Famous writers of our time. The most outstanding Russian writers

1. Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" García Márquez(b. March 6, 1927, Aracataca, Colombia) - famous Colombian prose writer, journalist, publisher and politician; 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). The 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) - 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 various 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.

Literature connoisseurs have ambivalent opinions about the work of modern Russian writers: some seem uninteresting to them, others - rude or immoral. One way or another, in their books the authors raise actual problems of the new century, which is why young people love and read them with pleasure.

Movements, genres and modern writers

Russian writers this century prefer to develop new literary forms, completely different from Western ones. In the last few decades, their work has been represented in four directions: postmodernism, modernism, realism and post-realism. The prefix “post” speaks for itself - the reader should expect something new that has replaced the old foundations. The table shows various directions in the literature of this century, as well as books by the most prominent representatives.

New ideas of Sergei Minaev

"Duhless. The Tale of fake person" is a book with an unusual concept that modern writers of the 21st century in Russia have not previously touched upon in their work. This is the debut novel by Sergei Minaev about the moral flaws of a society in which debauchery and chaos reign. The author uses swearing and obscene language to convey the character of the main character, which does not confuse readers at all. A top manager of a large canned food production company turns out to be a victim of swindlers: he is offered to invest a large sum into the construction of a casino, but are soon deceived and left with nothing.

"The Chicks. A Tale of False Love" talks about how difficult it is to maintain human face. Andrei Mirkin is 27 years old, but he has no intention of getting married and instead starts an affair with two girls at the same time. Later he learns that one is expecting a child from him, and the other turns out to be HIV-infected. A quiet life is alien to Mirkin, and he is constantly looking for adventure in nightclubs and bars, which does not lead to good things.

Popular Russian contemporary writers and critics do not favor Minaev in their circles: being illiterate, he achieved success in the shortest possible time and made Russians admire his works. The author admits that his fans are mainly viewers of the reality show "Dom-2".

Chekhov's traditions in Ulitskaya's work

The characters in the play “Russian Jam” live in an old dacha near Moscow, which is about to come to an end: the sewer system is faulty, the boards on the floor have long since rotted, and there is no electricity. Their life is a real “nail”, but the owners are proud of their inheritance and are not going to move to a more favorable place. They have a constant income from the sale of jam, which contains either mice or other nasty things. Modern writers of Russian literature often borrow the ideas of their predecessors. Thus, Ulitskaya follows Chekhov’s techniques in the play: the characters’ dialogue does not work out because of their desire to shout over each other, and against the background of this one can hear the crackling of a rotten floor or sounds from the sewer. At the end of the drama, they are forced to leave the dacha because the land is being purchased for the construction of Disneyland.

Features of Victor Pelevin's stories

Russian writers of the 21st century often turn to the traditions of their predecessors and use the technique of intertext. Names and details that echo the works of the classics are deliberately introduced into the narrative. Intertextuality can be seen in Victor Pelevin's story "Nika". The reader feels the influence of Bunin and Nabokov from the very beginning, when the author uses the phrase “light breathing” in the story. The narrator quotes and mentions Nabokov, who masterfully described the beauty of a girl's body in the novel Lolita. Pelevin borrows the manners of his predecessors, but discovers a new “technique of deception.” Only in the end can one guess that flexible and graceful Nika is actually a cat. Pelevin brilliantly manages to deceive the reader in the story “Sigmund in the Cafe”, where main character turns out to be a parrot. The author drives us into a trap, but this makes us enjoy it more.

Realism by Yuri Buida

Many modern writers of the 21st century in Russia were born decades after the end of the war, so their work is aimed primarily at the younger generation. Yuri Buida was born in 1954 and grew up in the Kaliningrad region - a territory that previously belonged to Germany, which is reflected in the title of his series of stories.

"The Prussian Bride" - naturalistic sketches about the difficult post-war times. The young reader sees a reality that he has never heard of before. The story "Rita Schmidt Anyone" tells the story of an orphaned girl raised in terrible conditions. They say to the poor thing: “You are the daughter of the Antichrist. You must suffer. You must atone.” A terrible sentence was passed because German blood flows in Rita’s veins, but she endures bullying and continues to remain strong.

