The most popular Russian writers of the 21st century. Russian books: from classics to modern times

With the advent of Internet technology, writers have a chance to quickly gain worldwide recognition. The work of their predecessors took much longer to spread across the planet. For example, Margaret Mitchell's novel gone With the Wind"In terms of sales, it is on the same level as "50 Shades of Gray".

In the 17 years that have passed since the onset of the millennium, new stars have lit up on the literary horizon. The works of the classics of the 21st century are produced on an industrial scale and distributed like hot cakes. I present to your attention the TOP best-selling books in order of increasing circulation.

20. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseni

Many people consider the book “The Kite Runner” to be a poignant story about the friendship of two guys belonging to different backgrounds. social groups, But sacred meaning the work is completely different. The debut novel by an American writer of Afghan origin touches on the topic of sexual abuse of minors in Islamic countries.

In Afghanistan, a tradition called “bacha-bazi”, which is a type of child prostitution, is still widespread. Boys aged 9-12 years old are dressed in women's clothing and forced to satisfy the sexual desires of adult men.

Khaled Hosseni devoted part of his creation to describing the relationship between Amir and Hassan. However, in my opinion, true main character This is Sohrab, given over to the amusement of his father’s offender. The novel “The Kite Runner” is still included in the ranking of the most read books.

19. “The Dukan Diet”, Pierre Dukan

Who doesn’t dream of losing weight quickly and maintaining the results for a long time? In 2000, for the first time, the world was introduced to a new approach to getting rid of excess weight. The famous nutritionist Pierre Dukan skimmed the cream of his 40 years of experience and formulated his own method, called the Dukan Diet.

The book, which sold 10 million copies, describes 4 stages of modeling the ideal body. On the first one, you attack the fat layer and launch the mechanism for losing kilograms. As you follow the instructions of the second stage, you achieve your goals. The third and fourth stages are intended to consolidate and stabilize the result.

18. Life of Pi, Yann Martel

Thanks to the creation of the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel was awarded the highest honor in the literary world. In 2002, the author received the Booker Prize. The book was considered an honor to be published by the largest publishing houses on the planet. Critics compared it to the works of Hemingway and Marquez.

The author-storyteller met an old Indian man who told him about the unforgettable adventures he experienced in his youth. At birth, the main character was given the name Pisin, but he preferred to be called simply Pi (in honor of the famous mathematical number). As fate would have it, he ended up on the open sea on the same boat with a tiger. He not only managed to survive, but also turned his life story into a real parable with a metaphorical ending.

17. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

The author of The Lovely Bones was herself a victim of a rapist. As the police dared to say, “the girl can be considered lucky, because she is alive.” Alice Sebold helped find the perpetrator after spotting the attacker in the crowd. The incident prompted her to write two books. The first was a biography that helped her get out of depression. The second work became a world-famous bestseller.

The story is told in the first person. The girl Susie was lured to a deserted place, raped and killed by a maniac. The victim's body was dismembered and hidden by the scumbag. The soul of the deceased enters its own paradise, from where it observes the lives of loved ones and, to the extent possible, interacts with them. It took Susie's family 10 years to recover from the consequences of the tragedy.

16. “Shadow of the Wind”, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

10-year-old Daniel was destined to spend his life with weighty volumes. His father sold tomes and one day brought his son to an amazing place. Thousands of copies were stored in the ancient mansion forgotten books. The boy had to choose one of them and be faithful to her until the end of his days.

The boy's gaze turned to the tattered cover, on which the author's name "Julian Carracas" appeared. Daniel will spend 20 years trying to unravel the secret. damn book. He will meet eccentric people and get caught up in a web of intrigue.

15. “The Fault in Our Stars,” John Green

In 2012, a place of honor in the book sales ranking was taken by John Green's novel, which tells the story of two teenagers confronting the injustice of fate. Hazel has thyroid cancer that has metastasized to her lungs. Every breath causes the girl pain, she has to fight for every breath of air. Augustus lost his leg; his illness had not made itself felt for 14 months.

