I noticed I had a lack of knowledge about books written in my lifetime so I have spent the last few months making myself less ignorant. I'll share some of my findings to people as ignorant as I was.
Feel free to also post some others worth reading.
Bartleby & Co. by Enrique Vila-Matas
A book about authors who stopped writing, who ended up preferring not to.
http://www.ndbooks.com/book/bartleby-and-company
Valeria Luiselli said he is one of her favorite authors (I'll rec her books soon)
>>8275027
Contemporary female authors with a 5-5[-5] naming scheme who are quality writers include:
- Joyce Carol Oates
- Alice Munro
- Zadie Smith
- Donna Tartt
Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish
Following a Chinese immigrant and a post-iraq war veteran, Lish comments on the current situation in America with a decent prose style, considering this is his first book.
http://www.nytyrant.com/books.html
Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli
An ode to Modernism, the title being a reference to the ubiquitous poem of Ezra Pound and within the book mentioning Lorca, Gilberto Owen, Pound and others. A pregnant woman begins as the main character but several other narrative perspectives soon work their way in. My favorite contemporary author.
http://coffeehousepress.org/shop/faces-in-the-crowd/
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
In the tradition of the Great European Novel, it has a strong plot and is a completely engaging story that touches on many themes from all human ages. The cello is the most erotic instrument.
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/mulischh/heaven.htm
(a much better enticement)
>>8275027
>>8275036
>featuring mental illness
>animal torture
>a willed kafka-esque metamorphosis
>is written by a woman
>is Thai
I've been spamming this for a while now. Why has no one bothered with it.
The Lost Scrapbook by Evan Dara
A complex and engaging book that focuses on loneliness and alienation in our society. Compared to The Recognitions as being a very strong debut novel.
http://aurora148.com/lostscrapbook.php
>>8275027
I don't know if it's good or not but it's the most contemporary thing you can possibly read right now.
>>8275027
Who is that cute boy?
A few I've liked:
Gerald Murnane
Dominique Fabre
Jean Echenoz
Magdelana Tulli
>>8275092
what did you like about them? who are they like?
Aimee Bender's style of writing is surrealist but grounded in this odd, relatable humanity all the same. I really enjoyed The Color Master, a sort of collection of variations on fairy tale themes but at the same time, completely modern and oddly empathetic; her prose (as inane as that description's become) is absolutely wonderful, in my opinion. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is also fantastic.
http://aimeebender.com/
