<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Arial Unicode MS”; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129023 0;} @font-face {font-family:”\@Arial Unicode MS”; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129023 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.r, li.r, div.r {mso-style-name:r; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Arial Unicode MS”;} span.l {mso-style-name:l;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
Disclaimer: The opinion on the authors is my own and if you differ from my views. Please keep them to yourself. I won’t change them.
For past few months I on a reading spree thanks to www.indiaplaza.in I have been reading all the fictions that I can put my hands on. Just for the record I have bought 24 odd books including famous guys like Khuswant singh, Anita nair and New names like Ravi Subramanian, Advaita Kala, Amitabha Bagchi etc and some international authors such as Jeffery Archer, Simon Heller and Robert Ludlum.
For those who are thinking I spend lots on books than read the first line again, I thanked India plaza. The reason for it is that they gave me gift coupons worth rs. 3000+ Before you guys guys say “WHAT THE F**K?” There was a catch that I had to spend the whole amount on books and (in most cases) have to pitch in the same amount from my side. So that was it. I bought books and more books and more books. Its more than 2-month-old story and I have read some 10 books of the lot.
This post is nothing to brag about my reading, buying power. But it’s a simple comparison between the style of writing of different authors and the way they bond with the reader. I have planned to divide them in two leagues old and new. and another league as Indian and international.
First if we take the Old guys and new guys.
The old guys still exist because we love there writing style and they have made a mark of themselves. They have got their genre right. Among the one of the older generation I like are Anurag Mathur (the inscrutable american), Jeffery Archer (Read his most of books), Robert Ludlum (Another great writer, the Bourne series), Agatha Christi (Too slow paced).
Among the new one some used the tried and tasted formula of writing from the first person view (same style as the of chetan bhagat). And some went for a style, which I am yet to find out. Some of them are really good and some really HUH!!. The good ones are Advaita Kala (Almost Single), Sam Bourne, Xiaolu Guo (A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers)
Coming to International and Desi authors.
I wont say that I love all the international writers. For instance I never liked Frederick Forsyth. For the simple reason that his books are too damn slow paced. As far as the international authors are concerned I started with Sidney Sheldon, went to Danielle steel (yeah I have read her too), and than found the genre I loved the most and ditched both of them to jump to the league of archer, Ludlum, follet, Alistair MacLean. Yeah I am more of a thriller kind of guy. But I have read M&B’s, Erich Segal,
Now the HUM bhartiya and stuff. Another for the record statement “I have read very few Indian authors. Among them very few those famous kind.” And those whom I have read only a few were able to leave an impression on me. The author whom I liked the best has never written in English. He is Munshi Premchand. I have read his short stories compiled in 8 volumes of mansarovar. As far as other writer goes some are good, some bad, and some worst but none great. I have read Indian M&B, Danielle Steel in form of Shobaa De and Khuswant Singh.
Than it was the banker turned writer who just write for the sake of writing. Chentan bhagat’s first book 5 point someone left a mark. Rest were just books. In recent times I have heard of the Ravi Subramanian and his book “If god was a banker.” and if you have read the book I will say I am sorry for you. The book is just a piece of SHIT. Read Anita Nair’s satyr on the subway and it turns out that she was too lost in the book and forgot to write a true plot. 🙁
For rest of the authors I am yet to read them 🙂