Modern American Classics in Literature. American Literature in the First Half of the 20th Century

Modern American literature is a whole army of interesting authors and a sea of ​​a wide variety of books. It's very easy to get lost here. Together with the MTS Mobile Library, we have compiled a guide to the most important US writers right now. Of course, not everyone is on the list.

JONATHAN FRANZEN

Why is he on our list. Franzen is almost called the most important writer modern America. It brings the reader back to the form of a great novel, ignoring that it is not very fashionable now. To understand Franzen a little, it is worth knowing that he chooses Faulkner over Hemingway, admires Tolstoy, and proudly considers Nabokov an American writer. For the novel "Corrections" Jonathan Franzen received the most prestigious National Book Award.

Of course, this "Sinlessness" . The odyssey of a young girl named Purity who didn't know her father and is trying to find him. In her search, she is helped and hindered by Internet libertarian Andreas Wolf, freelance journalist Tom Aberant, and Anabelle's paranoid mother.

Cost in MTS mobile library :

Other important books by Franzen

"Amendments"- America, 1990s. The Lambert family, whose head suffers from Parkinson's disease, gets together at Christmas to unwittingly arrange the usual family showdown.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 4 rubles if read in 20 days.

"Freedom"- America, already 2000s, behind 9/11. Walter and Patti Berglund try to save their marriage and reflect on their search for freedom.

Cost in MTS mobile library :

DON DELILLO

Why is he on our list. The famous critic Harold Bloom (the same one who ridiculed Stephen King for his National Book Award) called Don DeLillo one of the most important American writers of his time, along with Pynchon, Roth and McCarthy.

In his youth, he read a lot of Faulkner and Hemingway (usually they are opposed to each other), began to write in order not to work, and eventually became a famous postmodernist writer. The resounding success of Don DeLillo brought the novel "White Noise" - National Book Award in 1985.

His Great American Novel

Novels equally claim this role. "White noise" and "Scales". Let's dwell on the latter, because this book is about "seven seconds that broke the back of America" ​​- the assassination of Kennedy. The book tells the stories of Lee Harvey Oswald, the CIA agents who planned the fake assassination attempt on JFK (conspiracy!) and archivist Nicholas Branch studying the assassination.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

Other important books by DeLillo

"White noise" - satirical story about a professor of Hitler studies who is terribly afraid of death, and also of exposure in his “scientific” discipline. DeLillo also targets TV, religion, supermarkets, etc.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

"Falling"- one of the first attempts in American literature to comprehend the tragedy of 9/11. The hero sees the towers fall and is forced to live on with this disastrous experience.

CORMAC MCCARTHY

Why is he on our list. Thanks to McCarthy, Javier Bardem played one of his best roles- psychopath Anton Chigurh in the Coen brothers' thriller No Country for Old Men. McCarthy, of course, wrote a novel of the same name. Seriously speaking, Cormac McCarthy is one of the most venerable American writers, who is often called Faulkner's heir.

His books are included in various top 100 best novels in English. For The Road, McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize. The novel "Horses, Horses" was awarded the National Book Award and the National Book Critics' Award.

His Great American Novel

"Blood Meridian" - cruel story a teenager who joined a gang of thugs on the US-Mexico border. War against everyone: Indians, Mexicans, Rangers, each other. A harsh novel about the nature of violence.

Other Important McCarthy Books

"Horses, horses" - like a novel about a young cowboy who rushed to Mexico from West Texas after the death of his grandfather. In fact, a book about growing up and testing the spirit.

"Road"- hopeless post-apocalyptic. Father and son try to cross former America destroyed by the cataclysm to reach the sea.

Cost in MTS mobile library :

MICHAEL CHABON

Why is he on our list. Chabon is equally good at psychological novels, detective stories, science fiction - he turns all this into a unique intellectual prose. The novels "Pittsburgh Mysteries" (first) and "Geeks" (second) were filmed, and it is a pity that this has not yet happened with The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay.

Michael Chabon dreamed up a Jewish colony in Alaska and won two major science fiction awards, the Hugo and Nebula, for his novel The Jewish Policemen's Union. And the novel about Cavalier and Clay earned him a well-deserved Pulitzer Prize and an American literary prize PEN/Faulkner. Yes, even Chabon had a hand in the film "Spider-Man 2", becoming a screenwriter.

