Here’s a question for you – Who’s your favourite contemporary author?
Who do you rush out and buy/or put a hold on – in the sure knowledge that their genius is going to work for you?
Mine is Dan Rhodes. I’ve only mentioned him here once before, as he wrote about the underrated virtue of brevity in fiction.
I picked up his first book Anthropology and a hundred other stories off a book shelf in the central library – totally a case of judging a book by its cover (small, powder blue, stick figure). It looked cute, and it was – 101 stories of 101 words. It could be gimmicky, but the stories were so clever and bittersweet I became a Dan Fan.
Since then, he has written another book of stories, and two novels. The latest is Gold which has a background of pub quizzes (hooray!). His web site is a good insight into his wit and drollery.
Looking at his literary recommendations I was spooked to find he namechecks two of my other favourite books namely Misadventures by Sylvia Smith and The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills. What is the common thread that links these authors? Humour, humanity, a sense of the ridiculous, dryness, ingenuity, idiosyncracy, beauty … (and sized at around the 200 page mark).
Check out his web site and the pretend pub quiz where you can win pot noodles and a copy of his latest book (I scored 7/10 – how’d you go?).
31 May 2008 at 12:37 pm
Ooh, I got 6/10 on the quiz. Not bad given that most of my answers were guesses. My fave contemporary author whose new books I always pounce upon in a decidely voracious manner is Christopher Moore. He writes incredibly funny novels, usually with a supernatural element such as vampires or the grim reaper. He also has a penchant for fantastical book titles such as “You suck : a love story”. I also like that nobody’s ever heard of him. It’s always more satisfying to recommend an obscure author, innit?
4 June 2008 at 12:22 pm
Agree about Christopher Moore – he should win prizes for his titles alone. Have checked out some Dan Rhodes this morning thanks to Donna’s recommendation. Currently my top author is Markus Zusak because he can be hopeful even in the dark, never fails to surprise me, and is delicious with language. A word of warning for those who haven’t yet tasted his delights – never read the endings first!