The most popular contemporary writers in the world. The best books by modern writers
“Russian literature is the only unhindered guide in the West’s desire to comprehend the secrets of the Russian soul, its culture and identity. No restrictions or prohibitions, political hostility or sanctions for you. I bought a volume of a Russian classic and you get to know yourself quietly, dosing it - sitting, lying down, standing, in the subway, at home... Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov... Be careful with Chekhov - you can go on a drinking binge...”
Abroad began to become thoroughly acquainted with Russian literature through the writer Ivan Turgenev, who settled in Baden-Baden in 1863. Having become close to the most famous Western writers, cultural and artistic figures, with the intelligentsia and politicians of that time, Turgenev very quickly became the most famous and most widely read Russian author in Europe. It was with the works of Turgenev that the Western reader began to comprehend the full depth and richness of the Russian language.
In 1878, at the international literary congress in Paris, the writer was elected vice-president; in 1879 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. Chancellor German Empire Clovis Hohenlohe called Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev the best candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Russia. He wrote about Turgenev: “Today I spoke with the most smart person Russia."
But main merit Ivan Turgenev - propaganda. Throughout his entire life abroad, he tirelessly “promoted” Russian literature as the most undervalued within Russia itself. Thus, Europe met Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol...
They say that people become interested in the literature of a particular country when they show interest in the country itself. This is partly true. In relation to Russia, this interest on the part of the West never ceased and reached its peak in the 21st century. It is noteworthy that once having discovered Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and many other prolific masters of Russian literature, the West never ceases to associate Russian literature and Russia itself with these great names. Of course, in this regard, modern writers have a hard time, and, oddly enough, Russian writers XXI century has to compete with the Russian classics of the 19th century. After all, there is still a huge demand for the export of Russian classics. The facts speak about this:
The film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” speaks of the popularity of the Russian classic abroad - there are more than 7 different versions of the film. Another example is “Anna Karenina” - in different countries it has been filmed about 18 times.
Chekhov still remains the leader in the number of foreign film adaptations of Russian classics - his works became the basis for film/television versions about 200 times. He is one of the 3 most screened writers in the world.
“In the galaxy of great European playwrights... the name of Chekhov shines like a star of the first magnitude,” wrote George Bernard Shaw at the beginning of the 20th century.
However, if Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in the West are known more from books, then Chekhov is more likely not read, but “watched”: the writer is little known as an author humorous stories, but is rightfully considered a playwright of the first magnitude along with Shakespeare, Shaw and Wilde. His plays are some of the most popular in the world. But Chekhov himself did not imagine his future glory. He told his friend Tatyana Shchepkina-Kupernik: “They will read me for seven, seven and a half years, and then they will forget.”
One more thing is surprising. Fame in a writing career directly depends on its “promotion”. Writing with talent or genius is not enough. You need to invest in advertising and self-PR. And the best PR is a scandal. Take at least world fame Nabokov, having written the scandalous “Lolita,” he might not write anything else. The scandalous plot itself, and all the attempts to ban the publication of the novel, made its publication an event and provided the book with huge circulations. Solzhenitsyn talentedly made his name “in politics” and the propaganda machine helped him.
Now it’s already difficult to play politics. It is almost impossible to implement a political intrigue on which you can “take off.” There is money left.
Nowadays, few Russian names are noticeable in the West - of course, primarily due to the language barrier. IN pre-revolutionary Russia there was not much difference between the bearers of Russian and European culture. All educated people in Russia they spoke English, French, and German well. Tolstoy almost got first Nobel Prize in literature, Turgenev was absolutely recognized in Paris as a writer, Dostoevsky had a huge influence on Freud and many others. Then there was a single multilingual culture. Now it’s the other way around: globalization has led to a situation where English alone dominates. So it turns out that cultures are different, but all writers have the same language. At the same time, it cannot be said that bearers of Russian culture became victims of some special discrimination. There is simply one dominant culture and it is English-speaking.
But we digress.
And yet, which Russian writers, by modern standards, are the most famous abroad?