The main characters meet in a support group, which they reluctantly attend. They exchange books and fall in love. Further events revolve around the novel “The Tsar’s Illness.” Hazel dreams of talking with the author and learning about future fate characters. Augustus contacts the writer and organizes a trip to Amsterdam for his beloved. A trip to the Free City will finally finish off the guy.

14. “Wolf Totem”, Jiang Rong

There are places on Earth where people continue to follow the behests of their ancestors and live in harmony with nature. Central character books “Wolf Totem” was born in Beijing; from childhood he was drawn to knowledge of the world around him. Chen Zhen was delighted by the beauty of sparsely populated regions such as Siberia or Inner Mongolia.

Due to a series of circumstances main character moved from the stronghold of civilization to the Elun steppe. There he met a group of nomads who were resisting, on the one hand, the onslaught of technology, and on the other, the attack of wolf packs.

13. “The Secret”, Rhonda Byrne

Now I will reveal to you Great Mystery being - your thoughts materialize. Positive thinking attracts good events, and negativity inevitably leads to financial, social and moral decline. In two sentences I fully revealed the essence of the book “The Secret”.

In my opinion, the pseudoscientific opus of Rhonda Byrne and her colleagues on the monetization of empty promises is not worth a damn. However, millions of readers disagree with me.

12. "The Shack" by William Paul Young

What feelings arise in a father whose child allegedly became a victim of a maniac? Is he able to believe in God? Can a disconsolate parent find happiness again? William Young will try to answer these questions for us.

The foray into the forest turned into tragic events. Mac's little daughter has gone missing. A search team found in an abandoned hut irrefutable evidence death of the baby. 4 years have passed, and the main character’s family has not been able to calm their grief. Suddenly, Mac receives a letter from the Lord himself, in which the Father strongly recommends that the man return to the scene of the incident.

11. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

For many years now, teen literature has been gaining popularity. Moreover, the age range of the target audience is continuously expanding. For example, the Hunger Games trilogy was originally intended for children from 14 to 18. Today, the name Katniss Everdeen is known to both young and old.

The author was inspired to create the novel by a combination of seemingly disparate plots. Let's start with the fact that Suzanne Collins was fond of ancient Greek myths and was indignant at the cruelty of the inhabitants of Athens, who sent their children to the Minotaur to be torn to pieces. Her father, a former military man, introduced his daughter to the history of battles and talked a lot about gladiatorial fights. All this resulted in a bestseller, sold out total circulation in 23 million copies.

1. Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" García Márquez(b. March 6, 1927, Aracataca, Colombia) - famous Colombian prose writer, journalist, publisher and political figure; laureate Nobel Prize on literature 1982. Representative literary direction « magical realism». World fame The novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” (Cien años de soledad, 1967) brought him.

2. Umberto Eco(b. January 5, 1932, Alessandria, Italy) - Italian scientist-philosopher, medievalist historian, semiotics specialist, literary critic, writer. Most famous novels- "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum".

3. Otfried Preusler(b. October 20, 1923) - German children's writer, by nationality - Lusatian (Lusatian Serb). Most famous works: “Little Baba Yaga”, “Little Ghost”, “Little Waterman” and “Krabat, or Legends of the Old Mill”.

4. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev(born May 21, 1924) - Soviet and Russian writer. Author of the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” (1969), the novel “Not on the Lists” (1974), etc.

5. Ion Druta(b. 09/03/1928) - Moldavian and Russian writer and playwright.

6. Fazil Abdulovich Iskander(03/06/1929, Sukhum, Abkhazia, USSR) - an outstanding Soviet and Russian prose writer and poet of Abkhaz origin.

7. Daniil Alexandrovich Granin(b. January 1, 1919, Volsk, Saratov province, according to other sources - Volyn, Kursk region) - Russian writer and public figure. Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, Hero Socialist Labor(1989), President of the Society of Friends of the Russian national library; Chairman of the Board of the International charitable foundation them. D. S. Likhacheva.