His Great American Novel

"The Incredible Adventures of Cavalier and Clay" is a novel about the American dream that the characters are trying to achieve. Josef Kavaler flees the Nazis in a coffin with a golem, his cousin Sammy draws comics in New York. Two geeks come up with a cartoon character, The Escapist, who fights Hitler, and begin their takeover of America's comics industry.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

Other important books by Chabon

Union of Jewish Policemen - inseparable friends, detectives Meir Landsman and Berko Shemets, are investigating the murder of a famous chess player. It takes place in Jewish Alaska.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 2 rubles if read in 10 days.

"Moonlight" - memoirs of grandfather Chabon, turned into literature. Main character participates in World War II, hunts for German rocket men and Wernher von Braun, collaborates with NASA, falls in love with a Jewish girl ... Very personal book Chabon.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

STEVEN KING

Why is he on our list. Stephen King takes a close look at nature in his books. ordinary person, not always attractive. And if you want to consider him a horror writer, you run the risk of following a not-so-smart stereotype.

Listing all the awards and achievements of King is simply pointless, there are too many of them. Let's just say that in 2003 he received a medal for outstanding contribution to American literature (US National Book Award).

His Great American Novel

"Hearts in Atlantis" - a poignant book, deliberately collected from stories-fragments. The girl whom the hero of the first story saves from hooligans grows into a rebellious student. She appears in the second story of the novel, the most "American", where King described the college campus of the 1970s, the life of young Americans and the anti-Vietnam protests. Looping the story, King again brings the heroes together in the final...

Other important books by King

"It"- an amazing story about childhood friendship, which is destined to undergo severe trials. After all, a terrifying monster wants everyone to go flying.

"Confrontation" - when the world falls from the flu epidemic, Randall Flagg, the "black man", the dark messiah, will enter the scene. But many Americans will not want to submit to him.

DONNA TARTT

Why is she on our list. Donna Tartt writes her novels once every ten years. She has published three books in total: secret history"(1992)," Little friend"(2002) and "Goldfinch" (2013). But, despite their small number, Donna Tartt has already taken important place in American literature. Her novels are compared with the books of Shakespeare, Dickens and Umberto Eco (quite strange at first glance). Tartt immerses the reader, as she herself says, in gleeful, greedy reading (happy, greedy reading).

The last novel brought the writer the Pulitzer Prize and the Carnegie Medal for the best art book in the USA.

it "Goldfinch"- an adventurous romance and a romance of upbringing in one. Young Theo Decker loses his mother in an explosion at a New York museum. From this begins his wanderings through families, cities and time. Throughout his life, Theo is accompanied by the painting The Goldfinch, which he inexplicably stole from the museum after the explosion.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 5 rubles if read in 25 days.

Two other important books by Tartt

"Secret History" - the adult hero remembers a strange college murder that destroyed a group of friends.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 4 rubles if read in 20 days.

"Little friend" - an example of American "Southern Gothic" in modern version. Young Harriet tries to solve the mystery of the tragic death younger brother which happened when she was three years old.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 4 rubles if read in 20 days.

THOMAS PYNCHON

Why is he on our list. Because he wrote Gravity's Rainbow. In principle, this was enough to stake out a place in eternity. Pynchon was rumored to have attended Nabokov's seminar at Cornell University. And for a long time they thought about him that he was Salinger, so well Pynchon kept his incognito.

Pynchon's favorite topics are entropy, paranoia, conspiracy theories, opposition to the System. Pynchon heavily influenced postmodernism and the cyberpunk novel. By the way, they decided not to award him the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 - his "Rainbow" was considered unreadable and obscene. Pynchon did not accept the National Book Award for the novel himself, sending a comedian to the presentation.

His Great American Novel

Against all odds, this is not a "Rainbow" (for that it is too complex and cosmopolitan), but "Birth defect" . America in the early 1970s, detective Doc Sportello with a hippie background is looking for an ex-girlfriend and her wealthy suitor. The classic confrontation between the outsider and the System.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

Other important books by Pynchon

"Gravity's Rainbow" - complex plot is built around the search for the mysterious "black block" for the V-2 rocket with the number 00000. "Rainbow" is considered the most difficult postmodern novel 20th century.

"Screaming Lot 49" - confrontation between two postal companies Thurn und Taxis and Trystero. The latter, fictional, is considered the prototype of the Internet and e-mail.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

TOM WOLF

Why is he on our list. He's great at wearing a white suit! Actually Tom Wolfe - bright Star American documentaries, prose and journalism. Moreover, he practically invented the "new journalism", perceiving the newspaper genre as a real art.

He wrote about cool non-fiction, about the American auto industry during its heyday, the brilliant Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters hippie commune, the space battle between Americans and Russians. Author of four novels, the last written in 2012. Recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Contribution to US Literature.