Leo Tolstoy - “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”;
Fyodor Dostoevsky - “Crime and Punishment”, “The Idiot”, “The Brothers Karamazov”;
Anton Chekhov - “Uncle Vanya”, “Lady with a Dog”, “Kashtanka”;
Alexander Pushkin - “Eugene Onegin”;
Nikolai Gogol - " Dead Souls»;
Ivan Turgenev - “Fathers and Sons”;
Mikhail Bulgakov - " Fatal eggs", "The Master and Margarita";
Vladimir Nabokov - “Lolita”;
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - “The Gulag Archipelago”, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”;
Ivan Bunin - “Sukhodol”, “Village”;
Alexander Griboedov - “Woe from Wit”;
Mikhail Lermontov - “Hero of Our Time”, “Demon”;
Boris Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago.
With modern Russian literature everything is much more complicated. Nevertheless, quite popular: Polina Dashkova, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Zakhar Prilepin, Mikhail Shishkin, Victor Pelevin, Sergei Lukyanenko, Boris Akunin.
In the 90s, the only modern Russian author whose books could be easily obtained in English was Pelevin - despite the fact that this was still a specific reading. Over the past ten years, however, some things have changed, others have also been transferred - greatest success Boris Akunin had: in England his detective stories still sell well... In the West they like a Russian writer to be bearded and serious.
In England it’s clear, but what about in the USA? According to the famous publicist Owen Matthews(Owen Matthews), "literature modern Russia can't offer American reader, brought up on philosophical novels Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, something that can return them to the “magical land” open to them in the books of the classics.” That is why the percentage of Russian literature in modern America does not exceed 1-3%.
Deputy Head of Rospechat Vladimir Grigoriev believes:
“That of our writers in lately“If they don’t make stars, it has a lot to do with extra-literary moments.” Remember the growing popularity of Mikhail Shishkin in Western European countries after he spoke out against the Kremlin’s policies... And vice versa - as soon as Zakhar Prilepin, who was quite successfully translated and published in English-speaking countries, began to speak out in support of the so-called Novorossiya, we began to experience certain difficulties in its promotion."
We've really gone backwards. First, sport turned into a tool of political pressure, now literature. You look and Bolshoi Theater will stop touring the world. Perhaps the excitement for Russian painting will even subside. But nothing. But we began to export twice as much gas, oil, tanks and Kalash rifles...
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A good book is much more than a way to “kill time.” Wanting to get acquainted with unusual worlds, mysterious and strong characters And incredible adventures, the reader should take a closer look at the works of the most popular contemporary writers. Below are the most striking and famous works of recent decades - top 10 best modern books!
1. 11/22/63 (Stephen King)
Topping our list of the best modern books is Stephen King's science fiction novel 11/22/63. The first publication of the work took place in 2011.
The assassination of J.F. Kennedy became one of the greatest tragedies of American society. A popular politician was shot dead during a huge parade in front of thousands of Americans. Could the president have been saved? Surprisingly, the answer to this question remains to be seen to a simple teacher! Jake Epping is an ordinary resident of a small town who works at a school and is not much different from thousands of his fellow citizens. However, by the will of fate, it is he who gets the chance to go through a time portal, which is located in the back room of the cafe of his old friend Al. The owner of the device has long wanted to find Kennedy's killer, but illness has ruined all plans, so Jake must replace him! Go back, straight to the 60s, live there for several years, identify the future executioner and stop him on the day of the terrible tragedy! Will he be able to change the course of history and even go back?
2. American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
American Gods is one of the best modern fantasy books, which was written by English writer Neil Gaiman in 2001.
America. A haven for a huge number of migrants from all over the world. Looking for better life people went to an unknown continent, hoping to settle there and find long-awaited happiness. However, they did not travel alone: each visiting guest took with them a piece of their native culture. Gods, beliefs, rituals, customs - this is the true baggage of the migrants! Will different deities be able to get along together and what does such a neighborhood promise? Shadow, the main character, recently released from prison, will have to find out. Once free, he finds himself straight into a series of strange events and mysterious crimes that need to be unraveled.
3. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Closing the top three is the modern book American writer Khaleda Hosseini. The work was published in 2003.
What is true friendship? Sometimes adults find it very difficult to answer this question. Much easier for children. Amir and Hassan are two completely different boys who are connected by true friendship. Only one of them is an aristocrat, and the second is a poor servant! Coming from different social strata, they do not pay attention to the differences that are so important for adults. Playing, joking, sharing secrets and impressions, experiencing failures and experiencing grief, the boys gradually grow up, and their friendship only becomes stronger. One day, serious changes are coming to the country that will test their strength and scatter their friends across to different parties. Can childhood friendship survive?