8. Milan Kundera(b. April 1, 1929) is a modern Czech prose writer who has lived in France since 1975. He writes in both Czech and French.

9. Thomas Tranströmer(b. April 15, 1931 in Stockholm) is the largest Swedish poet of the 20th century. Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the way his brief, translucent images give us a renewed view of reality."

10. Max Gallo(b. January 7, 1932, Nice) - French writer, historian and politician. Member of the French Academy

11. Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa(b. 03/28/1936) - Peruvian-Spanish prose writer and playwright, publicist, politician, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.

12. Terry Pratchett(b. April 28, 1948) is a popular English writer. The most popular is his satirical fantasy series about the Discworld. The total circulation of his books is about 50 million copies.

13. Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev(b. 03/15/1924) - Russian Soviet writer. Author of the novel " Hot Snow", the story "Battalions Ask for Fire", etc.

14. Stephen Edwin King(b. September 21, 1947, Portland, Maine, USA) - American writer, working in a variety of genres, including horror, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, drama.

15. Victor Olegovich Pelevin(born November 22, 1962, Moscow) - Russian writer. The most famous works: “The Life of Insects”, “Chapaev and Emptiness”, “Generation “P””

16. Joan Rowling(b. July 31, 1965, Yate, Gloucestershire, England) is a British writer, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, translated into more than 65 languages ​​and sold (as of 2008) more than 400 million copies.

Russian classics are well known to foreign readers. And what modern authors managed to win the hearts of foreign audiences? Libs compiled a list of the most famous contemporary Russian writers in the West and their most popular books.

16. Nikolay Lilin , Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld

Our rating is opened by the sizzling one cranberry . Strictly speaking, "Siberian Education" is not a novel Russian author, but Russian-speaking, but this is not the most serious complaint against him. In 2013, this book was filmed by Italian director Gabriele Salvatores, main role John Malkovich himself played in the film. And thanks bad movie With good actor The book of the dreamer-tattoo artist from Bendery, Nikolai Lilin, who moved to Italy, did not rest in peace, but entered the annals of history.

Are there any Siberians among the readers? Get your palms ready for facepalms! “Siberian Education” talks about the Urks: an ancient clan of people, stern, but noble and pious, exiled by Stalin from Siberia to Transnistria, but not broken. The lesson has its own laws and strange beliefs. For example, you cannot store noble weapons (for hunting) and sinful weapons (for business) in the same room, otherwise the noble weapon will be “infected”. The infected cannot be used, so as not to bring misfortune to the family. The contaminated weapon should be wrapped in the sheet on which the newborn baby was lying, and buried, and a tree planted on top. The Urks always come to the aid of the disadvantaged and weak, they themselves live modestly, and use the stolen money to buy icons.

Nikolai Lilin was introduced to readers as a “hereditary Siberian urka,” which seems to hint at the autobiographical nature of the imperishable. Some literary critics and Irvine Welsh himself praised the novel: “It is difficult not to admire the people who opposed the Tsar, the Soviets, and Western materialistic values. If the values ​​and lessons were common to all, the world would not be faced with an economic crisis generated by greed.” Wow!

But it was not possible to deceive all readers. For some time, foreigners who fell for the exotic bought the novel, but upon discovering that the facts described in it were fabricated, they lost interest in the book. Here's one review on the book's website: "After the first chapter, I was disappointed to find that this was an unreliable source of information about the Eastern European underworld. In fact, 'urka' is a Russian term for 'bandit,' not a definition ethnic group. And this is just the beginning of a series of vague, meaningless fabrications. I wouldn’t mind the fiction if the story were good, but I don’t know what irritates me more in the book: the flatness and Mary-ness of the narrator or his amateurish style.”