His Great American Novel

"Bonfires of Ambition" - a bright canvas depicting New York in the 1980s, and at the same time a novel that affects social problem racism and stratification of society. A stockbroker and his mistress accidentally run over a teenager in the "black" ghetto, and he dies. The perpetrators hide the accident, but the terrible secret cannot be kept secret...

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

Other Important Wolfe Books

"Voice of Blood" - the book describes modern Miami, where immigrants from all over the world have mixed. In the center of the plot is a policeman who is forced to balance between the law and the interests of his diaspora.

"Electrocooling Acid Test" - a story about the life of Ken Kesey from 1958 to 1966 and his influence on the American subculture, in particular the hippies. A masterpiece of new journalism.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 2 rubles if read in 10 days.

JENNIFER EGAN

Why is she on our list. Jennifer Egan is considered one of the most interesting contemporary writers America, although she wrote not so much (note, more Donna Tartt). Egan began writing short stories for The New Yorker and New York Times magazine. The debut novel "The Invisible Circus" was filmed with Cameron Diaz in leading role.

In 2010, Jennifer Egan won the Pulitzer Prize for Time Has the Last Laugh.

Her Great American Novel

"Time Laughs Last" - the youth of the heroes coincided with the birth of punk rock, and today they are already over forty. The successful producer and failed punk rocker Benny Salazar continues his run in the circle of rock music, breaking away, touring, etc. But time does not lag behind the heroes by a single step.

Other Important Books by Egan

"Citadel"- the story of cousins ​​who met after twenty years. One of them has changed a lot and now invited the second to restore the neglected mansion he bought. old lock promises brothers many surprises.

"Invisible Circus" (not yet translated) - the young heroine goes to Portugal in the footsteps of her older hippie sister, who unexpectedly committed suicide for everyone.

WILLIAM GIBSON

Why is he on our list. Of course, he's here primarily because of Neuromancer and his sleek, unique style. The mentioned novel became the “New Testament of cyberpunk” (according to Timothy Leary), in fact, gave rise to this genre, unleashed literary war with American science fiction humanists. "Neuromant" collected all significant awards in science fiction: Hugo, Nebula, Philip Dick Award, Australian Ditmar and Japanese Seiun Award.

To Gibson's credit, he shook the dust of cyberpunk off his feet as the genre began to die, and moved on to futuristic prose that explored new media, technologies, religions, and so on. He owns famous saying: "The future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed."

His Great Post-American Novel

"Peripherals" , last novel writer. For Gibson, America no longer exists as a single state. The heroine Flynn and her brother Burton, a veteran local war, are forced to earn extra money as semi-legal freelancers in online games. One such game turns out to be not a game at all, but another reality, the inhabitants of which manipulate people in our world.

Cost in MTS mobile library : 3 rubles if read in 15 days.

Other Important Gibson Books

The whole trilogy "Cyberspace" , including "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", "Mona Lisa overdrive": data matrix hacks, illegal technologies, cyberwar with corporations and yakuza, bioimplants, etc.

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1. Jerome Salinger - "The Catcher in the Rye"
A classic writer, a mystery writer, at the peak of his career, he announced his retirement from literature and settled away from worldly temptations in a remote American province. Salinger's only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was a watershed in the history of world literature. Both the title of the novel and the name of its protagonist, Holden Caulfield, have become codes for many generations of young rebels.

2. Nell Harper Lee - "To Kill a Mockingbird"
The novel, first published in 1960, was a resounding success and immediately became a bestseller. This is not surprising: Harper Lee, having learned the lessons of Mark Twain, found her own style storytelling, which allowed her to show the world of adults through the eyes of a child, without simplifying or impoverishing it. The novel was awarded one of the most prestigious US literature prizes - the Pulitzer Prize, and was printed in millions of copies. It has been translated into dozens of languages ​​around the world and continues to be reprinted to this day.

3. Jack Kerouac - "On the Road"
Jack Kerouac gave voice to a whole generation in literature, for his short life managed to write about 20 books of prose and poetry and became the most famous and controversial author of his time. Some branded him as a subverter of the foundations, others considered him a classic modern culture, but all the beatniks and hipsters learned to write from his books - to write not what you know, but what you see, firmly believing that the world itself will reveal its nature. It was On the Road that brought Kerouac world fame and became a classic of American literature.