Novels about Erast Fandorin

Boris Akunin writes books differently from other modern writers of the 21st century in Russia. The author is interested in the culture of the past two centuries, so the action of the novels about Erast Fandorin takes place from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the 20th. The main character is a noble aristocrat, leading investigations into the most high-profile crimes. For his valor and bravery he was awarded six orders, but he did not stay long. public office: after a conflict with the Moscow authorities, Fandorin prefers to work alone with his faithful valet, the Japanese Masa. Few foreign contemporary writers write in the detective genre. Russian writers writers, in particular Dontsova and Akunin, win the hearts of readers with crime stories, so their works will be relevant for a long time.

Everything interesting

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Modern writers also write books that critics recognize, if not as masterpieces of literature, then as very good and interesting works worthy of its popularity. Let's talk about some of these authors.

Contemporary foreign writers

Modern writers and their works are not only Janusz Wisniewski or the Twilight saga. We have chosen the TOP 5 recognized worldwide foreign authors, whose popularity truly matches the content of their work.

Haruki Murakami is one of the famous writers modernity, as well as a Japanese translator. Murakami's books often describe the modern tragedy of all humanity - loneliness. Themes of love and death, time and memory, the nature of evil, journeys into the unknown, and changes in traditional Japanese society are also addressed in the works.

A feature of Murakami’s work is an interesting mixture of styles in his works, where he uses elements of detective fiction, dystopia, and even science fiction.

You can start your acquaintance with the work of Haruki Murakami with the novel “Wonderland without Brakes and the End of the World.” It contains two storylines at once, the connection between which is not immediately apparent. This is a book about immortality, about consciousness and subconsciousness, perhaps the most mysterious and mysterious among the writer’s books, which, nevertheless, can be read in one sitting.

The best modern writers cannot do without this name on their list, because Stephen King is a truly remarkable figure in the field of literature. It was Stephen who was dubbed the King of Horror, because in his genre he is truly considered the best of the best. The name of King is known all over the world, his books always sell successfully, and films based on his works are chosen among the best by both Runet and foreign users (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and others).

He began writing in this genre as a teenager. The characters in the works are ordinary people, with which, however, out-of-the-ordinary and chilling stories begin to happen. Although not everyone knows that Stephen King writes not only in the horror style - the author also writes westerns and historical fiction.

Choose best book King’s is, perhaps, impossible, but one of the most famous (in particular, thanks to the popular film adaptation with Jack Nicholson, which King himself was not very happy with) can be called “The Shining.”

The novel tells the story of a writer who got a job as a watchman for the winter at the remote Overlook mountain hotel and came there with his family - his wife and little son. Psychic abilities The boy is helped to understand that the hotel is inhabited by ghosts, and terrifying things are happening in it, but even more terrible is how it influences its inhabitants and what kind of monster it can turn even a loving father into.

About ten years ago, no one had even heard of such a writer as Dan Brown, but now this name is thundering throughout the world. Having released the book “The Da Vinci Code”, the writer hardly imagined that such a resounding success would await him.

Dan Brown was born into the family of a mathematics professor and a musician, and since childhood he loved to solve riddles, solve puzzles and assemble puzzles. Years later, this inclination, as well as his interest in religion and philosophy, allowed him to begin writing career, and subsequently create one of the most published and popular books in the world.

In fact, the main character of The Da Vinci Code, Robert Langdon, already appeared in the novel Angels and Demons, written by Brown in 2000, but the circulation was not large enough and did not attract public attention to the writer’s person.

The abundance of secret messages, mystical codes and signs instantly attracted readers all over the world, even though the Church began to protest against this novel, and critics began to notice inaccuracies. The excitement after the publication of The Da Vinci Code could be compared, perhaps, only with the release of JK Rowling's books about Harry Potter.

After the release of The Da Vinci Code, they even began to talk about the emergence of a new genre - an intellectual detective story. Brown's latest book, Inferno, logically continues the story begun in the author's previous novels.

Just recently shone among modern writers young American author in the genre of Young-adult fiction (books for young people) John Green.

In 2006 he won a literary prize under called The Michael L. Printz Award for his first novel, Looking for Alaska, and the most last book Green's The Fault in Our Stars became a number one bestseller in the United States. This novel and another, Paper Towns, were filmed in Hollywood, and Greene served as a guest screenwriter for both films.

The best-selling novel The Fault in Our Stars tells the story of Hazel, a sixteen-year-old girl who was long ago diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She attends a support group with the same sick guys, and at one of the sessions she meets a new guy named Augustus. They fall in love, but what awaits them next? Read this book if you want to know why teenagers choose to read it, why it captivated thousands of readers and brought John Green such fame.

