Tass news agency. Modern writers (21st century) of Russia. Modern Russian writers

A good book is much more than a way to “kill time.” Wanting to get acquainted with unusual worlds, mysterious and strong characters and incredible adventures, the reader should take a closer look at the works of the most popular modern writers. Below are the most striking and famous works last decades- top 10 best modern books!

1. 11/22/63 (Stephen King)

Tops our list of the best modern books scientific fantasy novel Stephen King 11/22/63. The first publication of the work took place in 2011.

The assassination of J.F. Kennedy became one of the greatest tragedies of American society. A popular politician was shot dead during a huge parade in front of thousands of Americans. Could the president have been saved? Surprisingly, the answer to this question is for a simple teacher to find out! Jake Epping is an ordinary resident of a small town who works at a school and is not much different from thousands of his fellow citizens. However, by the will of fate, it is he who gets the chance to go through a time portal, which is located in the back room of the cafe of his old friend Al. The owner of the device has long wanted to find Kennedy's killer, but illness has ruined all plans, so Jake must replace him! Go back, straight to the 60s, live there for several years, identify the future executioner and stop him on the day of the terrible tragedy! Will he be able to change the course of history and even go back?

2. American Gods (Neil Gaiman)

American Gods is one of the best modern fantasy books, which was written by English writer Neil Gaiman in 2001.

America. A haven for a huge number of migrants from all over the world. In search of a better life, people went to an unknown continent, hoping to settle there and find long-awaited happiness. However, they did not travel alone: ​​each visiting guest took with them a piece of their native culture. Gods, beliefs, rituals, customs - this is the true baggage of the migrants! Will different deities be able to get along together and what does such a neighborhood promise? Shadow, the main character, recently released from prison, will have to find out. Once free, he finds himself straight into a series of strange events and mysterious crimes that need to be unraveled.

3. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

The book by contemporary American writer Khaled Hosseini closes the top three. The work was born in 2003.

What is true friendship? Sometimes adults find it very difficult to answer this question. Much easier for children. Amir and Hassan - absolutely two different boys who are connected by true friendship. Only one of them is an aristocrat, and the second is a poor servant! Coming from different social strata, they do not pay attention to the differences that are so important for adults. Playing, joking, sharing secrets and impressions, experiencing failures and experiencing grief, the boys gradually grow up, and their friendship only becomes stronger. One day, serious changes are coming to the country that will test their strength and scatter their friends in different directions. Can childhood friendship survive?

4. A Song of Ice and Fire (George Martin)

A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most famous and best modern fantasy books. This is a whole series of works, consisting of five already published volumes. Two more books in the project. The first publication took place in 1996. The book gained particular popularity after the release of the series “Game of Thrones,” based on it, filmed by HBO.

The unique fantasy world is inhabited by far from kind fairies and cheerful gnomes. This is a world of several powerful powers who are desperately fighting for their hearts' content. Their goal is the throne of Westeros. Their means are weapons, intrigues, murders and rebellions. The Palace of Verteros is filled with vile and greedy people who are eager to seize the throne at any cost. There is no longer any place for honesty and nobility here. By arranging serious intrigues and organizing coups, the conspirators will do everything to undermine the situation in the kingdom. However, it is not only them that should be feared, because the cunning rulers of neighboring states are also not averse to snatching the “tasty morsel” during a cruel and blind turmoil! Coming real war for power, ready to bury the old order forever.

5. The house in which... (Mariam Petrosyan)

“The House in Which...” is an interesting modern science fiction novel by the Armenian writer Mariam Petrosyan, published in 2009.

On the edge of the city there is a boarding house for abandoned children. This old and gray place seems very inhospitable and gloomy, but everything is not so simple... Once inside, a person can discover a new, unusual world in which there is more kindness and light than on the bright city streets. The pupils of the house are divided into groups, each of which has its own leader. There are no first and last names here - only bright nicknames. There is a lot of unknown here and very little that is familiar. These are miniature societies with their vices and virtues. Children learn about the world by growing up, changing and trying to find their place in it.

6. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

The Book Thief is fascinating modern novel Australian writer, written in 2006.

