Comments on: Reading shapes writers

By: Ivy

Ivy — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:16:56 +0000

Similarly to you, Juliet, my education was largely English and Euro-centric also: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, Plato, Kant, basically the major players of Western lit were covered. Happily, my program also offered readings from a fair amount of African writers, and the standard Russian offerings (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky). But honestly, my knowledge of authors beyond Europe or America would be next to nothing. I have a large gap in my education when it comes to Asian writers.

Regarding American authors, I could probably come up with a few suggestions. Try Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, it’s an easy read, with a surprisingly modern style, and a very readable heroine. Wharton’s one of the few classic writers that I could take to the beach, if that tells you anything. I would also suggest getting a book of Ernest Hemmingway’s short stories. I thought he was a stronger short story writer than anything else, although that’s not to say he can’t write a good novel. But his writing style is so sparse (and I mean that in a good way), he turned short stories into an art. There’s a famous tale about someone challenging him to write a story in ten words or less. He used only six, and came up with this: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” I love Hemmingway.

I also suggest reading Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, or any of Twain’s essays, simply because his style is so uniquely American Southern. Another southern writer is the often intimidatingly brilliant William Faulkner. The Sound and the Fury (title taken from the Shakespearean soliloquy)is one of Faulkner’s most famous works. He’s a true modernist, interested in playing with narrative styles such as stream of consciousness. He won a noble prize, but he writes the type of book people either love or hate.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is a good read if you’re interested in the jazz age, his Great Gatsby is a classic and also hugely readable. And for present day contemporary, there’s Joyce Carol Oates.

I could go on and on about this stuff but thanks for the reflection piece! This certainly got me thinking about writers I’ve intended to read for awhile! I’ve trudged through a lot of pretentious and literary in school but Hemingway, Wharton, Fitzgerald, they’re good bets. Faulkner is heavy, but he’s good if you’re in the mood for a challenge. I’ve never read Mansfield or Frame, and I’ll have to look up that book by Donna Tartt!

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By: Juliet

Juliet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:39:31 +0000

Katrina, for a NZ novel, you can’t go past The Bone People by Keri Hulme. It’s beautifully written, essentially a New Zealand story, and terribly, terribly sad. Hulme is a Maori author. The Bone People was her first novel and it won the Booker Prize.

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By: Katrina

Katrina — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:50:53 +0000

Dave – I would recommend Scott Lynch’s “The Lies of Locke Lamorra” for a first fantasy book. It has a fantastic tone, full of wit and humor while simultaneously being dark and modern. It’s almost fantasy-lite, without elves or faerie folk, and though it’s billed as the first book in a series it can stand on it’s own just fine.

Juliet (or anyone, really) – I would really appreciate some recommendations for a good NZ novel to read while I’m visiting there in August. Since I’ll be backpacking I’m trying to only take one book for space’s sake, but it’s so hard to narrow it down to just one! I’m definitely checking out Janet Frame and Katherine Mansfield the next time at my local used bookstore for sure.

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By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:58:27 +0000

I really like this post :) It’s refreshing.

A few years back I decided to rearrange my shelves in chronological order. I couldn’t believe the gaps I saw–the titles were arranged by each book’s original date of publication. It was like I’d skipped the 90s and 2000s completely, in terms of fiction.

I should reorganize again and figure out my gaps again.

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By: Satima Flavell

Satima Flavell — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:46:10 +0000

American novels? I’d second Grapes of Wrath and add East of Eden, On the Road and Catch 22. I haven’t read them for years but I remember enjoying them when I was in my teens.

Historical novels? Don’t miss out on Elizabeth Chadwick. Her book called “The Champion” is just that, and she has written many more. What I like about Chadwick is that her research is meticulous but never in-your-face. She manages to include correct medieval terminology without it ever sounding pretentious or incomprehensible. And she writes great sex scenes, too:-)

Fantasy? I’d second GRRM, of course, and add Joe Abercrobie, Guy Gavriel Kay (especially the books he wrote in the 1990s) and Neil Gaiman as well as Glenda Larke, Karen Miller and Robin Hobb. There are so many good fantasy writers around that it’s just a metter of reading widely and seeing what suits your taste.

And of course, if you like both history and fantasy, our own Juliet Marillier is the tops. Once again, a lot of work goes into the research but it’s just the background for a shelf of absolutely superb stories. There are few good historical fantasy writers around and fewer still can match Marillier, especially when it comes to the Celtic era in British history.

For a few more ideas, have a look at reviews in webzines such as The Specusphere (www.specusphere. com) for which I am reviews editor. We pride ourselves on covering a wide array of recent books in the fields of fantasy, science fiction, horror and even an occasional historical if it’s written by a spec-fic author. There are other zines that cover other genres. Just ask Mr Google.

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By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:34:49 +0000

I suggest either Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace or Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

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By: Juliet

Juliet — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:53:26 +0000

I’m making a list of the recommendations – thanks! I may read slowly through all of them, with some fantasy, romance or historical fiction in between. In Cold Blood and The Grapes of Wrath one after the other would definitely make me a little depressed, I feel.

Dave, I’d second Jonathan’s suggestion of George R R Martin’s A Game of Thrones, though you might prefer something that’s more stand-alone. An alternative is The Scar by China Mieville – it sits between science fiction and fantasy, is brilliantly written and highly imaginative.

Jamie, I recommend Restoration by Rose Tremain as an elegantly crafted historical novel. Or anything else by this author.

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By: Nancy Laughlin

Nancy Laughlin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:27:30 +0000

As a child, I read a lot, including classics (American and British), Little Women, Little Men, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, C.S. Lewis, etc. I also read classics in school, Dickens and Mark Twain and the like.

But since college, I’ve read almost entirely genre books, romance, mystery, thrillers, fantasy, western, horror, everything. Yet I’ve hardly read any classics, older or modern. Some friends felt the same, so we have started reading a classic a month, alternating older classics with modern ones (post 1950).

In case anyone else wants to try it, our list so far has been:

The Lovely Bones, Count of Monte Cristo, The Time Travelor’s Wife, Dune, The Graveyard Book, and this month Ellison’s The Invisible Man.

It’s been a lot of fun reading the books together, and has helped fill in the reading gap.

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By: Mary Castillo

Mary Castillo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:51:57 +0000

I highly recommend “Winter Wheat” by Mildred Walker. She is a “forgotten” American writer whose quiet prose packs a powerful punch. Where Hemingway is bombast and operatic, she is elegant and moving.

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By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:40:32 +0000

I have a gap in American classic literature as well. As a Canadian, I also read mostly British literature as a child. I also missed reading some of the great Russian classics that everyone else seems to have read.

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