Tom Perrotta said, in the NYT, he finds himself returning again and again to a "personal canon": Tolstoy, Balzac, Henry James, Flannery O'Connor, James Baldwin, and others. This led me to think about which writers I'd put in my canon--the writers I return to again and again--and here are the ones who made the cut:
-Tessa Hadley: Hadley has said of Ginzburg, "She chooses words so carefully, they seem to have actual weight, like physical objects." Hadley does the same thing. Her awareness of the sensory world is unusual. She juxtaposes odd words. She looks for counterintuitive insights, and the dream in her head is so vivid, you feel as if you're playing with some kind of virtual-reality box.
-Amy Bloom: She was my teacher, but I also just love her writing. I love that she has a sense of humor *despite* writing literary fiction. She also made me aware of the importance of absurdity. If your writer doesn't seem clear-eyed about life's ridiculousness, and capable of making you laugh, then there's a problem.
-PD James: Maybe she doesn't get enough literary "cred" because she writes mysteries. But the variety in her sentences, the energetic rhythm, the sense of humor, the intelligence: I would happily have a few James books with me on a desert island.
-Tom Perrotta himself: Perrotta observes fools, with compassion. He is aware of small ways in which we are strangers to ourselves; he writes mildly, and memorably, about fatuousness and hypocrisy, in all its forms. He's also fearless when writing about sex and desire.
-Anita Brookner: I just don't know of many other writers with so few illusions. Brookner makes me want to be smarter and to operate with more deliberateness. She is so dry and so bold, you sense she could write about soil, or tax law, and you'd still want to pay close attention.
-Peter Cameron: Though Cameron doesn't consistently write thrillers, there's a Hitchcock aura to his work. He invents slightly creepy characters, then watches the delightful trainwreck that occurs when these characters have to interact with the actual world. I also appreciate Cameron for thinking about the ways in which gay men behave in society, and for writing about fully-rounded gay male characters in a beautiful, thoughtful way.
-Honorable Mention: Barbara Pym, Lorrie Moore, Maile Meloy, Michelle Huneven, Muriel Spark, Tobias Wolff, Alice Munro, Janet Malcolm, Richard Yates, Issa Rae, Stephen Sondheim, Dennis Lehane, Penelope Lively. These are all writers who have produced at least several works I'd happily revisit, and revisit, and revisit. When you pick up a book, it should glow. You should anticipate delight and insight. If you don't, then don't pick up the book. The writers I've listed here are my go-to choices. It's nice to explore new work, but I wonder if, as I get older, I'll just spend more time in the company of Cameron, Perrotta, et al.
-Tessa Hadley: Hadley has said of Ginzburg, "She chooses words so carefully, they seem to have actual weight, like physical objects." Hadley does the same thing. Her awareness of the sensory world is unusual. She juxtaposes odd words. She looks for counterintuitive insights, and the dream in her head is so vivid, you feel as if you're playing with some kind of virtual-reality box.
-Amy Bloom: She was my teacher, but I also just love her writing. I love that she has a sense of humor *despite* writing literary fiction. She also made me aware of the importance of absurdity. If your writer doesn't seem clear-eyed about life's ridiculousness, and capable of making you laugh, then there's a problem.
-PD James: Maybe she doesn't get enough literary "cred" because she writes mysteries. But the variety in her sentences, the energetic rhythm, the sense of humor, the intelligence: I would happily have a few James books with me on a desert island.
-Tom Perrotta himself: Perrotta observes fools, with compassion. He is aware of small ways in which we are strangers to ourselves; he writes mildly, and memorably, about fatuousness and hypocrisy, in all its forms. He's also fearless when writing about sex and desire.
-Anita Brookner: I just don't know of many other writers with so few illusions. Brookner makes me want to be smarter and to operate with more deliberateness. She is so dry and so bold, you sense she could write about soil, or tax law, and you'd still want to pay close attention.
-Peter Cameron: Though Cameron doesn't consistently write thrillers, there's a Hitchcock aura to his work. He invents slightly creepy characters, then watches the delightful trainwreck that occurs when these characters have to interact with the actual world. I also appreciate Cameron for thinking about the ways in which gay men behave in society, and for writing about fully-rounded gay male characters in a beautiful, thoughtful way.
-Honorable Mention: Barbara Pym, Lorrie Moore, Maile Meloy, Michelle Huneven, Muriel Spark, Tobias Wolff, Alice Munro, Janet Malcolm, Richard Yates, Issa Rae, Stephen Sondheim, Dennis Lehane, Penelope Lively. These are all writers who have produced at least several works I'd happily revisit, and revisit, and revisit. When you pick up a book, it should glow. You should anticipate delight and insight. If you don't, then don't pick up the book. The writers I've listed here are my go-to choices. It's nice to explore new work, but I wonder if, as I get older, I'll just spend more time in the company of Cameron, Perrotta, et al.
Comments
Post a Comment