Liesel Meminger is a little German girl whose childhood fell on a truly monstrous time. In 1939, the Nazi regime reached its peak, exterminating the disobedient and preparing to enslave the world. Horror, murder, robbery and terror became daily companions the lives of those who did not suit new government. After the death of her husband, Frau Meminger moves, trying to find a quieter corner for her daughter. But in vain... Looking around, Liesel sees the chaos going on through the eyes of an innocent child who does not understand this cruel and strange world of adults. Growing up quickly, she has to learn and rethink a lot.

7. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

Gone Girl is one of the best modern thriller books. The work was published in 2012 and became the basis for the film of the same name.

How difficult it can be to recognize a person, even if you have lived with him for many years! An unusual incident changes the fate of the main character when his wife suddenly disappears. During a wild celebration of their wedding anniversary, a woman mysteriously disappears. The arriving police discover blood and signs of a struggle, deciding that the man killed his wife and hid her body. Now the confused man is left to solve this incredible puzzle himself. Who knows, maybe the solution will be even more monstrous than the disappearance itself...

8. Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)

The novel Cloud Atlas was written in 2004 by an English writer. Its plot is a complex interweaving of stories and destinies that, at first glance, have nothing in common. An American lawyer stuck on a tropical island while a ship is being repaired; young English musician, forced to trade music and body in order to earn a piece of bread; a brave Californian journalist fighting against a powerful corporation; a London publisher facing criminals after the release of another bestseller; a clone from a Korean dystopia and a Hawaiian old man watching the sunset human civilization. All events and characters pass difficult path in different times gradually intertwining together.

9. When I Was Real (Tom McCarthy)

Tom McCarthy's novel When I Was Real continues our top 10 best modern books.

Sudden disaster changed life young man, erasing his past. He finds himself in a long coma, from which he, fortunately, manages to get out. But such a long process did not pass without a trace: now he needs to learn to live again. Walk, move, work with your hands and talk. All past life comes in the form of vague memories, and the hero endlessly desires to return to his former self. Moreover, some large corporation is ready to pay him a lot of money to keep the cause of the incident a secret. How are they connected? What happened that day? And how to become completely the same?

10. Anathem (Neal Stephenson)

And the top ten is completed by the modern science fiction book Anathem, written by American writer Neal Stevenson in 2008.

Arb - distant and mysterious planet, similar to Earth. People who worship science live here. Science, which completely replaced religion and managed to split society into two irreconcilable camps. The guardians of science are monks who were once scientists. They once worked and created for the benefit of progress, but their work led to something terrible. Now the monks live in the monastery, closed off from the outside, secular world. Their life is simple, calm and measured, but once every ten years a special date comes - a day when the two sides can change places. The monks will see external world, A secular people will be able to join the monastic life and worldview. One day, such a change led to terrifying consequences, and now the two sides must unite to prevent the impending disaster!

Aleksey Ivanov

Yes, I had great discoveries that can be called artistic, although the books are non-fiction. One of them is the laureate’s book Pulitzer Prize Daniel Yergin "Prey"(M.: Alpina Publisher, 2016), history of the world struggle for oil. It reveals the secret economic mechanisms of world history, and a lot of what, it turns out, was “standing on its head” in your mind is turned “on its feet.”

Another discovery - a book by Dmitry Karasyuk "History of Sverdlovsk rock"(Ekaterinburg: Cabinet Scientist, 2016). It is written in beautiful language, and inside this book I see true novel with plots, dramas, climaxes and resolutions. I haven’t decided on reading for the holidays yet. Yes, I don’t even have holidays.

Alpina Publisher press service

Leonid Yuzefovich

• Sebastian Hafner "The Story of a German"(St. Petersburg: Ivan Limbach Publishing House, 2016). Written in the late 1930s autobiographical novel with moving reflections on the origins and nature of the Nazi regime in Germany. An excellent translation by the initiator of the publication, critic Nikita Eliseev.
• Varvara Malakhieva-Mirovich “The pendulum of my life. Diary. 1930-1954"(M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015). A remarkable document of the era and a colossal work of the publisher, literary historian Natalya Gromova.

On New Year's holidays I'm going to read a book by Ivan Prosvetov just published by the author himself. "Ten Lives of Vasily Yan". I know that this writer, beloved by me since childhood, lived an extraordinary life, and I hope to learn a lot of new things about him.