4. A Song of Ice and Fire (George Martin)
A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most famous and best modern fantasy books. This is a whole series of works, consisting of five already published volumes. Two more books in the project. The first publication took place in 1996. The book gained particular popularity after the release of the series “Game of Thrones,” based on it, filmed by HBO.
The unique fantasy world is inhabited by far from kind fairies and cheerful gnomes. This is a world of several powerful powers who are desperately fighting for their hearts' content. Their goal is the throne of Westeros. Their means are weapons, intrigues, murders and rebellions. The Palace of Verteros is filled with vile and greedy people who are eager to seize the throne at any cost. There is no longer any place for honesty and nobility here. By arranging serious intrigues and organizing coups, the conspirators will do everything to undermine the situation in the kingdom. However, it is not only them that should be feared, because the cunning rulers of neighboring states are also not averse to snatching the “tasty morsel” during a cruel and blind turmoil! Coming real war for power, ready to bury the old order forever.
5. The house in which... (Mariam Petrosyan)
“The House in Which...” is an interesting modern science fiction novel by the Armenian writer Mariam Petrosyan, published in 2009.
On the edge of the city there is a boarding house for abandoned children. This old and gray place seems very inhospitable and gloomy, but everything is not so simple... Once inside, a person can discover something new, unusual world in which there is more kindness and light than on the bright city streets. The pupils of the house are divided into groups, each of which has its own leader. There are no first and last names here - only bright nicknames. There is a lot of unknown here and very little that is familiar. These are miniature societies with their vices and virtues. Children learn about the world by growing up, changing and trying to find their place in it.
6. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief is a fascinating contemporary novel by an Australian writer, written in 2006.
Liesel Meminger - little german girl, whose childhood fell during a truly monstrous time. In 1939, the Nazi regime reached its peak, exterminating the disobedient and preparing to enslave the world. Horror, murder, robbery and terror became daily companions in the lives of those who did not suit new government. After the death of her husband, Frau Meminger moves, trying to find a quieter corner for her daughter. But in vain... Looking around, Liesel sees the chaos going on through the eyes of an innocent child who does not understand this cruel and strange world adults. Growing up quickly, she has to learn and rethink a lot.
7. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl is one of the best modern thriller books. The work was published in 2012 and became the basis for the film of the same name.
How difficult it can be to recognize a person, even if you have lived with him for many years! An unusual incident changes the fate of the main character when his wife suddenly disappears. During a wild celebration of their wedding anniversary, a woman mysteriously disappears. The arriving police discover blood and signs of a struggle, deciding that the man killed his wife and hid her body. Now the confused man is left to solve this incredible puzzle himself. Who knows, maybe the solution will be even more monstrous than the disappearance itself...
8. Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
The novel Cloud Atlas was written in 2004 by an English writer. Its plot is a complex interweaving of stories and destinies that, at first glance, have nothing in common. An American lawyer stuck on a tropical island while a ship is being repaired; young English musician, forced to trade music and body in order to earn a piece of bread; a brave Californian journalist fighting against a powerful corporation; a London publisher facing criminals after the release of another bestseller; a clone from a Korean anti-utopia and a Hawaiian old man watching the decline of human civilization. All events and characters go through a difficult path in different times gradually intertwining together.
9. When I Was Real (Tom McCarthy)
Tom McCarthy's novel “When I Was Real” continues our top 10 best modern books.
Sudden disaster changed life young man, crossing out his past. He finds himself in a long coma, from which he, fortunately, manages to get out. But such a long process did not pass without a trace: now he needs to learn to live again. Walk, move, work with your hands and talk. All past life comes in the form of vague memories, and the hero endlessly desires to return to his former self. Moreover, some large corporation is ready to pay him a lot of money to keep the cause of the incident a secret. How are they connected? What happened that day? And how to become completely the same?
10. Anathem (Neal Stephenson)
And the top ten is completed by the modern science fiction book Anathem, written by American writer Neal Stevenson in 2008.
Arb - distant and mysterious planet, similar to Earth. People who worship science live here. Science, which completely replaced religion and managed to split society into two irreconcilable camps. The guardians of science are monks who were once scientists. They once worked and created for the benefit of progress, but their work led to something terrible. Now the monks live in the monastery, closed off from the outside, secular world. Their life is simple, calm and measured, but once every ten years a special date comes - a day when the two sides can change places. The monks will see the outside world, and secular people will be able to join the monastic life and worldview. One day, such a change led to terrifying consequences, and now the two sides must unite to prevent the impending disaster!
