The future of literary fiction
I’ve had this habit for years. Now and then I search the book section of Amazon.com for the upcoming books of a certain list of authors. It’s how I know that Kazuo Ishiguro has a book coming out on September 22, Thomas Pynchon on August 4, and Nicholson Baker on September 8. (For a while Amazon was listing a new Philip Roth book for the fall, but that’s disappeared.) As I say, I’ve been doing this for years, ever since Amazon started up more than ten years ago. The list of authors is made up of novelists or fiction writers of high literary quality (I make no apologies whatsoever for that qualification), who have written at least a few excellent novels or short story collections, who, for the most part, can be relied on to turn out another great book every few years. Here’s the list, 46 in all, in no special order:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Kazuo Ishiguro
Thomas Pynchon
Lorrie Moore
Martin Amis
Annie Dillard
Ian McEwan
T.C. Boyle
Milan Kundera
George Saunders
Nicholson Baker
Jeffrey Eugenides
Nathan Englander
Shirley Hazzard
Salman Rushdie
Jane Smiley
David Mitchell
Francine Prose
Sarah Waters
Jim Harrison
Will Self
Thom Jones
E. L. Doctorow
William Trevor
Zadie Smith
Donald Antrim
Tim O’Brian
Alice Munro
Philip Roth
Haruki Murakami
Ryu Murakami
Joyce Carol Oates
Victor Pelevin
Jonathan Franzen
Kevin Brockmeier
John Barth
Jhumpa Lahiri
Robert Coover
Denis Johnson
Richard Powers
William T. Vollmann
Cynthia Ozick
Michel Faber
Stuart Dybek
Ha Jin
Rivka Galchen
Until recently, the list included John Updike and David Foster Wallace, of course, and Norman Mailer and, not so long ago, Saul Bellow. Several, including Lorrie Moore, Tim O’Brien, and Jonathan Franzen, haven’t published in some time — I can only hope they haven’t given up hope (though who knows with the depressive Franzen).
It’s a great list that I don’t suggest is all-inclusive — these are the writers that I regularly look forward to reading, having read most of their works with great pleasure and admiration. (Other writers of similar stature, like Julian Barnes, Toni Morrison, John Coetzee, and Rick Moody, I’ve tried, but for some reason leave me cold.)
But, there’s a problem — the list is pretty much the same as it was ten years ago. Rivka Galchen, the young author of the brilliant “Atmospheric Disturbances,” published last fall, is the latest addition, and I can’t wait for her sophomore effort. George Saunders entered the list a few years ago, though he’s 50, as did Kevin Brockmeier, who is 35. The only other writers under 40 are Nathan Englander (39) and Zadie Smith (34).
The prescient June 21 $28, 1999 issue of The New Yorker, entitled “The Future of American Fiction,” featured 20 authors, most of whom are on my list. Others, like Chang-re Lee, Edwidge Danticat, Tony Earley, and Ethan Canin, though well-known, have never been on my radar for some reason. Only Matthew Klam seems to have faded away, not having published any fiction since his wonderful story collection Sam The Cat ten years ago. (Also included is Antonya Nelson (49), a writer I keep meaning to read and haven’t gotten around to yet. Maybe this afternoon.)
So, where is the next generation of great writers? Maybe I’ve just missed it, but there don’t seem to be many hot young writers I’m dying to read. Every now and then a new writer is touted as the real thing, like Marisha Pessl, whose “Special Topics in Calamity Physics” I really wanted to like, because there’s no question she can write, but I found the book in need of editorial assistance to the point of being unreadable. (Rivka Galchen was similarly praised, but with better reason.)
Maybe I should expect a Galchen to come along only once in five or ten years. You tell me. Post here the names you believe will make up the next generation of writers of high quality literary fiction.
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There are at least four major omissions from your list that I could see:
Michael Chabon
Paul Auster
Paul Theroux (though he’s written some stinkers, especially his last one.)
Mark Helprin
Helprin’s “A Soldier of the Great War,” in particular, is one of the great novels of recent decades.
