Your favourite author, and why

[bloodsimple]

As we're all writers of various genres, I wondered who was each Lit author's favourite (commercial) writer (as opposed to their Lit favourite). Maybe we'll all discover some new books to delight in.

My fave would be James Ellroy (LA Confidential, The Cold Six Thousand, White Jazz, etc). because

1 He's never been sued. Work with me on this one, people. Ellroy frequently makes obscene and potentially damaging references to famous people (Sinatra, JF Kennedy, etc), but has never been sued by those individuals or their relatives/beneficiaries. This implies to be that Ellroy is right on the money (or close to it) and damned brave while he's at it.

2 Complexity. His books are involved and complex, both in terms of plot and syntax. Keeping track of the various characters references and interrelationships must demand an almost project management approach.

3 Style (1). Ellroy's style could best be described as permanent rage. It's energetic, brutal, almost flat-out anger from every sentence. To keep this up over a whole book, never mind a whole series of them, is incredible. To then reign it in to allow a tight, well-formed storyline is remarkable.

4 Style (2). Put simply, no-one writes remotely like Ellroy. Think how many thrillers there are out there, and how many are similar in some regard to something else. Nothing is like Ellroy, and that unique style in a crowded genre is amazing.

I would (literally) give my right arm to write this way, and that's probably the highest recommendation.

What's your choice?

 

[Guest]

mercurial

Bloody funny.

Has class.

That prose.

End of.

 

[Guest]

Jthserra

The guy's clearly a nut job.

 

[Guest]

ChilledVodka

The best threadkilla there is.

 

[cookiejar]

As we're all writers of various genres, I wondered who was each Lit author's favourite (commercial) writer (as opposed to their Lit favourite). Maybe we'll all discover some new books to delight in.

My fave would be James Ellroy (LA Confidential, The Cold Six Thousand, White Jazz, etc). because

1 He's never been sued. Work with me on this one, people. Ellroy frequently makes obscene and potentially damaging references to famous people (Sinatra, JF Kennedy, etc), but has never been sued by those individuals or their relatives/beneficiaries. This implies to be that Ellroy is right on the money (or close to it) and damned brave while he's at it.

2 Complexity. His books are involved and complex, both in terms of plot and syntax. Keeping track of the various characters references and interrelationships must demand an almost project management approach.

3 Style (1). Ellroy's style could best be described as permanent rage. It's energetic, brutal, almost flat-out anger from every sentence. To keep this up over a whole book, never mind a whole series of them, is incredible. To then reign it in to allow a tight, well-formed storyline is remarkable.

4 Style (2). Put simply, no-one writes remotely like Ellroy. Think how many thrillers there are out there, and how many are similar in some regard to something else. Nothing is like Ellroy, and that unique style in a crowded genre is amazing.

I would (literally) give my right arm to write this way, and that's probably the highest recommendation.

What's your choice?

My favorite too, especially "American Tabloid." You summed up my feelings about Ellroy perfectly. His writing amazes me.

 

[Guest]

Up to 5:28 PM (GMT), I looked great.

 

[Guest]

I have mentioned him before in other threads, Robert A. Heinlein.

Heinlein is a Sci-fi writer, but he doesn't really write Sci-Fi. He writes about people. Granted the setting is always the future and often on other planets but the story is about the people. Asimov and Clarke tend to spend page after page describing some fantabulous device in amazing detail. That's all well and fine but who cares? Heinlein references futuristic devices but in a such way that he is assuming that it is a commonplace item and you, the reader already knows all about.

And there was a classic in Methuselah's Children. Lazarus Long and a rather large group of people were hijacking a space ship to escaoe from earth. Lazarus discusses with Andy Libby the possibility of lightspeed travel to get to other galaxies. Libby says he can do it. They get to the ship and Libby pulls out a small box with a switch and an alligator clip and ataches it to a bulkhead. Lazarus asks him how it works and Libby's reply is, "I could spend a week explaining it to you and you still wouldn't have a clue. Just flip the switch and let's go."

His characters are brilliantly written so real by the end of the first chapter you would swear you know them personally. And he does it without spending 45 pages in that first chapter telling you their whole life story.

He tears down everything we take for granted like religion, politics, relationships, art, science, history, and rebuilds it as something not only possible but probable. All the while throwing in bit's of wisdom that make you stop and really think about things.

I have long said Job: A comedy of Justice shold be required reading in high school. It is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read.

 

[shereads]

If we're limiting this to modern authors, I have a 3-way tie:

Joan Didion

Umberto Eco

Kinkykiff

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=82875

(Only the first two paragraphs. After that, the story suffers from the lack of a professional editor and an unfortunate obsession with toilet matters. I'd like to see Kinkykiff challenge himself to explore other themes.)

 

[Clare Quilty]

Shakespeare. He was not a novelist but people read his plays as literature. I find his wit and the unparalleled beauty of his use of language almost otherworldly. Aside from his absolute mastery of the English language, the subjects he wrote of in the late 1500s and early 1600s were half a millennium ahead of their time. Othello, Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice would, until very recently, have been too progressive in their themes to even get published in the much of the world, had they been written by anyone of less godlike stature than The Bard himself.

 

[AngeloMichael]

George R. R. Martin

He is a superb writer of fantasy, his best work is his series "A Song of Ice and Fire", he was also the executive producer of the Linda Hamilton "Beauty and the Beast" television series.

Martin's technique at foreshadowing and scene description is masterful, there is something meaningful in every line of his work. His stories are interesting and intelligent and he doesn't shy away from making his characters go through hell, and all his characters have depth, none are completely good or completely bad they are all different shades of gray.

