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I read only The Road on the BBC list, and it surely belongs there. I just read The Sisters Brothers on HomeInMyShoes list and enjoyed it a lot. Also agree with his take on The Secret River, another excellent book.
James Lee Burke is a mystery genre writer who, at his best, writes some of the loveliest prose I've ever come across. At his least inspired, he is still a great mystery writer. Wayfaring Stranger is a historical mystery I recommend highly. What I love most about Burke is that I can count on him to tell me where we are in his books: I can see the morning fog over the Atchafalaya or the sun rise over the Bitterroots. I can taste all the ham and onion sandwiches and the oyster po'boys. Too many writers care only for character and plot with little feel for where the story occurs in time and place. Burke, more than any other writer I can think of at this moment, makes setting as important as his characters and possesses the talent to take his readers along on the journey.
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