15. Sergey Kuznetsov ,

Psychological thriller Kuznetsov's "" was presented in the West as "Russia's answer to """. Some book bloggers hastened to include a cocktail of death, journalism, hype and BDSM, no less, in the top ten best novels of all times about serial killers! Readers also noted that through this book they became acquainted with Moscow life, although the characters’ conversations about political parties and certain events were not always clear: “Cultural differences immediately make this book stand out and make it somewhat refreshing.”

And the novel was criticized for the fact that scenes of violence are presented through the killer’s stories about what has already happened: “You are not with the victim, you do not hope to escape, and this reduces the tension. Your heart does not flutter, you do not wonder what will happen next.” "Strong start for inventive horror, but the clever storytelling gets boring."

14. ,

With all the book publishing activity of Evgeniy Nikolaevich / Zakhar Prilepin in his homeland, he seems to be little concerned about translating his books into other languages. " ", " " - that's probably all that can be found in bookstores West. "Sankya", by the way, with a foreword by Alexei Navalny. Prilepin's work is attracting the attention of foreign audiences, but reviews are mixed: "The book is well written and fascinating, but suffers from the general post-Soviet writer's uncertainty about what he is trying to say. Confusion about the future, confused views about the past and a widespread lack of understanding of what is happening in life today are typical problems. Worth a read, but don't expect to get too much out of the book."

13. , (The Sublime Electricity Book #1)

Recently, a Chelyabinsk writer published good news on his personal website: his books "" and "" have been republished in Poland. And on Amazon the most popular is the noir cycle “All-Good Electricity”. Among the reviews of the novel "": "A great writer and a great book in style magical steampunk ", "A good, fast-paced story with a large number plot twists." "An original combination of steam technology and magic. But the story's greatest strength is, of course, its narrator, Leopold Orso, an introvert with many skeletons in his closet. Sensitive but ruthless, he is able to control other people's fears, but has difficulty controlling his own. His supporters include a succubus, a zombie and a leprechaun, and the latter is quite funny."

12. , (Masha Karavai Detective Series)

9. , (Erast Fandorin Mysteries #1)

No, don't rush to look for bookshelves detective Akunin" The Snow Queen". Under this name on English language The first novel from the cycle about Erast Fandorin, that is, "", came out. Introducing it to readers, one of the critics said that if Leo Tolstoy had decided to write a detective story, he would have written “Azazel.” That is, The Winter Queen. Such a statement generated interest in the novel, but in the end, reader reviews varied. Some were delighted by the novel and could not put it down until they finished reading it; others were reserved about the "melodramatic plot and language of the short stories and plays of the 1890s."

8. , (Watch #1)

"Watches" is well known to Western readers. Someone even called Anton Gorodetsky the Russian version of Harry Potter: “If Harry were an adult and lived in post-Soviet Moscow.” When reading "" - the usual fuss around Russian names: "I like this book, but I can’t understand why Anton always says full name your boss - "Boris Ignatievich"? Has anyone guessed? I’ve only read half of it so far, so maybe the answer will be found later in the book? lately Lukyanenko did not please foreigners with new products, so today he is only in 8th place in the ranking.

7. ,

Those who have read the novel "" by medievalist Vodolazkin in Russian cannot help but admire the titanic work of translator Lisa Hayden. The author admitted that before meeting Hayden he was sure that translation into other languages ​​of his skillful stylization of the Old Russian language was impossible! It’s all the more pleasant that all the hard work paid off. Critics and ordinary readers met non-historical novel very warmly: “A quirky, ambitious book,” “A uniquely generous, multi-layered work,” “One of the most moving and mysterious books you will read.”

6. ,

Perhaps it will be a surprise for Pelevin’s fans that the novel “”, a cult novel in the writer’s homeland, has been pushed aside abroad early composition" ". Western readers put this compact satirical book on a par with "" Huxley: "I highly recommend reading it!", "This is the Hubble telescope facing the Earth."

