Who writes contemporary/literary well?

I just read De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage.

Astounding writing (even if it tails off a little at the end).

Great contemporary literary novels/authors:

The Patterns of Paper Monsters, Emma Rathbone
Room, Emma Donoghue
Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann

Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison, Ann Patchett

Tom Perrotta. I still haven't got around to reading his two most recent books but I loved the first four (The Wishbones, Election, Joe College, and the short story collection Bad Haircut). I think he really captures the suburban late-baby-boomer experience.

Would like to add Peter Carey.
Second, Kingsolver, and Ann Patchett, Bel Canto is amazing.

Zoe Heller. The Believers and Notes from a Scandal are both superb.

F.

Here are some of my favourite mainstream contemporary and literary novels. Perhaps some of them are older but I thought I'd mention them anyway.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz-Zafon.
The Icestorm by Rick Moody.
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.
Rabbit, Run by John Updike.
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shrivel
Almost anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Lolita by Nabokov, of course.
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
The Joke by Milan Kundera
The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle.

And you may also like Eagles and Angels by Julie Zeh.

If I think of more I'll come and add them.

Two of my favorites right now are Cormac McCarthey and Jonathem Lethem.

KellyAssauer said:

And I'll read and Amy Hempel, or Marya Hornbacker I can get my hands on, then again, I have no idea at all who writes 'contemporary' books.

Click to expand...

No one in the short story market writes like Amy Hempel. "In the Cemetary Where Al Jolson Is Buried" is exquisite and I retype it every chance I get to get the feel of the story.

Adagio said:

Coetzee: Disgrace. Pitch perfect prose.

Click to expand...

I must second this recommendation. A strong story thumping, a great wordsmith at work, and a simplicity that lets it all shine. (I can't understand why some of the characters made some of the choices they did, but we have to give a little credulity to get anything back.)

Aimee Bender
A.M. Homes
George Saunders
Junot Diaz
Denis Johnson
Jeanette Winterson

Some good choices, but you've all overlooked my favorite: J. Robert Lennon.

Mailman was a work of modern literary genius, with the best final paragraph of any book I've ever read.

For a living author of literary fiction, my favorite is Roddy Doyle. He has a new book of stories out called BULLFIGHTING. Here's an interview he's given. http://tinyurl.com/3cmlvrq

Philip Roth is quite good.

HarryHoskins said:

Philip Roth is quite good.

Click to expand...

^^^^^

THIS!!!!

There's also Robert Olen Butler...I started reading him recently and he can't miss in my opinion

Why no E.L. Doctorow? Not literary? What is the distinction between literary and mainstream, is there one?

some of my favorites are:

Jane Smiley
Annie Proulx
Russell Banks
Irvine Welsh
Lionel Shriver

Just read "A Visit From The Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan (totally awesome) and "The Privileges" by Jonathan Dee (interesting).

Huge second for Hemple, esp. "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried"

Also huge second for Atwood in general, but esp. Cat's Eye

I'm mainly a short story person, so I'll add:

Alice Munro
Lorrie Moore
John Cheever (older--50s, 60s--but unmissable)
Raymond Carver
Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried
Deborah Eisenberg
Barbara Gowdy (mostly novels, but her stories are wonderful, too)

I'll also second Russell Banks, though I've read less of him.

David Foster Wallace? While I recognize his brilliance, I'm not a fan. Same goes for Updike. Great writers; not my cup of tea.

ETA: Joy Williams and, though older, James Baldwin (how could I have forgotten him?!)

I'll second Margaret Atwood.
And how about Rick Moody (The Ice Storm)?

omgoodness, read all the Rabbit books and then some. I started with Rabbit and eventually read all the John Updike I could get my hands on, both fiction and non.

Also: Chang-rae Lee

Recently read Zadie Smith's White Teeth. I think it was great. Humor. strong writing, great story.

squeaky pram said:

Barbara Gowdy (mostly novels, but her stories are wonderful, too)

Click to expand...

I second this rec wholeheartedly. We So Seldom Look On Love is one of my favorite short story collections.

Barbara Kingsolver is in my top five (I don't use the word "amazing" lightly, but The Poisonwood Bible was amazing). Also, I'm ridiculously in love with Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo (if you haven't read it already, do it yesterday!).

Love Kingsolver.
OK, I'm buying Water for Elephants.

Water for Elephants is really good. I did find myself having to suspend disbelief in a couple of sections, but I was so immersed in the story by that point it didn't really matter.

What's interesting is that Gruen's first two novels, Riding Lessons and Flying Changes, really fall under the category of "chick lit." They were entertaining, but there wasn't much depth at all. If I didn't already know, I never would have guessed they were written by the same person as Water for Elephants.

Has anyone read her latest book, Ape House? If so, did you enjoy it?