Sukhbat Aflatuni

• Vladimir Martynov "Book of Changes"(M.: Klassiki XXI, 2016) - one and a half thousand pages of immersion in history, philosophy, music, life.
• New book of poems by Gleb Shulpyakov "Samet"(M.: Vremya, 2017) - the kingdom of air and meaning, multi-layered and minimalist style.
• "Great Lightness" Valeria Pustova (M.: RIPOL Classic, 2015) - literary criticism, which is written - and read - as fascinating prose.

From the nearest “must-read” - Mark Z. Danilevsky, "House of Leaves"(Ekaterinburg: Gonzo, 2016), which was disturbing at the first glance. Fragments, a cacophony of fonts...

press service of “Classics XXI”

Roman Senchin

I can't say that I've been reading some fresh books this year. But there were many important ones. I will name three, although I am aware that my choice may seem unoriginal.

Firstly, « Winter road» Leonid Yuzefovich (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016). This book received several awards, which caused complete approval among some and irritation among others. Nevertheless, it sounded, and not without reason. The book is based on the campaign of Anatoly Pepelyaev’s detachment against Yakutsk in 1922-1923... Even in detailed history Civil war in Soviet textbooks only a few lines were devoted to this event, always mentioning the word “adventure”. Yuzefovich reveals to us the reasons for this campaign, and it no longer seems like an adventure. History is not chronology, it is much, much more complicated. This complexity is what the author is trying to show – in my opinion, excellently – in the format of the declared “literary and artistic publication.” "Winter Road". Plus, it returns us a row interesting personalities that era.

press service of the Elena Shubina Editorial Office

Secondly, Anna Kozlova’s “film novel” "F20", published in the magazine "Friendship of Peoples"(N10, 2016). This is a very difficult work - frank, cruel, scary. In general, it’s traditional for Kozlova. No wonder the critic Lev Danilkin called her the author of “ultra-shock novels.” But Anna Kozlova writes so brightly, captivatingly and talentedly that it is impossible to tear yourself away from this horror.

Thirdly, the book "Shadow of Mazepa" Sergei Belyakov (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016). I do not undertake to evaluate this work. It seems to be very controversial, but to argue, you need deep knowledge of the history of Russia, the history of literature... The book did not come out yesterday, it has not yet caused much controversy, and this is bad. Such books can help us understand something important. Although - do we want to understand this something?..

However, equally important were "Crystal in a transparent frame" Vasily Avchenko, "Girl in the Garden" Oleg Ryabov, "In the footsteps of Dersu Uzala" Alexey Korovashko, "The Trumpeter at the Gates of Dawn" Roman Bogoslovsky, "Shukshin" Alexey Varlamov, "Valentin Kataev" Sergei Shargunov, "Holomyana Flame" Dmitry Novikov, “I want miracles” Elena Tulusheva, "Untranslatable pun" Alexandra Garros...

I want to dedicate New Year's days to reading books by Alexey Ivanov "Pitchfork" And "Tobol"(M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016).

Members of the jury of the literary award " Yasnaya Polyana»

Marina Moskvina

In Penza at a book festival I bought a volume of Roland Barthes "Fragments of a love speech"(translated by V. Lapitsky, M.: GARAGE & AdMarginem, 2015). Essay on the speech of lovers. Or rather, this speech itself is intermittent, rough, impulsive. The plot is assembled from scraps. Here are the words of Goethe, mystics, Taoists, Nietzsche, many passing phrases and something accidentally read, friendly conversations and memories. All this splashes in a blurry imperfect stream, narrative voices come, go, fall silent, intertwine, it is generally unknown who is speaking - no images, nothing except this confused speech, no bibliography, no taxonomy, only your heart beats faster, and you and all the lovers feel how reality recedes in the face of this world.

GARAGE & AdMarginem

I enjoyed reading the collection (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016) - good modern writers talk about places that are important to them in Moscow, where they were born or were simply happy. There is also my story about the Nirnzee House in Bolshoy Gnezdnikovsky Lane; I spent my childhood on the roof of this house.

