Who are today's literary greats?

Of this entire thread, I've only read two authors listed:

King, who I don't really care for. I loved "On Writing" and "The Green Mile", but just about anything else is difficult for me to get invested in. Though I might try Under the Dome, since it has some good actors in supporting roles. (Sherry Stringfield and Eriq LaSalle? Could've been an ER reunion, dammit!)

and Lahiri -- I swapped books with a friend in high school. I gave her "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", and she gave me "The Namesake". It was good, kept me engaged, but nothing that I would write home about.

Guess I'm not a literary person! #themoreyouknow

How about Alice Walker ( The Color Purple, etc), Marcus Zusak ( The Book Thief ), and one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES: Anne Tyler.

If you haven't read Anne Tyler, please do. She is a phenomenal writer. No pretentions at all. You will fall in love with her characters. I believe she won a Pulitzer Prize for Ladder of Years, which I don't even think is her best book. If someone tells me she is not "literary" then I guess I am an idiot.

I'd forgotten about this thread, and then I realized I'd never commented.

A few people already mentioned Jhumpa Lahiri, and that would be my first choice. Also Vikram Seth.

George Saunders and E. L. Doctorow (especially his short fiction).

Glad to see the love for Michael Chabon and Margaret Atwood.

My nominations for this list are Sue Miller and Sebastian Faulks. Their work is so incredibly beautiful. Another is M.J. Hyland. She's not prolific - I think she's written only a handful of novels - but her voice is unique and her stories absolutely haunting.

I just discovered Alice McDermott. I know, where have I been. Her voice enthralls me.

I_love_coffee, Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread has been long listed for the Booker. It's really wonderful. The most mature of her work that I've read.

I'd like to add Jennifer Egan. So far I've found all her things delightfully cleverly constructed, without seeming contrived/sacrificing the emotional resonance to the cleverness. (She's quite good at making me feel strongly for weak people, and she does beautiful redemption arcs). She's also got a light touch with the metafictional/postmodernist elements, which is how I mostly prefer those.

Like almost every reader, my sampling of reading material is limited by my interests. As a category I'd like to see the group defined as those who are wordsmiths, original thinkers, and prolific who leave the reader better informed or entertained than before their work was consumed. Copycats, TV and movie targeting writers, and probably some other categories can step aside.

Certainly Dean Koontz heads my list of current writers, but I could probably add a few more if I gave it deeper thought, or ventured into a wider field of interest.

I agree with many of the choices presented, but I don't think anyone mentioned Jane Smiley.

I was forced to read Atwood in high school, and as I recall, I managed to appreciate her brilliance.

Amy Tan is wonderful. I read two of her books - Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Joy Luck Club.

I've been told I write like Chandler, which made me skeptical. I tried to read The Big Sleep but was rather put off by the prejudices of the time.

Regarding Stephen King -- One of the first things I read was The Body, which later turned into the movie Stand By Me. This was a great study in coming of age writing, which really influenced me as a teenager to write. Same with an early Truman Capote story, even though he's probably not considered a writer of "today."

lacygnette said:

I_love_coffee, Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread has been long listed for the Booker. It's really wonderful. The most mature of her work that I've read.

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ohhhhh how did I not know Anne Tyler had a new book? Thank you, I need to get my hands on this!

Yes to Jane Smiley, or at least her early work. I stopped at Horse Heaven - too many characters, too scattered a story line. But if you like her, look up Age of Grief. Her first I think - a novella that is seared in my memory - and some short stories.

I heard her speak at a recent conference. She's delightful. Full of energy and confidence. Funny too. The exact opposite of Marilyn Robinsson who also spoke. Two writers on either end of the scale somehow. Ms. Robinsson so introverted as to be boring. But there's nothing boring about Gilead...

I picked up a copy of "Atonement" after seeing Ian McEwan's name pop up in this thread, and goodness, his writing is buttery rich and everything you'd want in a book like that.

sohalt said:

I'd like to add Jennifer Egan. So far I've found all her things delightfully cleverly constructed, without seeming contrived/sacrificing the emotional resonance to the cleverness. (She's quite good at making me feel strongly for weak people, and she does beautiful redemption arcs). She's also got a light touch with the metafictional/postmodernist elements, which is how I mostly prefer those.

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Ooh, seconded. "A Visit From the Goon Squad" is one of my all-time favorite books. But Egan also has insane range in her work. Writing "The Keep," "Look At Me," and "Goon Squad" is like the literary equivalent of being able to sing four+ octaves. She also wrote a sci-fi for the New Yorker that's composed entirely of tweets, called "Black Box." Talented writer!

Anyone read the new Franzen book yet?

I'm of two minds about the Franzen. I really liked The Corrections. Seemed so true to life. Well written. Etc. But he seems like such a dweeb. If he were a character, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like him. So I'll wait and see what others have to say about Purity.