Anna Karenina. Leo Tolstoy
The greatest love story of all time. A story that never left the stage, filmed countless once - and has not yet lost the boundless charm of passion - a destructive, destructive, blind passion - but all the more bewitching with its greatness.
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The Master and Margarita. Mikhail Bulgakov
This is the most mysterious novel in history Russian literature XX century This is a novel that is almost officially called “The Gospel of Satan.” This is “The Master and Margarita”. A book that can be read and reread dozens, hundreds of times, but most importantly, it is still impossible to understand. So, which pages of “The Master and Margarita” were dictated by the Forces of Light?
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Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë
A mystery novel included in the top ten best novels of all time! The story of a stormy, truly demonic passion that has been exciting the imagination of readers for more than one and a half hundred years. Katie gave her heart cousin, but ambition and the thirst for wealth push her into the arms of a rich man. Forbidden attraction turns into a curse for secret lovers, and one day.
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Evgeny Onegin. Alexander Pushkin
“Have you read “Onegin”? What can you say about “Onegin”? These are the questions that are constantly repeated among writers and Russian readers,” noted the writer, enterprising publisher and, by the way, the hero of Pushkin’s epigrams, Thaddeus Bulgarin, after the publication of the second chapter of the novel. It has not been customary to evaluate ONEGIN for a long time. In the words of the same Bulgarin, it is “written in Pushkin’s poems. That's enough."
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Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris. Victor Hugo
A story that has survived centuries, become canon and given its heroes the glory of household names. A story of love and tragedy. The love of those to whom love was not given and not allowed - by religious dignity, physical weakness or someone else's evil will. The gypsy Esmeralda and the deaf hunchback bell-ringer Quasimodo, the priest Frollo and the captain of the royal riflemen Phoebe de Chateaupert, the beautiful Fleur-de-Lys and the poet Gringoire.
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Gone with the wind. Margaret Mitchell
The Great Saga of Civil War in the USA and about the fate of the wayward and ready to go over heads Scarlett O'Hara was first published more than 70 years ago and does not become outdated to this day. This is Margaret Mitchell's only novel for which she received a Pulitzer Prize. A story about a woman whom neither an unconditional feminist nor a staunch supporter of house-building is ashamed to emulate.
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Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare
This is the highest tragedy about love that human genius can create. A tragedy that has been filmed and is being filmed. A tragedy that never goes away theatrical stage to this day – and to this day it sounds as if it was written yesterday. Years and centuries go by. But one thing remains and will forever remain unchanged: “There is no sadder story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet...”
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The Great Gatsby. Francis Fitzgerald
“The Great Gatsby” is not only the pinnacle of Fitzgerald’s work, but also one of highest achievements in world prose of the 20th century. Although the novel takes place in the “roaring” twenties of the last century, when fortunes were made literally from nothing and yesterday’s criminals became millionaires overnight, this book lives outside of time, because, telling the story of the broken destinies of the generation of the “Jazz Age”.
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Three Musketeers. Alexandre Dumas
The most famous historical and adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas tells about the adventures of the Gascon d'Artagnan and his musketeer friends at the court of King Louis XIII.
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Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas
The book presents one of the most exciting adventure novels of the French classic literature of the 19th century century of Alexandre Dumas.
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Arc de Triomphe. Erich Remarque
One of the most beautiful and tragic love novels in history European literature. The story of a refugee from Nazi Germany Dr. Ravic and the beautiful Joan Madu, entangled in the “unbearable lightness of being,” takes place in pre-war Paris. And the alarming time in which these two happened to meet and fall in love with each other becomes one of the main characters of the Arc de Triomphe.
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The man who laughs. Victor Hugo
Gwynplaine, a lord by birth, was sold as a child to comprachico bandits, who made a fair jester out of the child, carving a mask of “eternal laughter” on his face (at the courts of the European nobility of that time there was a fashion for cripples and freaks who amused the owners). Despite all the trials, Gwynplaine retained the best human qualities and your love.
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Martin Eden. Jack London
A simple sailor, in whom it is easy to recognize the author himself, goes through a long, hardship-filled path to literary immortality... By chance, he finds himself in secular society, Martin Eden is doubly happy and surprised... both by the creative gift that has awakened in him, and by the divine image of young Ruth Morse, so unlike all the people he knew before... From now on, two goals are relentlessly facing him.
