What contemporary authors / novels will be future classics?

[straygator]

Off the top of my head:

Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
A.S. Byatt - Possession
Louise Erdrich - Tracks, maybe The Plague of Doves

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by straygator

Off the top of my head:

Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
A.S. Byatt - Possession
Louise Erdrich - Tracks, maybe The Plague of Doves

In the US, I'd have picked Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes. Actually, it would probably work with Australia too (significance of colonization, immigration & multiculturalism in its historical makeup). I loved that book.

Cheers,
Marc

[Namekuseijin]

I think it's a general consensus that King is a classic already. By now, he could just rest on his laurels and swim all day long in his pool of money a la Uncle Scrooge, but the man still keeps churning out some excellent stories to this day!

now, Sherlock Holmes and Dracula are classics too today. But is it high literature? That's another question for another day when I shall give a damn...

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

The Handmaid's Tale prophesised itself being taught in schools, I don't think that's unlikely. Escpecially with it NOT being something even vaguely Scifi-related, honest.

Lol the first time I read that book my copy didn't have the front or back cover nor the inside pages before the story so I didn't know the title, author or if it was fiction or nonfiction xD For a bit I was thinking it actually happened in some little town somewhere in some little country. I was still young, I was allowed to be that naive and stupid :P

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

The Handmaid's Tale prophesised itself being taught in schools, I don't think that's unlikely. Escpecially with it NOT being something even vaguely Scifi-related, honest.

I'd also second The Wasp Factory, but his The Bridge would probably be more likely because Eng-Lit teachers like to choose boring twaddle just to put children off reading for pleasure.

Oh - I forgot The Handmaid's Tale. +1000 on that one.

By the way, I'm only including books I've read. There are some books that people are mentioning that I'm sure would be on my list had I read them.

There are a couple of books that I put on the masterpiece list that may not quite get to school text lists. I'm wondering if others agree:

Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon

The reason I haven't included them, is that I wasn't sure what teachers would get out of the books to teach other than that they are brilliant.

[wyndslash]

@caleb: i've been thinking of reading some of Mark Haddon's works for a while. what do you like about it? :O

[StevePoling]

I think the children's reading lists of the next century will be defined by the English teachers of the next century. Which I find a troubling prospect.

[caleb72]

@caleb: i've been thinking of reading some of Mark Haddon's works for a while. what do you like about it? :O

The thing about the Curious Case is that it's a fairly simple plot in a way that becomes fascinating when filtered through the lens of autism. I had some follow-up sentences to this, but then I realised it might act too much as a spoiler, so I'll refrain.

It's a mystery, triggered by a senselessly violent act and conducted by what would probably be called an unreliable narrator. The story is interspersed with some entertaining asides from the narrator which enhances the idea that we are seeing this story from a unique perspective.

But at no point does the writing become dull. The author's touch is light and the narrative remains almost whimsical.

It was a great book. I also loved A Spot of Bother which was so entertaining I read it in one sitting. It was truly one of those "couldn't put it down" books.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by caleb72

The thing about the Curious Case is that it's a fairly simple plot in a way that becomes fascinating when filtered through the lens of autism. I had some follow-up sentences to this, but then I realised it might act too much as a spoiler, so I'll refrain.

It's a mystery, triggered by a senselessly violent act and conducted by what would probably be called an unreliable narrator. The story is interspersed with some entertaining asides from the narrator which enhances the idea that we are seeing this story from a unique perspective.

But at no point does the writing become dull. The author's touch is light and the narrative remains almost whimsical.

It was a great book. I also loved A Spot of Bother which was so entertaining I read it in one sitting. It was truly one of those "couldn't put it down" books.

hmmm i'll give it a go, then i do believe A Spot of Bother has been sitting in my wishlist for some time. i think i kept waiting for a sale...

[SlowRain]

I've always wished people would take note of some of John le Carré's novels, other than simply The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. He's written some great stuff, especially for anyone interested in the literature of the Cold War. A Perfect Spy gets my vote has his magnum opus. Pretty much anything he wrote from the mid-70s to the late-80s is brilliant. He's actually a very good stylist.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by SlowRain

I've always wished people would take note of some of John le Carré's novels, other than simply The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. He's written some great stuff, especially for anyone interested in the literature of the Cold War. A Perfect Spy gets my vote has his magnum opus. Pretty much anything he wrote from the mid-70s to the late-80s is brilliant. He's actually a very good stylist.

hmm it seems we have The Perfect Spy in my uni lib. i'll check it out one of these days

[RichL]

Haruki Murakami of course. Particularly the stories: Barn Burning, A Wild Sheep Chase and The Sheep Man's Christmas.

[crich70]

I think Stephen King and J.K.Rowling certainly will be. Wesley Allison and David Kitson with their Robots and A.I. related books might well reach that point as well. Certainly their works (those I've read anyway) are great fun, and how else can a book become a classic than if it's read rather than lying forgotten on some shelf or database as the case may be.

[Kevin2960]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

A laudable achievement, Kevin, but if we accept that as a criterion, maybe we'd have to include Dan Brown for kickstarting millions of adults into reading.

Now Now James theres no need to Swear !

[astrangerhere]

just about anything of Haruki Murakami's and Michael Cunningham's novels.