Favourite authors, at a moment's notice ...
Simon at Stuck-in-a-Book tagged me for this meme, which began on Heather's site, Errant Thoughts. Thank you , Simon ... .
1. Who’s your all-time favourite author, and why?
John Fowles because his use of language is astonishing, glorious, erudite and because it teaches me, without patronising, and because he creates worlds that I never want to leave. Particularly The French Lieutenant's Woman
2. Who was your first favourite author, and why? Do you still consider him or her among your favourites?
Lewis Carroll, for all the same reasons as John Fowles, and most particularly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
3. Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favourite authors, and why?Marina Fiorato, see here for her debut novel, The Glassblower of Murano, just published in the UK. An absolute must-read for lovers of Venice, lovers of glass and its extraordinary nature and lovers of mystery and love. Lovers, really.
4. If someone asked you who your favourite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth? Are there any you’d add on a moment of further reflection?
John Fowles, Lewis Carroll, Maggie O'Farrell, Rose Tremain, Jeanette Winterson, Marina Fiorato.
And on a bit of reflection ... Niall Williams, Philip Larkin, George Eliot, the Brontes, Jean Rhys, Michael Ondaatje, Douglas Adams, Khaled Hosseini, Danny Schienmann, one William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Taylor, Rosamund Lehmann and so many more ... but if I listed them all this reflection would go on until tomorow.
I tag these five people to continue this meme, if they feel like it:
Juxtabook
Verbivore (now Incurable Logophilia) - who's on holiday for a little while
Booknotes by Lisa
A Work in Progress
and
Geranium Cat's Bookshelf
and anyone else who'd like to join in ... .
10 comments:
Thanks for tagging me--I think I'll answer this today! I've yet to read any Fowles, though I have The French Lieutenant's Woman. I think I've read that it is slightly experimental and I always get a twinge of fear (thinking I won't get something), but I do want to read him--especially anything Victorian! I have some similar favorites as well, and I can see I am going to have to order the Fiorato book as I love anything set in Italy.
What a great variety of authors mentioned - including some I love and some I didn't like much, which always makes for an interesting blog read. Have read no Fowles at all, though...
I also love John Fowles. *The Magus* is my favorite, though I think *The French Lieutenant's Woman* is a better book (if that makes sense).
Danielle & Simon, I recommend John Fowles wholeheartedly ... perhaps start with The French Lieutenant's Woman and then read The Magus which, I agree, Pacifist Viking, is probably a better book ... I do see exactly what you mean. Its imagination runs wilder and its construction is tighter.
And then, borrow a video/dvd of the movie of The French Lieutenant's Woman with that excellent screenplay by Harold Pinter - whose treatment of the double-ending dilemma is masterly. (It's also the only piece of Pinter's work that I actively like.)
John Fowles is a favourite of mine too and amazingly for me I also enjoyed the movie of The French Lieutenant's Woman!
I read The Magus first and thought it was fantastic.
Thanks for tagging me, I'll do it this evening. In Edinburgh at the weekend I bought Fowles' The Maggot, which I haven't read since it came out. My favourite of his books is Daniel Martin, influenced in part by knowing the part of Devon he's writing about very well. I find it wonderfully evocative.
Very cool to read your answers, and glad you did this one. I'm having fun trying to keep up with reading about everyone's favorite authors. :)
It's so gorgeous to hear from other Fowles fans BooksPlease and GeraniumCat ... and lovely to hear from you, Heather.
It's time I indulged myself in some Fowles again, I think.
Ooh, thanks for the recommendation for 'The Glassblower of Murano'. I adore Venice and have a passion for books set in Italy (actually am writing one set in Italy, so that's probably why!). I'll have to hunt it out.
Thank you for the tag - I think I do this one today. I haven't read Fowles but with all these wonderful recommendations I see I will have to correct that error sooner than later.
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