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Sister Kerry. Theodore Dreiser
The publication of Theodore Dreiser's first novel was fraught with such difficulties that it led its creator to severe depression. But further fate The novel “Sister Carrie” turned out to be lucky: it was translated into many foreign languages, reprinted in millions of copies. New and new generations of readers enjoy immersing themselves in the vicissitudes of the fate of Caroline Mieber.
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American tragedy. Theodore Dreiser
The novel “An American Tragedy” is the pinnacle of the work of the outstanding American writer Theodore Dreiser. He said: “No one creates tragedies - life creates them. Writers only portray them.” Dreiser managed to portray the tragedy of Clive Griffiths so talentedly that his story does not leave the modern reader indifferent.
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Les Misérables. Victor Hugo
Jean Valjean, Cosette, Gavroche - the names of the heroes of the novel have long become household names, the number of its readers in the century and a half since the publication of the book has not become smaller, the novel has not lost popularity. A kaleidoscope of faces from all strata of French society in the first half XIX century, bright, memorable characters, sentimentality and realism, intense, exciting plot.
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The adventures of the good soldier Schweik. Jaroslav Hasek
A great, original and outrageous novel. A book that can be perceived both as a “soldier’s tale” and as classic, directly related to the traditions of the Renaissance. This is a sparkling text that makes you laugh until you cry, and a powerful call to “put down your arms,” and one of the most objective historical evidence in satirical literature.
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Iliad. Homer
The attractiveness of Homer’s poems is not only that their author introduces us to a world separated from modernity by tens of centuries and yet unusually real thanks to the genius of the poet, who preserved in his poems the beat of contemporary life. Homer's immortality lies in the fact that in his brilliant creations contains inexhaustible reserves of universal human enduring values - reason, goodness and beauty.
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St. John's wort. James Cooper
Cooper managed to find and describe in his books the originality and unexpected brightness of the newly discovered continent, which managed to captivate the whole modern Europe. Each new novel by the writer was eagerly awaited. The exciting adventures of the fearless and noble hunter and tracker Natty Bumppo captivated both young and adult readers..
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Doctor Zhivago. Boris Pasternak
The novel “Doctor Zhivago” is one of outstanding works Russian literature, which for many years remained closed to wide range readers in our country, who knew about him only through scandalous and unscrupulous party criticism.
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Don Quixote. Miguel Cervantes
What do the names of Amadis of Gaul, Palmer of England, Don Belianis of Greece, Tyrant of the White tell us today? But it was precisely as a parody of the novels about these knights that “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was created. And this parody has survived the genre being parodied for centuries. "Don Quixote" was recognized best novel throughout the history of world literature.
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Ivanhoe. Walter Scott
"Ivanhoe" - key work in the series of novels by W. Scott, which take us to medieval England. To the young knight Ivanhoe, who returned secretly from Crusade deprived of inheritance to his homeland and by the will of his father, he will have to defend his honor and love beautiful lady Rowena... King Richard will come to his aid Lionheart and the legendary robber Robin Hood.
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Headless Horseman. Reed Main
The plot of the novel is so skillfully constructed that it keeps you in suspense until the very end. last page. It is no coincidence that the exciting story of the noble mustanger Maurice Gerald and his lover, the beautiful Louise Poindexter, investigating the sinister mystery of the headless horseman, whose figure terrifies the inhabitants of the savannah when he appears, is extremely beloved by readers in Europe and Russia.
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Dear friend. Guy de Maupassant
The novel “Dear Friend” became one of the symbols of the era. This is Maupassant's most powerful novel. Through history Georges Duroy, paving his way to the top, the true morals of high French society are revealed, the spirit of corruption that reigns in all its spheres contributes to the fact that an ordinary and immoral person, such as the hero of Maupassant, easily achieves success and wealth.
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Dead souls. Nikolai Gogol
The publication of the first volume of N. Gogol’s “Dead Souls” in 1842 caused heated controversy among contemporaries, splitting society into fans and opponents of the poem. “...Speaking of “ Dead souls“-you can talk a lot about Russia...” - this judgment of P. Vyazemsky explained main reason disputes. The author’s question is still relevant: “Rus, where are you rushing, give me the answer?”