"In his 20s, Pelevin witnessed glasnost and the emergence of hope for national culture based on the principles of openness and fairness. At the age of 30, Pelevin saw the collapse of Russia and the unification<…>the worst elements of wild capitalism and gangsterism as a form of government. Science and Buddhism became Pelevin’s support for his search for purity and truth. But in combination with the outgoing USSR empire and crude materialism new Russia this led to a shift in tectonic plates, a spiritual and creative shock, like a magnitude 9 earthquake, which was reflected in “Omon Ra”.<…>Although Pelevin is fascinated by the absurdity of life, he is still searching for answers. Gertrude Stein once said, "There is no answer. There will be no answer. There never was an answer. This is the answer." I suspect that if Pelevin agrees with Stein, his tectonic plateaus will freeze, the shock wave of creativity will go out. We, the readers, would suffer because of this."

"Pelevin never allows the reader to find balance. The first page is intriguing. Last paragraph Omon Ra may be the most precise literary expression of existentialism ever written."

5. , (The Dark Herbalist Book #2)

Next are several representatives Russian LitRPG . Judging by the reviews, a native of Grozny, author of the “Dark Herbalist” series, Mikhail Atamanov, knows a lot about goblins and gaming literature: “I strongly recommend giving this truly unusual hero a chance to impress you!”, “The book was excellent, even better.” But not yet strong in English: "An excellent example of LitRPG, I liked it. As others have already commented, the ending is rushed, and the translation of the argot and colloquial speech From Russian into English. I don’t know whether the author got tired of the series, or fired the translator and relied on Google Translate for the last 5% of the book. I didn't like the Deus ex machina ending too much. But still 5 stars for a big boo. I hope the author continues the series from level 40 to 250! I will buy".

4. , aka G. Akella, Steel Wolves of Craedia(Realm of Arkon #3)

Have you opened the book ""? Welcome to the online game "World of Arkon"! "I love it when an author grows and improves and a book or series becomes more complex and detailed. After finishing this book, I immediately began rereading it - perhaps the best compliment I could pay an author."

“I highly, highly recommend reading it and compliment the translator (despite the mysterious Elven Presley!). Translation is not just a matter of replacing words, and here the translation of content from Russian into English is done extremely well.”

3. , (The Way of the Shaman Book #1)

"" Vasily Makhanenko collected a lot positive feedback: "Excellent novel, one of my favorites! Treat yourself and read this series!!", "I am very impressed with the book. The story and character progression are well written. I can't wait for the next book to come out in English", "I read everything and I want a continuation of the series! ", "This was a great read. There were grammatical errors, usually a missing word or not entirely accurate wording, but they were few and far between."

2. , (Play to Live #1)

The series "Play to Live" is based on an amazing collision that will leave few people indifferent: a terminally ill guy Max (in the Russian version of the book "" - Gleb) goes into virtual reality, in order to feel the pulse of life again in the Other World, find friends, enemies and experience incredible adventures.

Sometimes readers grumble: "Max is ridiculously over-gifted. For example, he reaches level 50 in 2 weeks. He is the only one who creates a necessary item in a world with 48 million experienced gamers. But I can forgive all this: who wants to read a book about a gamer , who is stuck on level 3 killing rabbits? This book is popcorn reading, pure junk food, and I enjoy it. From a Women's Perspective, I would give the book a 3 out of 5: Everyday Misogyny. Max makes some derogatory, supposedly funny , remarks about women, and the only female character she either cries or has sex with Max. But overall, I would recommend this book to a gamer. She is pure pleasure."

“I haven’t read the author’s biography, but judging by the book and the links, I’m sure he’s Russian.<…>I have worked with many of them and always enjoyed their company. They never get depressed. That's what I think makes this book amazing. The main character is told that he has an inoperable brain tumor. However, he is not too depressed, does not complain, just evaluates his options and lives in VR. Very good story. She is dark, but there is no evil in her."

