Ravenous Beauty: A Writer's Workshop

i think most of us are pretty familiar with certain authors. such as: craig clevenger, will christopher baer, stephen graham jones, chuck palahniuk, bret easton ellis, denis johnson, amy hempel, mark z danielewski, albert camus, charles bukowski,and other such fellows.

so, post here authors you think others may not have read or may not be familiar with. give us some reasons as to why theyre worth the read. any one is fine. keep especially in mind that this is, first and foremost, a workshop.

ive been reading a lot of virginia woolf lately and i highly recommend her. some real great things come from her. stylistically, there have been few like her and id argue few that can match her. the way she weaves a narrative is unreal. sometimes makes for a difficult read but, in my opinion, very worth it. a lot of incredible experimentation. pushed the boundaries of what a novel could and should be.

id start with 'to the lighthouse' as an introduction to her. 'the waves' is my current favorite by her. its told completely through monologues from six different narrators. a blending of senses and pysches. not easy, but very worthwhile.

james bernard frost - world leader pretend
monica drake - clown girl
seth morgan - homeboy
andrew pyper - he's got a couple, but ive only read the lost girls.
peter rock - ive only read the bewildered
peter fenton - eyeing the flash
tom spanbauer - i would say anything by him is worth looking at

Yeah, there's all the usual suspects, and those tend to be my favorites, too. I'll tell ya, I read a guy last year named Chang-Rae Lee (A Gesture Life) that was absolutely gorgeous. Not my usual taste, more of a slow burn, but a great writer.

I did not ultimately like Clown Girl, myself. Great first half, quirky character. But she just didn't arc until the very very end, so that felt rushed. Her stubborn lack of change was annoying the hell out of me. Lots of memorable lines and description, just flawed plotting in my opinion. I'll certainly give her another shot on the next book, though.

Along those lines, Christopher Moore is also great for the lighter side. Hilarious, but just literary enough to keep it out of the guilty pleasure bin. A Dirty Job is his best, I think.

"Star Dust" by A.L. Kennedy is the best short story I've ever read (you can find it in Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains). Her other collections are not nearly as good as that book.

I'll also plug a Raymond Carver or Graham Greene collection any day of the week.

-Joe Meno: Hairstyles of the Damned and Why the Hula Girl Sings. (He has some other stuff out but I haven't read it)

-John Kennedy Toole: A Confederation of Dunces and The Neon Bible (Don't keep in mind that he write TNB when he was 16, though, because you'll want to shoot yourself)

-Murakami: Norweigan Wood, Kafka on the Shore and a bunch more

-Jim Thompson: Tons. Read everything.

-Gabriel Garcia Marquez: You know him. You love him. Well maybe not, but I love him.

-Italo Calvino: If Upon a Winter's Night a Traveler...

-Roddy Doyle: A Star Called Henry, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, bunch of other stuff

Rayo Casablanca: Six Sick Hipsters. (Haven't read him but Caleb at WC and the Velvet highly recommends him)

And The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove from Christopher Moore literally almost made me piss my pants.

i definitely second toole and marquez, especially marquez. if you havent read him youre just missing out.

nikronomican wrote:-Joe Meno: Hairstyles of the Damned and Why the Hula Girl Sings. (He has some other stuff out but I haven't read it)

I met Mr. Meno in Chicago a few years back. Strange time. I was in town for a writer's conference, and to kill an evening some friends and I took a train to a small bar called Fire Lanes (or something like that). A band was playing called Our Missiles Are... fronted by Joe Meno. I had never heard of him, but after striking up a conversation about his band we fell into talk about writing where he revealed he was a panelist at one of the writer's conference panels that following day. I went to the panel and discovered his writing. That sort of coincidence would never work in fiction.

Read his book "The Boy Detective Fails." Definitely his best.

nikronomican wrote:Rayo Casablanca: Six Sick Hipsters. (Haven't read him but Caleb at WC and the Velvet highly recommends him)

Yes, yes. Very fun book. Music and murder; a great combo.

Oh yeah, and my recommendations:
Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E, Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E, Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E, Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E, Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E, Brian Eveson, Brian Evenson, Mr. Brian Evenson, Brian Eveson, B. Evenson, Brian, E.

I hope this helps.