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Collection Prize short stories"First Love, Last Anointing" and six-time Booker Prize nominee, one of best writers of his generation, and at the same time one of the most controversial.

Known primarily as a novelist and author short stories McEwan also wrote three television plays published under the title Imitation, a children's book, the libretto for Or Shall We Die?, the screenplay for the film The Ploughman's Lunch, and the successful film adaptation of Timothy Meaux's novella Sweet and Sour.

McEwan's work is focused on the theme of human misunderstanding, man's inability to sympathize, empathy, unwillingness to put himself in someone else's place and feel responsible for the suffering of another.

McEwan's most famous book is Atonement, written in 2001, which tells the story of how the slightest misunderstanding can lead to tragic consequences. The popularization of the novel was facilitated by a fairly accurate film adaptation in 2007 starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

Modern Russian writers

Worth mentioning Russian literature— there are also modern Russian writers whose works should please those who like to read. Here are a few of them.

Victor Pelevin

Modern writers in Russia they are now multiplying like mushrooms after rain, but for many years now, Viktor Pelevin has been at the top of honor. During his creative career, he was awarded numerous awards, and French Magazine recognized Pelevin as one of the thousand most influential cultural figures peace.

The popularity of Pelevin’s work is great even abroad, and almost all of his works have been translated into the main languages ​​of the world.

Combining reality, unreality and deep philosophy in his works, Pelevin, who is fond of Eastern mysticism, managed to interest the general public, especially young people, in his phantasmagoric creativity. He often uses stories from mythology in his books.

You can start getting acquainted with Pelevin with one of his most famous works - “Generation “P””. Few people have managed to portray it so well modern society consumers, the power of advertising and the cult of objects, when the first and most important thing with which people strive to surround themselves is things.

Boris Akunin

The real name of this writer, literary critic and Japanese scholar is Grigory Chkhartishvili. And although the author’s works have often been criticized by art historians and philologists, Boris Akunin’s popularity in the domestic literary arena is very great.

Akunin's works have been translated into 35 other languages, and some of them have even been filmed, some of which can ultimately be called one of the best modern Russian films.

The most famous books of this writer are the books from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”, written in the style of a historical detective story. From the very beginning, it will be difficult not to be captivated by the decisive, brave and intelligent protagonist, not to mention the adventures that await him further.

Under this bright pseudonym hides the artist and philologist Svetlana Martynchik (and at first it was a tandem of Svetlana as the author of the texts with the artist Igor Stepin, who is the author of many ideas). The writer’s first series of books was published back in 1996, but the identity of the author was kept secret until 2001.

Initially, readers were often attracted by the pseudonym and mysterious person the writer, and subsequently the content itself was invariably captivating. Original book plots, amazing realism fantasy worlds, the curious author's philosophy and the special writing style of Max Frei add more and more people to the army of devoted admirers of the writer every year.

The first and still biggest success for Max Fry was a series of eleven books, united under the general title “Labyrinths of Exo,” which tells about the adventures of the author’s alter ego, Sir Max, in parallel world. These books have been translated into English, German, Spanish, Czech, Lithuanian and Swedish.

If you want to unwind, lift your spirits and plunge into a completely new Magic world, then try to pick up these books - and you are guaranteed an easy, enjoyable reading.

Find out which modern children's writers children and teenagers will like in the following video:

The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is inscribed with heavenly fire, that every letter in it screams, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later. "Dead Souls"

In the hearts of simple people, the feeling of the beauty and grandeur of nature is stronger, a hundred times more vivid, than in us, enthusiastic storytellers in words and on paper."Hero of our time"

And everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,
And all the worlds have one beginning,
And there is nothing in nature
Whatever breathes love.

But others are not an example to me,
And my charter is simple and strict.
My verse is a pioneer boy,
Lightly dressed, barefoot.
1926

"At the bottom"

"Whirlwind Rus'"

Mikhail Andreevich Osorgin (Ilyin) (1878 - 1942)
How strange /.../ There are so many cheerful and cheerful books, so many brilliant and witty philosophical truths, but there is nothing more comforting than Ecclesiastes.

