I thought of writing about some of the best writers we’ve ever had and of course about their works, which still continue to influence us. We do keep a lot of expectations from the kind of books we like, the manner of writing etc. Selecting authors like this is a pretty tough job at least when you are too much into books and you have scores of those favourites to choose from. I drew out this list and these are my first instincts from the random genres (but are all stor ywriters), well I haven’t ranked them in any order.
1)J.R.R. Tolkien – Why is the need more to describe when he is “The author of the 20thcentury”. His major works having sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, he placed before us a new world of fantasy and mythology which was a great epic world in itself. The austerity if “The Hobbit”, the idiosyncratic characters from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Silmarillion” – a narrative cosmological myth on the evolution of Arda (The World). I was fortunate enough to read his letter addressed to Mr. Milton Waldman where he mentions that he intended to create a mythology for England, which he believed, was like chapbook stuff.
2)Charles Dickens- Charles Dickens has written a number of great classics, and I don’t feel the need to list them. I’ve read some of them but they were abridged editions. The only ones complete and unabridged read by me are “David Copperfield” and “A Tale of Two Cities” and “David Copperfield” is my favourite. What I love most about his writings (original) is his neat observation and the way to express his mind so unmistakably with a bundle of comparisons. “David Copperfield” is an autobiographical masterpiece where the personal side of David (the protagonist), his satirical comments, the pain and the pleasures, the light-hearted moments is shared by Dickens with such enthusiastic fervour.
3)Gabriel Garcia Marquez – - Honestly, I haven’t read any of Marquez’s major works. But I have read two of his short stories from “Collected Stories”. But I’ve come across so many quotes from his two books “Love in the time of Cholera” and “A Hundred Years of Solitude”. It’s hard to describe him and his works. Though expressed as being what is known as “magic realism”, I feel that he moves really well using a bit of deadpan language. But still, when I’ll read his major works, I make sure to update this review.
4) P.G. Wodehouse – So its not just fantasy and painful literary works. Wodehouse is certainly the greatest comic writer of all times. Everything he writes and that is published may be precise, but they sure produce a sweet comic effect. The World of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster are always memorable. My personal favourite is “Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit” just because of its unmatched narration.
5)Leo Tolstoy - He is certainly the doyen of Russian literature. His works, “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace” are full of great thoughts and ideas from this literary genius. Open a book of thoughts and you’ll find a storehouse of philosophy.
Well, that’s it. I will add other authors(as this should be the top Ten list) like Arundhati Roy, Ernest Hemmingway, R.K. Narayan , Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie but I found shortlisting these 5 more challenging!But I’ll mention them!
TO BE CONTINUED....
PART 2
6) Enid Blyton – She was the one I admired so much in my childhood. A writer of innumerable books (how many?), our school library was flooded with her books. Though I didn’t read much of her except “The Malory Towers” series of hers and some naughty stories of imps and elves. Her writings showed up her passion, which has immortalized her. I still have some of her books in my shelf and looking at those books makes me nostalgic. Sigh!
7) Agatha Christie- From the mystery-genre, I choose Dame Agatha Christie. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles’’ gave the world the inimitable Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian police officer who was to become one of the most enduring characters in all of fiction. Her fashion of writing is sure to puzzle the reader, not only so much but also deceive him!
8) Rabindranath Tagore – Though I love his poems more than his stories, I believe he leaves the reader to decide about his own conclusions, after drawing him trough a long road of poignancy. I don’t really like “Hungry Stones” but I think “Master Mashai” and “The Editor”.
9) Ernest Hemmingway – Ernest Hemmingway wrote many novels and a couple of short stories- Hemmingway’s power and originality as a writer became apparent in his short stories, though “The Old man and The Sea” and others won wide acclaim as Hemingway turned from themes of love and war to focus on a lone fisherman’s struggle to capture a large marlin!
10) R.K. Narayan - His works are being read all over the world, and have been translated into 14 languages including Russian, Japanese and Hebrew. In Swami and Friends he brought in the elements of Nature so masterly and the characters so lively, it was such a joy to read. Indeed the greatest Anglo-Indian writers of all time.
THANK YOU FOR READING!