My Top Ten Favourite Authors of the 20th Century

I love 20th Century Writing because there is so much rich history all over the changing world at this time. From the beginning of the 20th century in which we have World War One all the way to the fall of the Berlin Wall - from the rise of Hitler all the way to the March on Washington. There are so many different aspects of life to explore in the changing of different cultures throughout the 20th century.

What I want to go through is my top ten favourite authors of the 20th century and my favourite books by them. I want to explore the many different aspects of their writing and why I love them so much. And, as we approach Part 15 - we look at another milestone in the new numbers of my 20 Books of 2020 (go and check it out on my public page).

I'm not going to lie, when it comes to authors I tend to binge read like one or two for a very long time. I read all their works and then, I move on to the next one. However, this is what I enjoy and if you enjoy something else - then, that's okay too.

Here we go then!

My Top Ten Favourite Authors of the 20th Century

10. Vladimir Nabokov

I've read many books by Nabokov and yet, my favourite will always be Invitation to a Beheading. There was something about that book when I first encountered it that struck me as heavily emotional. There was something about approaching death that Nabokov was able to write so well. Every single expression and detail was not only worded in an amazing and thought-provoking way, but it was also worded in a way that made you want to read it. It was detailed and littered with these almost proverbial dialogues from one character to another. After I read Invitation to a Beheading, I then read Look at the Harlequins, Pale Fire and Despair. These too, were amazingly written and so, I was on my way to completing the Nabokov bibliography with the latest reads being Sebastian Knight, Glory and Ada or Ardor. The writing style of Nabokov is beautiful and I would like to share my favourite three texts by him with you - so here they are:

- Invitation to a Beheading

- Pnin

- Despair

9. Carson McCullers

Carson McCullers is an incredible writer with an amazing talent for recognising human condition and emotion in the most effective and understandable ways. She writes with such beauty and elegance, with such coarseness and vibrance, about the ways in which humans experience each other in relationships and friendships differently. Almost ten years' ago, I read "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers and I remember it being a divine experience. It was something almost religious because she was writing about human experience in a way that I didn't think modern authors did. A little later and a few years' on, I read "The Ballad of the Sad Café" and that one really stuck with me. Actually it stuck with me so much that I read it again last year! From reading "Clock Without Hands" when I was 16 and then reading her shorter stories only last year when I was 23 - I can honestly say that Carson McCullers has contributed to my growing reading experience over my lifetime with great vigour and vibrance.

Here are my top three favourite books by her:

- The Ballad of the Sad Café

- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

- The Member of the Wedding

8. William Faulkner

Faulkner has always been one of my favourite writers of all time. He actually doesn't need an introduction because he is so brilliant. The first book I ever read by him, and I remember it well, was "A Rose for Emily" and even though it was a short story, I was 14 and I thought I had read what was the most brilliant short story ever written. It was so clever and dark, it was so coarse and gothic, it was so American and yet, it seemed other-worldly. Faulkner's writing had a massive influence on my want to study Literature further on in my life and by reading works such as "The Sound and the Fury" and my personal favourite book by him, "Absalom, Absalom!" I have come to realise that he is possibly one of the greatest American writers to ever live and the king of the Southern Gothic Movement. Here are my top three favourite books by him:

- Absalom, Absalom!

- As I Lay Dying

- If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem

7. Yukio Mishima

Mishima is an interesting character because his works have only recently been translated. As I was learning Japanese a few years' ago, I tried out some stuff by Mishima in Japanese and honestly - the reading experience goes straight to your head. It is something surreal and overtly emotional. The experience of reading Mishima (in either English or Japanese) messes with your head because that is exactly what he wants to do. He wants to delve deep into the rustic quarters of humanity and drag out all the animalistic impulses and desires. Mishima makes us question whether we ourselves are really all morally good and whether we would do the right thing or do what we felt like in particular situations. I started off with his book "Life for Sale" and moved on to "The Frolic of the Beasts" - the latter I can say was better but somewhat oddly translated. Mishima is a force of nature when it comes to emotion, existentialism and the hopes and fears for death. It is always a sublime and yet strangely neurotic experience reading Mishima. Here are my top three favourite Mishima novels:

- The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea

- Confessions of a Mask

- The Frolic of the Beasts

6. Yasunari Kawabata

Kawabata is, to this day, one of my favourite writers when it comes to any writing concerning the human condition of love and loss. Nobody writes about grief, death and love quite like Kawabata does. There's something almost airy and graceful about his writing, something poetic and tasteful, something extreme and yet - it is initiated in great control. I first read Kawabata by reading "Thousand Cranes" and then, I moved on to "Beauty and Sadness" - from then on, I've been getting my hands on many of Kawabata's best efforts because of his ability to control every single piece and feeling of every single character in the book. I do believe he goes as far as controlling the feelings of the reader as well. Here are my top three favourite books by him:

- Beauty and Sadness

- The Sound of the Mountain

- Thousand Cranes

5. Javier Marias

I have read so much by Marias over my lifetime of reading. I remember that the very first book I read by him was "All Souls" whilst I was in university. It was from then on that I had decided that Marias was going to be one of my favourite writers. I love the way he writes about inner-thoughts and feelings. There's something very truthful about it and it is written like Marias is feeling those things himself when he goes to write them down. Marias can express in words all the feelings we find almost impossible to word ourselves and he can do it with incredible accuracy. It isn't flowery or extravagant writing - but it is raw and takes to the very heart of the matter. Every detail of thought and every bit of existential emotion is taken into account when Marias is creating his atmosphere-heavy novels. I absolutely love them all. Here are my top three favourites by him:

- A Heart So White

- The Man of Feeling

- When I Was Mortal

4. Evelyn Waugh

A controversial character, Evelyn Waugh, in my opinion is one of the greatest English writers of all time. Waugh is able to do something with characters that few other people can and that is slowly, but surely, turn you against each and every one of them at completely different points in the novel. Waugh's control of style and substance is absolutely immaculate and his writing style is filled with glamour and vibrance. He's like the British Truman Capote. Waugh has an intense ability to write voice and he is brilliant at creating and adapting personalities. The very first book I ever read by Waugh was Vile Bodies. It's like a messed up version of The Great Gatsby - just written better. It was after that when I went searching through the works of Evelyn Waugh and found what is now one of my favourite novels of all time - Brideshead Revisited. That novel was Waugh's magnum opus and it stands the test of time and will, for centuries. It is one of the most beautiful books ever written.

Here are my top three favourite books by Evelyn Waugh:

- Brideshead Revisited

- Unconditional Surrender

- Helena

3. Truman Capote

The great Truman Capote had to be on this list. If you know me, then you probably know how obsessed I am with Truman Capote. I have to this day, read everything he's ever written - even his letters. I started reading Capote almost ten years' ago and I began my journey with "Breakfast at Tiffany's" like everyone else does (I assume). But I'm not going to lie, I didn't think too much of it at first. But then, in the same year, I found a book by the same author called "In Cold Blood" and that book pretty much changed my entire outlook on what I thought literature could be. It was an intense experience and I couldn't believe that those two books were by the same person. I proceeded to read absolutely everything ever written by the amazing Truman Capote. He is a genius with the control of his writing, he has such an incredible flair and the way he describes people and the consequences of their actions and humanity is just amazing. Capote has some of the best writing I've ever read and to this day, he is one of my favourite authors ever - I am so obsessed with him. Here are my top three favourite books by Truman Capote then:

- In Cold Blood

- The Early Stories

- Answered Prayers

2. Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig is, in my opinion, one of the greatest writers of all time when it comes to dealing with death. Zweig's ability to write about the horrors of war from the perspective of someone living through it but not actually fighting is something to be experienced. His writing contains such an incredible amount of emotion and yet, he uses the most extravagant language to express the smallest details. He still manages to keep the book controlled and contained within this one space of time. The first book I ever read by Zweig was "The Impatience of the Heart" and that reading experience, I swear to God, it ruined my soul. When you're reading Zweig you feel like you're doing something sinful because you're prying into the lives, the very emotions, thoughts and hearts of these incredibly obsessive and internalised characters who, without knowing it, are bleeding all over the page. He is such an incredible writer. Here are my top three favourite books by him:

- The Post-Office Girl

- Journey into the Past

- The Impatience of the Heart

1. James Baldwin

I have not only read all the books by James Baldwin, but I've also read his uncollected writings and books about him by other people. Recently, you may have noticed I'm on a bit of a binge of Baldwin biographies - unfortunately I've hit a dead end and can't find anymore. But I started reading Baldwin in school when I found an old and tattered copy of "Go Tell it on the Mountain". I'm not going to lie when I say that I felt like I had never read anything like that in my entire life. There was this surge of electricity that hits the brain when you really realise all the injustices that are happening are also happening towards children. It makes you angry and I think that is what Baldwin wants. John Grimes is a great character and he is the character that lead me to read other books by Baldwin, searching for more grown up characters to see how they deal with different situations. I've watched his debates, read his essays, poetry, plays, uncollected writings, letters and so much more - he was one of the most articulate people to ever live. He was and will always be a genius. Here are my top three favourite books by James Baldwin:

- Just Above My Head

- If Beale Street Could Talk

- One Day When I Was Lost