And what about Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo? I haven’t yet read the former, and I’m not a fan of the latter, but many would consider these two among our best.
Some would add Richard Russo and Rick Bass as well.
And here are some others, mostly in the young and promising category:
The British author Howard Jacobson (“Kalooki Nights.”)
Monica Ali (whose “Brick Lane” was promising.)
Khaled Hosseini
Andrea Lee (short stories)
Rachel Ingalls (short stories — she’s been around for quite a while and is very interesting, sort of an Isak Dinesen type.)
There also are some great genre writers, including Elmore Leonard and Steven King and Dennis Lehane.
I’m sure there are plenty of others I’m missing.
Speaking of Paul Theroux, his brother Alexander published a huge new novel this past year; it is more or less self-published or published by a group that normally does graphic novels. I realize he is a bit of a bitter pill for many readers, but he is a great and living writer. Likewise, George Stade (Confessions of a Lady Killer) put out a new novel that slid well under my radar until I stumbled across a lone copy in a superbookstore one day. Auster, Delillo, and others, for better or worse, can get a huge stack at the front of the store regardless of quality (they have of course written a lot of it in the past) whereas authors who publish less, or less frequently, can really struggle.
I try not to label writing as “major” or “minor” (unless I need to convince my students that Nabokov and Pynchon are worth reading), but a couple relatively new books I enjoyed were the English translation of Roberto Bolano’s The Savage Detectives (and 2666 is just out) and Sana Krasikov’s One More Year. I also like the first story in Nam Le’s award-winning collection, but I cannot say I got beyond that one. Netherland is high on a friend’s list of recent novels (also noted at award time).
Darn, I forgot Cormac McCarthy! He’s definitely on the list, though I’m not much a fan of DeLillo or Mark Helprin. I didn’t suggest that this is a complete list, and I note that none of your additions are under 40. It’s that younger generation I’d like to hear about.
A young writer I’m keeping an eye on is Nicholas Hogg. Here is a link to an online short story of his:
http://www.nicholashogg.com/read.htm
I’d suggest:
Anne Enright
Sebastian Barry
Marylinne Robinson (she’s older but there was a 20 year gap between Housekeeping and Gilead).
Esther Freud
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jennifer Egan
Siri Hustvedt
Charlotte Mendelson
A.L. Kennedy
One important writer is missing in your otherwise great list: Rohinton Mistry of Indian origin, now living in Kanada. I request you to read “Fine Balance” – a wonderful novel set against India during the 70’s.
Chris Cleave, Aleksandar Hemon and David Gilmour are all very good.
You might be interested in listening to my recent interview with Galchen here:
http://nigelbeale.com/2008/11/audio-interview-with-rivka-galchen-on-her-first-novel-atmospheric-disturbances/
If your tastes are as self-consciously literary as your blogpost suggests, you will love John Banville. That’s only half a sneer – he is truly a fantastic stylist, and only a little self-important.
De gustibus non est disputandum. But you’re right. John Banville deserves to be on the list.
Besides Roberto Bolano, New Directions Publishers has been publishing some incredibly gifted and brilliant Latin-American writers. Some under 40, some over:
Horacio Castellanos Moya
Guillermo Rosales
and many more. I think the most exciting Lit. Fiction is coming from these Latin-American writers.
Here are some terrific 40-somethings you don’t list
AL Kennedy
Claire Messud
Nadeem Aslam
Aleksander Hemon
Jonathan Lethem
Stewart O’Nan
And regardless of age, what about
Richard Ford
Peter Carey
Michael Ondaatje
Ward Just
Marilynne Robinson
Alice McDermott
Annie Proulx
Hilary Mantel
Finally, you could fill many a month’s reading with some of the excellent Irish writers, regardless of age, whom you haven’t included
John Banville
Colm Toibin
Anne Enright
Edna O’Brien
Sebastian Barry
Colum McCann
Claire Keegan
Deirdre Madden
Roddy O’Doyle
Joseph O’Connor
Kevin Barry
Claire Kilroy
Jennifer Johnston
Jane Gardam