contemporary English literature suggestion

[waltzinmathilda]

I would like to improve my knowledge of contemporary English literature, and I thought I could turn to you for advice. I am fairly well acquainted with the classics, but not so much with contemporary works. Even though my main focus right now is on British authors, any suggestion concerning American novels is welcome (I am already familiar with Cormac McCarthy). I have read, among others, Iris Murdoch, Kazuo Ishiguro (like them a lot), Isherwood (love him), Ian McEwan's Black Dogs (I have just ordered The Comfort of Strangers from bookdepository, hope it is good), Nick Hornby's About a Boy (I was deeply disappointed with it. I came to it with great expectations after watching the movie, but I felt it had none of the narrative "balance" of the movie. Should I give him another try? Can you suggest another novel by him that you think is worth reading?), Howard Jacobson's Kalooki Nights (brilliant) and I have just emerged from a dive into the Zadie Smith-Salman Rushdie's universe. This brief list is just to give you a rough idea of where I stand right now and to help you better direct me.

P.s I know this might sound strange, but since I am trying to improve my English, I would be grateful if you could correct me in case I make major grammar/usage mistakes when writing. I won't be offended and it will actually help me a lot.

[easy75]

For U.S. authors :

Independence Day - Richard Ford
Billy Bathgate - E.L. Doctorow
The Corrections - Jonathon Franzen

And as long as you liked Kalooki Nights, Jacobson's The Finkler Question is pretty entertaining, and thought provoking too.

[waltzinmathilda]

thank you, easy75! The Corrections is already on my shelf. I haven't had time to tackle it yet, but I'm planning to read it in the near future (not this month, though. I have just finished reading two long novels - White Teeth and The Satanic Verses, as hinted in my previous post - and I feel the need to break the rythm with something shorter right now).
I was quite enthusiastic about Kalooki Nights and I was definitely going to look into his other novels, so there's a good chance I'll read The Finkler Question next. I'm not familiar with the names of the two other authors you suggested, I guess I'll have to look them up on the internet.

[753c]

thank you, easy75! The Corrections is already on my shelf. I haven't had time to tackle it yet, but I'm planning to read it in the near future (not this month, though. I have just finished reading two long novels - White Teeth and The Satanic Verses, as hinted in my previous post - and I feel the need to break the rythm with something shorter right now).
I was quite enthusiastic about Kalooki Nights and I was definitely going to look into his other novels, so there's a good chance I'll read The Finkler Question next. I'm not familiar with the names of the two other authors you suggested, I guess I'll have to look them up on the internet.

I think Doctorow is an American literary treasure. If you have ever seen or heard of the play "Ragtime", it was based on one of his novels, and is probably his most universally recognized work. I recommended Billy Bathgate just because it is one of my all time favorite novels. About a young boy in the Bronx in the 30's, Billy "Bathgate" Behan, a fifteen-year-old boy who first becomes the gofer and then surrogate son of real life mobster Dutch Schultz. A very American story. :)
Good luck.

[kev67]

I am surprised the OP did not like About a Boy. I started reading it in bed and didn't stop until I finished it next morning. I don't suppose it's literature though. The OP's grammar looks pretty good to me.

[waltzinmathilda]

I am surprised the OP did not like About a Boy. I started reading it in bed and didn't stop until I finished it next morning. I don't suppose it's literature though. The OP's grammar looks pretty good to me.

Well, it might be that my judgement is biased due to the fact that I read the novel after watching the movie. The beginning was good and quite promising, but then it failed to develop. I would have expected a more solid, better structured novel, whereas it seems to me that the author got lost in his subject matter. Why don't you regard it as literature, though? You mean you don't think it is high literature, maybe? As much as I disliked it, I wouldn still consider it literature. It's just that it isn't a mature literary achievment, in my opinion. That's why I'm considering giving the author another try; maybe I just picked up the wrong novel.