"Poetry of the Word"

Publications in the Literature section

Top 5 modern writers you need to know

About 100 thousand new books are published in Russia every year, and dozens of previously unknown authors appear. How to choose what to read? "Culture.RF" talks about modern authors, who in recent years have become laureates of the largest Russian literary prizes, whose books top bookstore sales charts for months. Critics view them favorably and speak flatteringly about them famous writers, but the main thing is that their books became important events V cultural life countries.

Evgeniy Vodolazkin

Novels “Laurel”, “Aviator”, collection of novels and short stories “A Completely Different Time”

Evgeny Vodolazkin. Photo: godliteratury.ru

Evgeny Vodolazkin. "Laurel". LLC "AST Publishing House" 2012

Evgeny Vodolazkin. "Aviator". LLC "AST Publishing House" 2016

Professor of ancient Russian literature, researcher at the Pushkin House in St. Petersburg, student of Dmitry Likhachev, a real St. Petersburg intellectual - this is how Evgeny Vodolazkin was introduced at lectures, conferences, and meetings a few years ago. Now he is not only one of the most promising authors of modern Russian literature, but also one of the most famous - you won’t see his books in a rare store, Vodolazkin’s name is among the leaders in requests in libraries.

In 2012, he literally burst into literature with the novel “Laurel.” Already in next year the novel receives two of the most significant domestic awards - “Big Book” and “ Yasnaya Polyana", within two years it becomes popular abroad. Today “Lavr” has been translated into 23 languages. Latest news There was news of the purchase of the rights to a full-length film adaptation of the novel. Everything that both the discerning critic and the reader expected came together in the book - good story about a medieval healer, rich language, its own special style, mixed with the interweaving of several (historical) plots.

This is not the author’s first novel; before that he published “The Rape of Europe” (2005), “Soloviev and Larionov” (2009). In addition, Evgeny Vodolazkin is the compiler of several books about Likhachev: “Dmitry Likhachev and his era” (2002), as well as a collection of memoirs about life on the Solovetsky Islands at different times historical periods“A piece of land surrounded by sky” (2010) Following in the footsteps of “Lavra”, a collection was published in 2013 early stories and the stories “A Completely Different Time.”

After the first success, “everyone began to wait for the second “Laurel” - as the author himself said more than once. But an experienced philologist and literature connoisseur, Evgeny Vodolazkin knew that “a second “Laurel” cannot be written,” so the second novel was based on the events of the 1917 revolution - and its consequences. The literary premiere in the spring of 2016 was published under the title “Aviator”, and the drawing for the cover of the book was made by the artist Mikhail Shemyakin. Even before the book was published, a portion of the text was written across the country within the framework educational project"Total dictation." From the day of its release until the end of 2016, the book was in the top sales of the largest stores, received favorable reviews in the press and, as a result, received the “Big Book” award. Today the author is working on a new novel, which will be dedicated to the era of the second half of the last century.

Guzel Yakhina

Novel “Zuleikha opens her eyes”, short stories

Guzel Yakhina. Photo: readly.ru

Guzel Yakhina. “Zuleikha opens her eyes.” LLC "AST Publishing House" 2015

Guzel Yakhina. Photo: godliteratury.ru

Another bright, unexpected literary debut. First, a young writer from Kazan, Guzel Yakhina, wrote the script “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” - the story of the dispossession of Kazakh Tatars in the 1930s. Not finding the opportunity to realize it in cinema, she created a novel of the same name - but it was never published, even the capital’s “thick” magazines did not take it. The text was first published in the Novosibirsk magazine “Siberian Lights”. Meanwhile, the manuscript ended up in the hands of Lyudmila Ulitskaya, she liked the book, and she recommended the novel to her publishing house.

“The novel has the main quality real literature- goes straight to the heart. A story about fate main character, a Tatar peasant woman from the time of dispossession, breathes such authenticity, reliability and charm, which are not so often found in recent decades in the huge stream of modern prose,”- Lyudmila Ulitskaya will later write in the preface to the book.

The literary fate of the novel is somewhat similar to the fate of Vodolazkin’s “Lavr”. In 2015, “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” also received the “Big Book” and “Yasnaya Polyana” awards, was translated into two dozen languages, received a huge number of grateful reviews from readers and remained in the top sales for a long time. After literary success, the Rossiya-1 TV channel volunteered to film the book in the form of an 8-episode film. Guzel Yakhina dreams that main role Chulpan Khamatova, also born in Kazan, played in the series.

