Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

philanthropist · Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 39 Location: Austria

Hi owl,

There are so many authors and books I love, it's hard to tell you one!
Don't think I'm extremely romantic or anything, but I like Jane Austen very much!!!

Another great author I have come across recently is Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Has anybody heard about her? If anybody here is into magical realism, go and get "Queen of Dreams"!

These were just two examples. What about you?

Jadis · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 118 Location: Italy

Hi OWL! I like C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Poe and Floubert.
And you?

jayashany · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: MALAYSIA

My favourite author is Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born the son of Isaiah Okafo, a Christian churchman, and Janet N. Achebe November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria. He married Christie Chinwe Okoli, September 10, 1961, and has four children: Chinelo, Ikechukwu, Chidi, and Nwando. He attended Government College in Umuahia from 1944 to 1947 and University College in Ibadan from 1948 to 1953. He then received a B.A. from London University in 1953 and studied broadcasting at the British Broadcasting Corp. in London in 1956.
Since the 1950's, Nigeria has witnessed "the flourishing of a new literature which has drawn sustanence from both traditional oral literature and from the present and rapidly changing society," writes Margaret Laurence in her book Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists. Thirty years ago Chinua Achebe was one of the founders of this new literature, and over the years many critics have come to consider him the finest of the Nigerian novelists. His acheivement, however, has not been limited to his continent. He is considered by many to be one of the best novelists now writing in the English language.
Unlike some African writers struggling for acceptance among contemporary English-language novelists, Achebe has been able to avoid imitating the trends in English literature. Rejecting the European notion "that art should be accountable to no one, and [needs] to justify itself to nobody," as he puts it in his book of essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day, Achebe has embraced instead the idea at the heart of the African oral tradition: that "art is, and always was, at the service of man. Our ancestors created their myths and told their stories for a human purpose." For this reason, Achebe beleives that "any good story, any good novel, should have a message, should have a purpose."
Achebe's feel for the African context has influenced his aesthetic of the novel as well as the technical aspects of his work. As Bruce King comments in Introduction to Nigerian Literature: "Achebe was the first Nigerian writer to successfully transmute the conventions of the novel, a European art form, into African literature." In an Achebe novel, King notes, "European character study is subordinated to the portrayl of communal life; European economy of form is replaced by an aesthetic appropriate to the rhythms of traditional tribal life."
Here are some of his famous literary works :
Things Fall Apart, 1958
No Longer at Ease, 1960
The Sacrificial Egg and Other Stories, 1962
Arrow of God, 1964
A Man of the People, 1966

Eleniel · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 53

J.R.Tolkien, Jane Austen, Bernard Werber, oh so many! There are so many great authors, and how can we choose?

philanthropist · Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 39 Location: Austria

Hi jayashany,

So you are a real Chinua Achebe fan?
I read "Things Fall Apart" some years ago and I liked it very much. Have you read all the other books you mentioned? Can you recommend one in particular?
I was so touched by Okonkwo's story, how he was finally driven to absolute despair. You know, I began to feel really awful about society and being white and everything (although I wouldn't describe myself as white, I'm rather caramel...), this book makes such a strong statement.

And Eleniel, you like Tolkien and Austen? I love them too!!! Which books are your favourite ones?
I also enjoyed "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte very, very much. But for some, it's maybe too religious.

Hope to hear from you Wink

Eleniel · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 53

adrianalule · Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 8 Location: Minnesota, USA

There are many authors, so is difficult to choose only one, but one of my favorite is Paulo Coelo. He is a very good writter. You can try to read the Alchemist.

Eleniel · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 53

xyb · Joined: 14 May 2006 Posts: 2

I like romantism poets, their poems are beautiful and romantic, most of the poets have the wonderful description about nature, i love it .
my favorate romantism poet is Wordsworth, i like his nature poems.

angelwing · Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 115 Location: Philadelphia, PA

One author I like a lot is the contemporary John Irving, he's written: A Prayer For Owen Meany, The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, and other popular books.

Norm
_________________
"They play in the devil's key
An endless symphony
I even hear it now