1. , (Metro 2033 #1)

If you are familiar with modern Russian science fiction writers, it’s not difficult to guess who will be at the top of our ranking: books translated into 40 languages, sales of 2 million copies - yes, it’s Dmitry Glukhovsky! Odyssey in the scenery of the Moscow subway. "" is not a classic LitRPG, but the novel was created for symbiosis with a computer shooter. And if once the book promoted the game, now the game promotes the book. Translations, professional audiobooks, website with virtual tour by station - and a logical result: the “population” of the world created by Glukhovsky is growing every year.

"It's a fascinating journey. The characters are real. The ideologies of the various 'states' are believable. The unknown in the dark tunnels, the tension runs high. By the end of the book, I was deeply impressed by the world the author had created and how much I cared about the characters." “Russians know how to write apocalyptic, nightmarish stories. You only need to read “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatsky brothers, “Day of Wrath” by Gansovsky or see the amazing “Letters from a Dead Man” by Lopushansky to feel that they understand well what it means to live on the edge of an abyss. Claustrophobia and dangerous, frightening dead ends; Metro 2033 is a world of uncertainty and fear, on the brink between survival and death."

After the collapse of the USSR, its legal successor Russia experienced several very difficult years, which led to negative consequences, including the devaluation of writing and sudden change taste of many readers. Low-grade detective stories, tearful and sentimental novels, etc. became in demand.

Until relatively recently, it enjoyed enormous popularity Science fiction. Now some readers prefer the fantasy genre, where the plot of the works is based on fairy tales, mythological motives. In Russia the most famous writers, working in this genre are S.V. Lukyanenko (most of all his fans are attracted by a series of novels about the so-called “watches” - “Night Watch”, “Day Watch”, “Twilight Watch”, etc.), V.V. Kamsha (cycles of novels “Chronicles of Artia”, “Reflections of Eterna”) and other works). It should also be mentioned N.D. Perumov (pseudonym - Nick Perumov), author of the epic “Ring of Darkness” and many other works. Although after the economic crisis of 1998, Nik Perumov moved with his family to the USA.

The most famous Russian detective writers

The series of novels about the amateur detective Erast Fandorin, created by the writer G.Sh., is very popular among readers. Chkhartishvili ( creative pseudonym- Boris Akunin). Fandorin first appears in the novel “Azazel” as a very young man, a petty official who, thanks to the will of fate and his brilliant abilities is on the trail of a powerful secret organization. Subsequently, the hero steadily rises in rank and takes part in the investigation of more and more complex cases that threaten the very existence of the Russian Empire.

The genre has a huge readership of so-called people who find themselves in the most ridiculous, tragicomic circumstances and unravel crimes (often without meaning to). In this genre, the undisputed leader is the writer A.A. Dontsova (pseudonym - Daria Dontsova), who created several hundred works. Although critics almost unanimously believe that quantity has come at the expense of quality, and that most of these books cannot even be called literature, Dontsova’s work has many fans. There are many other popular ones in this genre, for example, Tatyana Ustinova.

Looking for something to read? This problem is relevant both for those who rarely read and for avid bookworms. There are always moments when you want to discover something new: find an interesting author or get acquainted with a genre that is unusual for you.

If your favorite authors haven't released new works for a long time or you're just new to literary world, our site will help you find best contemporary writers. It has long been known that when choosing to read, recommendations from friends or acquaintances have always been an excellent way. You can always start with best writers to develop your own taste and understand your literary preferences. However, if your friends don’t read or your tastes differ radically, you can use the KnigoPoisk website.

Identify the most popular book authors

It is here that everyone can leave a review of a book they have read, give it a rating, thereby compiling a special list “ Most Popular Writers" Of course, the final verdict is always yours, but if a lot of people think the work is good, chances are you will like it too.

This section contains popular modern writers , which received the highest rating from resource users. A user-friendly interface will help you understand the literature and will be the first step to structuring this entire vast world in your head.

The best book authors: choose yours

On our website you can not only be guided by the opinions of others about best authors books, but also to contribute to the formation and filling of this list. It's very simple. Vote for the authors you consider brilliant, and later they will also be in the top popular writers. Introduce people to beauty with us! Popular authors books are waiting for you!