5 authors to check out this summer
Whether it’s Kurt Vonnegut or Brian Jacques, here’s a list of some authors you may enjoy
Go on an adventure this summer by reading a book. (Pexels/Pixabay)
Summer has arrived and there is no wrong way to spend it, whether you are a homebody or an outdoorsy type, travelling the world or keeping it local.
Books are the classic, and cheaper, method of going on grand adventures across the globe or to a totally different reality. Books spread ideas, alter perspectives, offer escapism, and/or re-introduce you to authenticity. The wider the variety of books and authors, the better.
Here are a few author and book suggestions for you to get into straight away or to shove into your ever-growing to-read list.
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is a very fine science fiction author. His works may be easy to read, but that does not take away from the screwball nature of his characters and plots.
The ridiculous scenarios that Vonnegut’s characters find themselves in also touch on serious themes that are presented in irreverent ways, making the weight of the absurdity of being human that much heavier when it drops down on you.
Whether it be religion and Cold War policy in Cat’s Cradle, art and society in Breakfast of Champions, or death, war, and free will in Slaughterhouse-Five, I recommend checking this author out.
Hunter S. Thompson
To Hunter S. Thompson, fiction and non-fiction are equally vicious, raw, and driven — or should be at least — by drug-infused insanity.
The father of gonzo journalism and patron saint of Rolling Stone magazine, Thomspon sought to uncover the U.S.’s heart and all the grit, grime, and harsh truths that stick to it and will never wash off.
He does this to the presidential campaign in Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72, Las Vegas in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Puerto Rico in The Rum Diary, and the Kentucky Derby in The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie is one of those authors whose career has been defined almost entirely by a big controversy. Nevertheless, he is worth celebrating because of his ability to weave a compelling prose that keeps you in, even if some of what you just read flew over your head.
Rushdie’s focus on Indian characters and stories offers a different perspective on the world, especially for those who have only ever known the Global North. Midnight’s Children allegorizes post-independence and partition India through the life trials of its supernaturally empowered protagonist. The Satanic Verses, controversy aside, mystically explores reincarnation and identity.
Mordecai Richler
Expect no kitschy Canadiana from Mordecai Richler. Influenced by his background as a working-class Jewish anglophone in Montreal, Richler pulls no punches when it comes to his views on Quebec and wider Canadian society and culture. This style to his essays and fiction have always drawn contention amongst his fellow Quebeckers as a result.
Most of his protagonists are jerks with humorous observations about the world and people around them and it shows in their crass, harsh dialogue. Barney’s Version epitomizes this through its unreliable, curmudgeonly narrator. Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! gives raw takes on confederation, nationalism, and, well, Quebec.
Brian Jacques
Brian Jacques’ Redwall series was a fixture of my high-school days. A classic good-versus-evil fantasy saga starring anthropomorphic animals and largely centred in and around the titular “Redwall Abbey,” while occasionally travelling far and away from the “Mossflower Woods.”
It is a long series of novels and not all of them are winners, but Jacques’ charm and imagination shines through the pages regardless. You can read them chronologically or by publication order, but if you can only read a select few, then there is no going wrong with the first three entries — Redwall, Mossflower (my personal favourite), and Mattimeo.