4. Francis Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
The best novel by American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald, a poignant story of eternal dreams and human tragedy. According to the author himself, "the novel is about how illusions are wasted, which give the world such brilliance that, having experienced this magic, a person becomes indifferent to the concept of true and false." The dream, in whose captivity Jay Gatsby is, coming into direct contact with the ruthless reality, breaks and buries the hero who believed in it as the truth under its debris.

5. Margaret Mitchell - "Gone with the Wind"
the great saga of civil war in the USA and about the fate of the wayward and ready to go over the heads of Scarlett O'Hara was first published 70 years ago and has not become outdated to this day. "Gone With the Wind" - the only novel Margaret Mitchell, for which she - a writer, emancipe and advocate for women's rights - won the Pulitzer Prize. This book is about the love of life more important than love; then, when the spurt to survival is successfully completed, love becomes preferable, but without love of life, she also dies.

6. Ernest Hemingway - "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Full of tragedy is the story of a young American who arrived in Spain, engulfed in civil war.
A brilliant and sad book about war and love, true courage and self-sacrifice, moral duty and the enduring value of human life.

7. Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451

If we consider Luhrmann's version, then « Great Gatsby » filmed five times already. Another famous novel Fitzgerald - « Night is tender » - transferred to the screen twice. Is it a lot or a little?
Rating of American authors, modern and classic, based on the works of which films are most often made:

1. Edgar Allan Poe
70 stories
1 story
51 poems
Screen adaptations: 212 (major - 94)
The recognized master of mysticism and the creator of the modern detective Edgar Allan Poe takes the first place in the list and leaves behind all possible competitors. It is surprising that during his lifetime the writer was very poor. Recognition came to him only after death, but what! His stories and poems are an inexhaustible source for the director's fantasy. In 1968, Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini filmed the legendary three-part film "Three Steps Delirious" based on Poe's works. And in 2012, James McTeague staged the film "The Raven", in which he fantasized about how the writer would investigate the crimes that he himself inspired the maniac.

2. Jack London
Over 200 stories (16 collections)
21 novels and short stories
3 pieces
Screen adaptations: 124 (major - 78)For 17 years literary activity The author has achieved great popularity. His fees amounted to 50 thousand dollars per book - a lot of money for those times. In 1913, Jack London himself played episodic role in the film adaptation of his novel sea ​​wolf directed by Hobart Bosworth. His books were used great success in the USSR, enough films were shot on them. Recall at least the "Hearts of Three" in 1992.

3. O. Henry
252 stories
1 novel
Screen adaptations: 184 (major - 72)
Short films based on the stories of O. Henry began to be filmed during his lifetime, in 1909. And one of the most famous film adaptations of the author is the 1952 film "The Leader of the Redskins and Others." It includes five different short stories filmed by five different directors: Pharaoh and the Choral, Trumpet, The Last Leaf, The Leader of the Redskins and Gifts of the Magi. In the first, Marilyn Monroe appears in one of the roles. The voice-over is read by writer John Steinbeck. He also appears at the beginning of each part, and this is the only hit on the silver screen in his entire life.

4. Mark Twain
57 stories
8 novels and short stories (+ 1 co-authored)
9 articles
1 autobiography
Screen adaptations: 105 (large - 51)
William Faulkner called Mark Twain the first truly American writer. And Ernest Hemingway believed that all subsequent literature came out of the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This work has been repeatedly filmed in the States, but local critics consider the Soviet version, which was filmed in 1973 by Georgy Danelia, to be the best. His "Completely Lost" was even nominated at Cannes for the Palme d'Or.

5. Howard Phillips Lovecraft
59 stories (+ 38 co-authored)
6 novels and short stories (+ 2 co-authored)
1 sonnet cycle
Screen adaptations: 109 (large - 49)
This man did not publish a single book during his lifetime, his work was not popular. And this is a paradox, because without Lovecraft, modern horror, as we know it, would not exist. His works are even distinguished in separate genre Lovecraftian horror. It’s enough that he invented the myths of Cthulhu and the Necronomicon. Yes, exactly the one that managed to be read to the guys from the Evil Dead.

6. Lyman Frank Baum
60 novels and short stories (+ 4 that are lost)
68 stories (+ 3 lost)
5 Poetic works
12 plays (+ 4 lost)
Screen adaptations: 105 (large - 31)
Baum was one of the most talented children's writers of his era. But he remained in history mainly as "the court historian of Oz" - he called himself that. Fantasies about it magical world there are dozens, if not hundreds, and a significant part of them has been embodied in cinema. Baum's most famous film adaptation can be considered Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (in the same 1939 he directed Gone with the Wind) with Jude Garland as Dorothy. And recently, the director of "Spider-Man" and "Evil Dead" Sam Raimi turned to the history of Oz, filming the film "Oz the Great and Powerful", a kind of prequel to Fleming's film.



