Great writers... Review on 5 Best Books

Concluding part to the earlier one on Poets. This was to be posted much earlier... except... ;(

When it comes to writing stories, there are no rules. You can tell the story as a leisure read or write a racy story. I have divided it into the usual categories such as Dramatics, Adventure, Action, Love story… you get the gist... And again, the novel/story must be widely read.

Contemporary writing caters more to niche (Cliched) markets. I feel biased when comparing great writers with commercial/niche writers. Robin Cook is famous for his novels on doctors and the medical profession ( I mean you read one coma, you are in a coma with the remaining books). Dick Francis on horse racing and betting. Sidney Sheldon with a business backdrop. (Read Roger dis chap’s analysis of Dan Brown novels... You read one. You read them all.) The same with John Grisham (lawyers and politics), Or James Hadley Chase who gave a fitting ending to the criminals but was famous for the one liners.  Tom Clancy & Crichton write more for movie based themes. There are writers like Ayn R and who are more philosophical - more thought provoking (Unfortunately the books are more popular among a select crowd - architects. That's another cliche I don't understand. Ask an architect his favorite song and they will probably reply - Another Brick in the wall... ;-).

To give the devil his due, I am not stating Frederick Forsyth or Alistair MacLean, are not good writers. Hey! They definitely are. But would you consider the Fourth protocol a classic? As stories get churned and get more complicated in twists, do you feel it better to read a story well told in it’s simplicity or a story well told though complicated?  That’s the difference between a classic writer and an author. I’m considering only the classic ones which have contributed much to the cause of the language.

In literature, there are many for short stories- Right from Guy De Maussepant, Allan Poe, Liam O’ Flaherty, I guess the list is endless, so I restrict this in it’s entirety and consider only the “novel classics”. And as stated earlier, no epics considered… (Mahabharata, Iliad)

Dramatics - Before renaissance, drama was a popular art. And Shakespeare is remembered for his dramas. Have you noticed why his plays are the most easily adapted in schools and colleges? There’s not much to do, except memorize & read the lines. The screenplay’s ready! Much like a how to act book for dummies! How often have you seen a movie based on Shakespearean works? I am sure you have come across umpteen variations of them in Bollywood movies (Angoor – Comedy of errors, Omkara being the latest) Yup! That’s him! He can still give a run for today’s screen writers (taking drama to the next level)! (Complete list of Shakespearean titles - https://opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/plays.php)

Adventure –Ah! The boyish yell for adventure! I guess, it was R.L Stevenson with three notable works Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which influenced a lot of writers. Another writer worth a mention here is Mark Twain with The adventures of Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer. RL Stevenson had more swashbuckling adventures with pirates, but Mark Twain did write a splendid true to life story about Huck Finn! I think today’s Enid Blyton, the Drew, hardy boys, famous five and all those teen adventures have taken a page from them... (Recommended adventures – Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Tom Sawyer and The adventures of Huckleberry Finn.)

Now where does that leave Charles Dickens? The Pickwickian Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A tale of two cities, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit are no doubt exceptional works. Can you forget the story where he marries his childhood crush? Every boy’s dream come true! I would place Charles Dickens, Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment, The idiot, The brothers Karamazov) and Lev Tolstoy on a similar note (War and peace, Anna Karerina)..

Of course the Russians had a more intense background portrayal as subject to the times. And Charles did aptly highlight the social conditions with most of his stories. But in the end, these guys had one thread in common. They often wrote on different subjects reflecting the current social and historical backdrops. Though the stories fit into different categories, they depicted social and historical authenticity perfectly suited to their period. A Tale of two cities is a historical story, while Great expectations is a love story. Oliver Twist was the story of an orphan stuck with criminals. War and Peace was historical while Anna Karenina? You must have got my ramblings by now!

Alexander Dumas (with The Count of Monte Cristo, The three musketeers, The Black Tulip) was a writer who clubbed suspense, revenge and romance against a French freedom movement as the backdrop) He needs no introduction. Though his original works were in French, the translated works in English during his lifetime were commendable! The same with Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The life of a man stuck on an island is good. Have you seen castaway? Now you can guess how horrible it must have been.

Sci-fi? There are lots of them. Including H.G. Wells War of the Worlds about an alien attack way back…A few must read – Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, War of the worlds, The invisible man And none of these stories are common in any way.

Crime Fiction - No guesses. Arthur Conan Doyle wins hands down with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.. Umpteen renditions of it only tend to stretch our imagination and often we wish to be a part of these adventures. There were others like Edgar Allan Poe and a few more.. Though the writer wrote very few in a niche, twas an instant hit due to the presentation & detail

Animal stories - I can think of 2 outstanding ones. Black Beauty (Anna Sewall) and The Seagull (Jonathan Livingstone). Both dived into the psychology of animals to write stories in the first person on their behalf. There ain’t anything to compare with them now.

Love Stories- Numerous. Too many to list here. But a few ones worth mentioning..

Great Expectations – Little Phillip’s travails start with his helping a convict on the marsh. He ends up falling in love with a girl taught to “hate” men. Does she love him? (In between you also have the historical backdrop without as much as a hint. For ex., convicts being sent to America, Australia & other British colonies. They were thrown out of their country to become settlers in a different nation. Anyone returning was hunted & sent back.)

The Mill on the Floss – The story of a sister’s love for her brother, Tom ends in a tragedy.  Can you forget Maggie’s character?

Give this guy another kick in the butt. He just pops up every time saying me too! Guess who? Shakespeare with Romeo and Juliet. I sometimes suspect this guy must have purchased stories Nadeem Shravan style and then sold them using his own trademark.. Looks like the guy never slept…

You think of any? Let me know...