just a beginner. I can benefit from some general direction. It'll help get me started.

And I draw the distinction between art and entertainment to remind myself to become neither a snob with a disdain for popular media, nor one who lives by the New York Times Best Seller list.

[mawguy]

i've never been one to care what is "high art" and what is "entertainment". a good story is a good story. i will confess i'm very picky about what stories catch my interest -- "it's a great book!" or "it's on the bestsellers list!" does nothing to sway me. in fact, i tend to avoid the latter.

anyway, i'll just give you a list of what i consider good storytellers, and you can decide if they are worth your time. i'm going to start with 1900 onwards (i don't think you'll be too picky about the extra 9 years, yes?):

p.g. wodehouse
oscar wilde plays
ray bradbury
robert silverberg
orson scott card
charles de lint
patricia mckillip
terry pratchett
harper lee's to kill a mockingbird (she only wrote the one book)
ursula le guin
p.k. dick
robert a. heinlein
isaac asimov
arthur c. clarke
james blish
michael crichton
jasper fforde
kim stanley robinson
john wyndham
sharon shinn
gene wolfe
roger zelazny
garth nix
christopher moore


and yes, most of the aforementioned are SFF writers.

think that's a good start.

[remember_Cedric]

Speaking of Harper Lee, I rather like this humbly said by her:

I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected.

– Harper Lee, quoted in Newquist—1964

I suggest books from Charles Dickens (sway towards the juvenile but morally educational) and this book, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

[PJ]

i've never been one to care what is "high art" and what is "entertainment". a good story is a good story.

Very much so, and again I only draw the distinction to the extent of making sure I'm exposed to a broad spectrum of literature (not limited to certain genres or styles -- I may later decide some are not for me, but I want to nevertheless know them).