Torgo said:

King is a great novelist. He's absolutely terrific. I think 'literary' is more a term of approbation than a description, so I'm happy to call even his most genre novels 'literary' (as I'd be happy to call Chandler's genre-defining PI novels literary.) But that's a whole other debate.

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Absolutely. The Body and Rita Heyworth and the Shawshank redemption are up there, to name a few. His work is amazing, horror or other, because of his insight into the human condition. That is what makes a master.

So many good ones have already been covered... The only one that comes to mind who I don't think I've seen listed in Anthony Doerr. He is absolutely brilliant and his work is, I think, timeless.

I agree with Stephen King, too. He's underappreciated by the literary elite, and isn't underappreciation basically a requirement of genius?

I love Doerr. I tell friends about the two Anthonys: Doerr and Marra. Did everyone see that Anne Tyler's Spool of Blue Thread was short listed for the Booker?

I just finished "We are not Ourselves" by Matthew Thomas. It was just published 2014, and it is the author's first novel. Took him 10 years to write, and he got a 6 figure advance for it. It's literary, and as today as it's going to get. Beautiful novel, beautifully written, I highly recommend it.

Only one mention each for David Mitchell and Kazuo Ishiguro? Crazy! They get my votes.
(And a lot of others on this list, but them especially.)

I'm always suspicious when a huge advance is announced. Seems like stacking the deck. This is the first recommendation I've seen for Thomas. I'll have to give it a look-see.

lacygnette said:

I'm always suspicious when a huge advance is announced. Seems like stacking the deck. This is the first recommendation I've seen for Thomas. I'll have to give it a look-see.

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I took it out of the library. Midway through I looked up the author and reviews and read about the advance. I find it heartening that a literary book has been given such attention in todays day and age.

gingerwoman said:

Yes Garp was the first grown up book I ever read and yes I thought nothing could be better too, and I read all his work up until Owen Meany. I LOVED Owen Meany, but oddly have never read anything of his since Owen Meany, for no discernible reason. My husband bought the Widow book which I've never got around to reading.

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You need to read Last Night in Twisted River. He's also got a new one out.....I hope it is as good!

I'm sure they've been listed, but for me:

McCarthy, Ishiguro, Murakami, and Tartt.

kennyc said:

You need to read Last Night in Twisted River. He's also got a new one out.....I hope it is as good!

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I've had that one on my Kindle for over a year now. I'll put it closer to the top. Thanks!

There should be no pushback on Kingsolver--certainly one of today's greats. As much as I enjoy and respect Stephen King, I wouldn't put him in that category.

How about Paula Fox? Not quite contemporary, but not ancient either, and her adult novels are stunningly modern.

Interesting thread! Thanks to the OP for starting it.

railroad said:

Elizabeth Strout would definitely be on that list.

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I'll second that. Although I thought her last book, THE BURGESS BOYS, was a big letdown after the brilliant OLIVE KITTREDGE

zarada said:

Add Toni Morrison, Patrick Suskind and Richard Bach.


edit: also, David Wroblewski and Michael Ondaatje

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I loved Wroblewski's first book--gave it to a lot of people. But I think a person needs more of a body of work to be called a great writer.

mccardey said:

Lots of those. Also Marilynne Robinson.

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Yes! For those who only know her later work, HOUSEKEEPING was brilliant.

cmi0616 said:

I I'd also say Jonathan Franzen deserves entry into the conversation. Whatever one may think about him personally, the man is incapable of writing a bad sentence.

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Or an interesting one. Personality and pontification aside, I find his work tedious and wildly overrated. I read his first book and had to force myself to finish. I think it was the 3-page dialogue between the protagonist and his turd that did me in.

coffeepresto said:

I know this is old..but I did not see Leslie Marmon Silko's name here and that needed to be rectified. If you haven't yet, I urge all of you netizens to read her masterpiece Ceremony.

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I'll second that nomination, too. CEREMONY was brilliant. She won the MacArthur genius award, but then she sort of dropped off the literary map...don't know why.

lacygnette said:

I just discovered Alice McDermott. I know, where have I been. Her voice enthralls me.

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I mean, just compare McDermott to Franzen. She quietly turns out book after book, each one exemplary, each one different...while Franzen recycles his angst in everything he writes.

Chumplet said:

I agree with many of the choices presented, but I don't think anyone mentioned Jane Smiley.

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Maybe because her writing isn't what it was? Sad to say, but her early books were brilliant, right up to 1000 ACRES, one of the best novels I ever read. And then something happened. Out of respect for the early work, I've tried to read just about everything she writes; but couldn't get through the last few books.

Barbara, you are practically my soul mate, except for the Franzen. I really enjoyed his first book. But Burgess Boys? Meh. Later Smiley? Double meh. But I did hear her speak and she's really engaging and funny. Unlike Robinson, who was a lump of nothing. The moderator actually said, "I'm dying up here" after she answered another question with a single sentence. Guess she saves it up for the books!