Valery Zalotukha

Novel “Candle”, collection “My Father, the Miner”

Valery Zalotukha. Photo: kino-teatr.ru

Valery Zalotukha. "Candle". Volume 1. Publishing house "Time". 2014

Valery Zalotukha. "Candle". Volume 2. Publishing house "Time". 2014

Until 2015, the name of Valery Zalotukha was known more in the world of cinema - he was the screenwriter of Khotinenko’s films “Makarov”, “Muslim”, “Roy”, “72 Meters”, and later made documentaries. What about literature? In 2000, the story “The Last Communist”, published in Novy Mir, was included in the final list of the Russian Booker. After this, the name Zalotukha disappears from the literary horizon for 14 years, twelve of which are spent creating the two-volume, almost 1,700-page novel “The Candle.” The book turned out to be a rare occurrence in modern literature against the backdrop of “fast” prose, when works are written quickly and, when printed, are placed in a coat pocket. The theme is “the dashing 90s,” but without references to history, which is also rare for prose of recent years.

The novel was first noticed not by readers, but by fellow writers. It was they who immediately discerned in Valery Zalotukha’s multi-page tome an attempt to create a great Russian novel. That classic novel that the reader remembers from the books of Rasputin, Solzhenitsyn, Astafiev...

“I’m afraid that all of Zalotukha’s previous film scripts and literary merits will fade in front of the novel “Candle” and he will be remembered as the author of these two massive volumes...- Dmitry Bykov says about the book. - “Svechka” is a novel about a good Russian person, which is practically not the case now. This is yet another Russian ordeal. But the charm of this hero is such that everything that happens to him evokes our deepest sympathy.”.

The task that the author sets himself - to write a full-length book about the era of the 1990s - aroused keen interest among critics and the public. The result was that the novel was awarded the Big Book Prize. Unfortunately, the author himself was not able to receive the prize - a few weeks before the presentation of “Candles” Valery Zalotukha died.

In 2016, the Vremya publishing house posthumously published the book “My Father, a Miner,” which included all the author’s prose written before “Candle.” The collection includes the stories “The Last Communist”, “The Great March for the Liberation of India”, “Makarov”, as well as short stories. These works have not been published in print for many years. The collection seemed to return them to the general reader, presenting the author as a talented storyteller and master short story. A collection of scripts by Valery Zalotukha is being prepared for publication.

Alisa Ganieva

The story “Salaam to you, Dalgat”; novels “Holiday Mountain”, “Bride and Groom”

Alisa Ganieva. Photo: wikimedia.org

Alisa Ganieva. “Salaam to you, Dalgat!” LLC "AST Publishing House" 2010

Alisa Ganieva. "Holiday Mountain" LLC "AST Publishing House" 2012

In 2010, Alisa Ganieva made a bright debut with the story “Salaam to you, Dalgat!” The book received the “Debut” youth award in the “Large Prose” category and received favorable reviews from critics and readers. By nationality - Avar, a graduate of the Literary Institute named after. Gorky, Alisa Ganieva discovered in modern Russian literature (which is important - youth) the theme of the culture of the Caucasus, or more precisely, of her native Dagestan. The author talks about the peculiarities of traditions and temperament, and most importantly - about the Europeanization of Dagestan, tries to understand how the Caucasian republics are joining the new, 21st century, what difficulties they face, what innovations they adapt to, and what they reject. Sergey Belyakov. "Gumilev's son Gumilev." LLC "AST Publishing House" 2013

Sergey Belyakov. "Mazepa's Shadow" LLC "AST Publishing House" 2016

The name of a historian by training, literary editor Sergei Belyakov first sounded loudly in 2013. Then, for his research in the non-fiction genre “Gumilyov, the son of Gumilyov,” he was awarded the “Big Book” prize. “Gumilyov, son of Gumilyov” is a fascinating biography of the famous orientalist historian, the son of two great poets of the Silver Age - Anna Akhmatova and Nikolai Gumilyov, - symbolically intertwined with the history of the twentieth century. Sergei Belyakov’s second book was a work at the intersection of literature and history, “Mazepa’s Shadow.”

This is not the first time that non-fiction writers have emerged as leaders. So, back in 2005, Dmitry Bykov received the “Big Book” award for his biography of Boris Pasternak, and the 2016 winner Leonid Yuzefovich wrote a book in the same genre about Civil War. Last year's awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Svetlana Alexievich, who works in the genre of documentary prose, only strengthened the position of this genre in the literary ranks.