7. Francis Scott Fitzgerald
About 70 stories
5 novels
1 piece
1 collection of journalism
Screen adaptations: 40 (large - 27)
The king of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald coined the term himself, referring to the period American history from the end of World War I to the onset of the Great Depression. Almost all of his heroes are representatives of " lost generation"people who believed in american dream, but did not find in it what they were looking for. So was Jay Gatsby, a book about which was filmed five times. The last to do so was Baz Luhrmann, who took on the lead role of Leonardo DiCaprio. Before him, the most famous Gatsby can be considered Robert Redford. And in 2008, David Fincher filmed based on short story Fitzgerald three hour film Misterious story Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.


8. James Fenimore Cooper
33 novels
5 stories
6 Historical works and biographies
2 political essays
6 travel stories
1 memoir
Screen adaptations: 38 (large - 22)This classic of American literature is known for his adventure novels. According to legend, Cooper wrote his first work on a bet, promising his wife that he could surpass the book that she was reading at that moment. In 1909, the first short film " Leather stockings based on his novels. And in 1992, Eikl Mann directed the film The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The film won an Oscar for Best Sound.


9. Ernest Hemingway
10 collections of short stories
11 novels and short stories
13 works of non-fiction
Screen adaptations: 55 (major - 19) Handsome one!
Hemingway was famous for his concise and concise style, so it is very difficult to count the stories he wrote. Suffice it to recall that it is he who owns one of the most famous short works, which in the original consists of only six words (and when translated it can be reduced to three): “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”. The first time Hemingway's novel was filmed was in 1932 ("Farewell to Arms"). And in 1999 Russian artist Alexander Petrov created the short animated film The Old Man and the Sea, for which he received an Oscar.


And, finally, just an amusing picture of who influenced whom and how.)

Known American writers and their work is an example of successful literary achievements.

Notable American Writers

Famous American writers include: Mark Twain, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, O. Henry, Blanche Barton, Edgar Poe, John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Dan Brown and others.

(1876-1916) - American writer, public figure, socialist. He is best known as the author of adventure stories and novels. creative legacy has many works, these include: "Sea Wolf" (1904), "White Fang" (1906), "Interstellar Traveler" (1915), etc.

(1835-1910) - American writer, humorist, satirist, publicist, publisher. by the most famous works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
William Faulkner wrote that he was "the first truly American writer, and since then we have all been his heirs," and Ernest Hemingway wrote that "all modern American literature came out of one book by Mark Twain called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn "".

(1862-1910) - American writer, master of the short story genre. O. Henry occupies an exceptional place in American literature as a master of the short story genre. Before his death, O. Henry expressed his intention to move on to more complex genre- to the novel: "Everything that I have written so far is just pampering, pen tests, compared to what I will write in a year." Henry's heroes are diverse: millionaires, cowboys, speculators, clerks, laundresses, bandits, financiers, politicians, writers, artists, artists, workers, engineers, firefighters. The originality of O. Henry consisted in the brilliant use of jargon, sharp words and expressions, and in the general colorfulness of the dialogues.
Creative heritage: "The Roads We Choose" (1904), "Gifts of the Magi" (1905), "The Last Leaf" (1907).

(1899-1961) - American writer and journalist, laureate Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1953.
He became widely known for his novels and short stories, as well as for his active and adventurous life. His laconic and rich style of narration played a significant role in the literature of the 20th century. Named after him in 1993 minor planet 3656 Hemingway. During his life he wrote and published 7 short stories, 6 collections of short stories and 2 documentary works. Additional work, which include 3 short stories, 4 collections of short stories, 3 documentaries, published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

The Great Gatsby - the long-awaited interpretation by Baz Luhrmann classical work American literature. Surely millions of hands will now reach out to bookshelves to remove the volume of Fitzgerald from there. And which of the American authors is most often re-read by directors?

Lyman Frank Baum

Baum was one of the most talented children's writers of his era. But he remained in history mainly as "the court historian of Oz" - he called himself that. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of fantasies about this magical world, and a significant part of them have been embodied in cinema. The most famous adaptation of Baum can be considered The Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming (in the same 1939 he directed Gone with the Wind) with Judy Garland as Dorothy. And recently, the director of "Spiderman" and "Evil Dead" Sam Raimi turned to the history of Oz by filming the film "Oz: The Great and Powerful", a kind of prequel to Fleming's film.