 

[MaxSebastian]

He's never been sued. Work with me on this one, people. Ellroy frequently makes obscene and potentially damaging references to famous people (Sinatra, JF Kennedy, etc), but has never been sued by those individuals or their relatives/beneficiaries. This implies to be that Ellroy is right on the money (or close to it) and damned brave while he's at it.

First of all, you cannot libel the dead. Therefore, Sinatra, JFK et al cannot sue - Ellroy is safe there. Secondly, it's often more damaging for someone to sue over a supposedly libellous remark in print than to let it go. What if they lose? And also, there was an actress in England who sued a theatre critic for saying her arse was too big. The actress won - the ruling was that you couldn't have an arse that was "too big" for the role she was playing, and therefore the comment was not relevant to the performance. But from then on, she was known in the good old British press as "the one with the big arse" and that damaged her reputation far more than the original comment, which after all was just a little theatre review.

 

[Guest]

I wasn't going to post but since Quilty did, Shakespeare. No hesitation. And if only one text, King Lear.

Perdita

 

[Delicious Blonde]

I loved Beauty and the Beast!

George R. R. Martin

He is a superb writer of fantasy, his best work is his series "A Song of Ice and Fire", he was also the executive producer of the Linda Hamilton "Beauty and the Beast" television series.

Martin's technique at foreshadowing and scene description is masterful, there is something meaningful in every line of his work. His stories are interesting and intelligent and he doesn't shy away from making his characters go through hell, and all his characters have depth, none are completely good or completely bad they are all different shades of gray.

And I cried when they murdered Robb and Catlyn at the 'Red Wedding'.

 

[MaxSebastian]

Back to the subject of the thread. My favourite author currently is Michael Chabon, who won a Pullitzer for one of his books.

But my favourite of his is called "Wonder Boys", because it is about a struggling writer. I think it's one any writer would enjoy - it's beautifully written with interesting characters, a nice touch of romance and redemption and you'll connect with some of the things the lead character goes through. Plus, it's quite funny and lively.

It was made into a film by Curtis Hanson just after he made LA Confidential, and although a different kind of story to that James Ellroy (hooray, a link to an earlier post in the thread!), it was just as atmospheric and well done.

Oh, and here's something you might not know: Michael Chabon, my favourite author, was responsible for re-writing Spiderman 2, and in my opinion produced a very good result - nice bit of characterisation even though it's "just" a comic book movie. The man won his Pullitzer for a book about two comic book artists, which I think is why he was picked to re-work the Spidey 2 screenplay.

 

[Clare Quilty]

MaxSebastian wrote:

...And also, there was an actress in England who sued a theatre critic for saying her arse was too big...

Was this, by any chance, Kate Winslett? I do so love her arse.

 

[Clare Quilty]

But my favourite of his is called "Wonder Boys", because it is about a struggling writer...

I'm glad I read this thread. I have a 20% off coupon from Borders Bookstore that expires tomorrow. I'm going to buy Wonder Boys tonight. The film adaptation was brilliant. I am sure the book, as they usually are, is even better.

 

[MaxSebastian]

I'm glad I read this thread. I have a 20% off coupon from Borders Bookstore that expires tomorrow. I'm going to buy Wonder Boys tonight. The film adaptation was brilliant. I am sure the book, as they usually are, is even better.

Hooray! You'll love it.




Oh, and the actress wasn't Kate Winslet. I'm afraid I can't remember from my media law course who it was, but it was someone who isn't amazingly famous. Except for her arse.

 

[Guest]

I love Kate Winslett too, though obviously not the way Q does. I recall how after Sense & Sensibility Hollywood came after her but everyone wanted her to slim down and the tabloids called her 'fat'. I was so pleased she ignored them. I've adored her and her acting since the New Zealand film (Beautiful something?). I think I've seen all her films except 'Titanic'. P.

 

[nushu2]

Joseph Conrad

I don't think most people get him.

His writing isn't pretty or fancy but it's deep and personal.
He writes from the inside out, looking from the depths of his soul. In 'Secret Agent', all the ego-driven and pathetic characters are just portions of himself. After reading his work, all other writers seem shallow and I gave up reading fiction for a long time.

"A man can never cease to be himself."

For entertainment, Heinlein, Sturgeon and Spider Robinson are the best humanists in SF.

 

[matriarch]

Shakespeare. He was not a novelist but people read his plays as literature. I find his wit and the unparalleled beauty of his use of language almost otherworldly. Aside from his absolute mastery of the English language, the subjects he wrote of in the late 1500s and early 1600s were half a millennium ahead of their time. Othello, Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice would, until very recently, have been too progressive in their themes to even get published in the much of the world, had they been written by anyone of less godlike stature than The Bard himself.

Ditto

 

[DirtyJJ]

I wasn't going to post but since Quilty did, Shakespeare. No hesitation. And if only one text, King Lear.

Perdita

P.,
Both you and Clare have inspired me to read more Shakespeare. I have read bits here and there, but I think I'd like to try a little more. Any suggestions for a relative Shakespeare novice?
JJ

 

[Guest]

JJ, I'll PM you rather than take up this thread. So happy, P.

 

[oggbashan]

I would have said Shakespeare, but others already have. I prefer the comedies but enjoy all his work.

An author some may not know: Thomas Love Peacock.

I like 'Headlong Hall' as a satire on so much of 18th Century England some of which is still valid. That book has the longest word in the English language describing a skeleton.

Og

 

[cloudy]

I love Sharon Kay Penman. She writes meticulously researched novels about historical figures - usually in medieval England.

I've read everything she's written, and wish she would write faster!

 

[Guest]

That book has the longest word in the English language describing a skeleton.

Out with it. P.