Henry James

James has lived in Europe since the age of 30, so it is impossible to consider him a purely American writer. And a year before his death, he generally accepted British citizenship. However, it was the inhabitants of the New World who most often became the heroes of his works. Wings of the Dove, directed by Ian Softley in 1997 and based on the novel by Henry James, was nominated for an Oscar four times.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald

The king of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald coined the term himself, referring to the period of American history from the end of World War I to the onset of the Great Depression. Almost all of his heroes are representatives of the "lost generation", people who believed in the American dream, but did not find in it what they were looking for. So was Jay Gatsby, a book about which was filmed five times. The last to do so was Baz Luhrmann, who cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. Before him, the most famous Gatsby can be considered Robert Redford. And in 2008, David Fincher directed the three-hour film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, based on Fitzgerald's short story, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

James Fenimore Cooper

This classic of American literature is known for his adventure novels. According to legend, Cooper wrote his first work on a bet, promising his wife that he could surpass the book that she was reading at that moment. In 1909, the first short film "Leather Stockings" based on his novels was filmed. And in 1992, Michael Mann directed the film The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The film won an Oscar for Best Sound.

Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway was famous for his concise and concise style, so it is very difficult to count the stories he wrote. Suffice it to recall that it is he who owns one of the most famous short works, which in the original consists of only six words (and when translated it can be reduced to three): “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” ). The first time Hemingway's novel was filmed was in 1932 ("Farewell to Arms"). And in 1999, Russian artist Alexander Petrov created the short animated film The Old Man and the Sea, for which he received an Oscar.

William Faulkner

For a long time, Faulkner's works were considered quite difficult to understand and appreciated more by critics than by readers. Universal fame came to the writer after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. In 1959, his most famous novel, The Sound and the Fury, was filmed. Faulkner wrote scripts himself, not tied to his literary works. So, according to his script, director Howard Hawks shot the film Deep Sleep in 1946 with Humphrey Bogart in the title role.

Contemporaries

A living legend of 20th century science fiction. Films "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile", directed by Frank Darabont and based on the works of King, consistently occupy the first two places in the top 250 Movie Search. This autumn, another film adaptation of Carrie is expected, which is called Telekinesis in the Russian box office. This novel was first brought to the screen by Brian de Palma in 1976. His co-stars Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie were nominated for an Oscar for Best female role and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Ray Bradbury

When Bradbury passed away last year, his fans around the world could not come to terms with the fact that the writer, whose books are so imbued with a love of life, passed away. The worlds of Bradbury are limitless, everyone can find something of their own in them. And the directors saw them differently. In 1966, the Frenchman François Truffaut filmed the novel Fahrenheit 451, and this film was nominated for the Venetian Golden Lion. And for the American film adaptation of the novel "Something terrible is coming" in 1983, the script was written by Bradbury himself.

Donald Edwin Westlake

Westlake wrote many more novels than screenplays, but for one of them, for the film "Scammers", he was even nominated for an Oscar. Westlake made the crime genre famous. His books were filmed by Jean-Luc Godard (“Made in the USA”, 1966), Peter Yates (“The Stolen Stone”, 1972) and Costa-Gavras (“The Guillotine Knife”, 2004). Westlake is also known for his Parker series of novels, which he published under the pseudonym Richard Stark. More recently, Thief Parker was played by Jason Statham in the action film Taylor Hackford.

Tennessee Williams

Screenplays based on plays by Tennessee Williams were nominated twice for an Oscar: A Streetcar Named Desire in 1952 and Dolly in 1957. The first of these films, by the way, won four statuettes. One of them was given to the lead actress Vivien Leigh. Another cult film adaptation by Williams is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Richard Brooks and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman.

Elmore Leonard

Leonard's calling card is armed heroes and heartfelt dialogues. Directors love this master of western and detective. In 2007, James Mangold directed the film Train to Yuma, based on his story, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. In 1997, Leonard's novel Rum Punch formed the basis of Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown. Also screen adaptations of the writer's novels are the crime comedy Get Shorty in 1995 and its sequel Be Cool! » 2005. Both tapes starring John Travolta.

Michael Crichton

The first novel that Crichton signed with his name was The Andromeda Strain. It was first filmed in 1971 by Robert Wise, and the writer played a cameo role in the film. But real fame came to Crichton thanks to the novel Jurassic Park. Based on it, Steven Spielberg made a cult adventure film, for which Crichton himself wrote the script. In 1997 they released