And like a person who has had his head in the clouds since birth, for the New Year holidays I prepared for myself "Entertaining cloud science"(translated by O. Dementievskaya, M. Falikman, M.: Gayatri, 2015). Pure poetry, a unique guide to the clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Lovers Society.

Alexander Grigorenko

There have been many books in the past year, including new and good ones, for example, Evgenia Vodolazkina (M.: AST, Edited by Edena Shubina, 2016). But the main discoveries were "Winter road" Leonid Yuzefovich (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016) and "Stoner" John Williams (Translated by L. Motylev, M.: AST, Corpus, 2015), who made the same impression on me as he did many, many years ago "The Death of Ivan Ilyich".

Life ordinary person really worth looking at under a microscope. I also really liked the book “At the Origins of the World: Russian Etiological Tales and Legends”(M.: ISl RAS; Forum; Neolit, 2014). And during the holidays it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to read anything, because work suddenly piled up—I’ll catch up later.

Corpus press service

Marina Stepnova

Of the new products this year, I especially like strong impression produced "Animator" Andrey Volos (M.: EKSMO, 2016) is a tense, subtle novel in which reality magically mixes with fiction. Andrey Volos is generally an extraordinary author, each of his books seems to be written by a different writer, and all these writers have only one thing in common - amazing talent.

Alexander Garros "Untranslatable pun"(M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2016). A clear, intelligent, piercingly honest book, as if it had come together spontaneously from many articles and essays. Garros is one of the few modern critics who is honestly trying to understand what is happening in modern Russian literature (and in modern life at the same time). He does not make friends, does not quarrel, does not settle scores. He thinks and observes. And following his train of thought is a great pleasure.

press service of the Elena Shubina Editorial Office

Hanya Yanagihara "Little Life"(Translated by A. Borisenko, A. Zavozova, V. Sonkin, M.: AST, Corpus, 2016). A sensational novel that has attracted an equal number of rabid fans and equally rabid detractors. An amazing example of how skillfully and according to all the rules a book can make a lively and vivid impression even on sophisticated readers. It’s not easy reading in every sense, sometimes even annoying, but the book is undoubtedly a success.

On New Year holidays I finally want to read it Narine Abgaryan(M.: AST, 2016). This book has been at the top of my book wish list for a long time. In general, I really like Narine - she is a wonderful writer and a wonderful person. I just wanted to find as much time as possible for this book.

Evgeniy Vodolazkin

Among the new publications, I would highlight the story by Alexander Grigorenko "Lost the blind dudu"(magazine "October", No. 1, 2016) - bright and tragic. Alexander Grigorenko, whom we know from his wonderful novels "Mabeth" And "Ilget", discovered a completely new face as a writer. He showed himself to be a musician capable of playing in different registers.

I would also name the story by Narine Abgaryan "Three apples fell from the sky"(M.: AST, 2016). This is a wonderful text about an Armenian village, alive, real, and at the same time existing in a powerful literary tradition, presented primarily by the great Hrant Matevosyan.

AST press service

To these two stories I would add one more short text - a novel by Julian Barnes (Translated by E. Petrova, St. Petersburg: Azbuka-Atticus, Inostranka, 2016). This is a book about Shostakovich, but not only. With Barnes's characteristic subtlety, it explores the nature of despotism.

I'm going to read a novel by John Williams over the New Year holidays. "Stoner"(Translated by L. Motylev, M.: AST, Corpus, 2015) - somehow everyone never got around to it. And also - a novel by Mikhail Gigolashvili "The Secret Year", which, according to my information, should be released soon.

Vasily Golovanov

This year I only read three books that could be called relatively new. The first is a novel by Chinese writer Mo Yan "Tired of being born and dying"(Translated by I. Egorov, St. Petersburg: Amphora, 2014). A grandiose epic, all like Marquez’s, built on the history of one village - only not Macondo, but Ximentun. This is truly powerful literature.

The second book is a novel by Sergei Solovyov "Adam's Bridge"(M.: Russian Gulliver, 2013). I don't know how many people have read it. Personally, I met Solovyov at the Krasnoyarsk Book Fair, and he shocked me with his stories about India. And the book he wrote is amazing. This is not a travel novel, it is the author’s attempt to regain his beloved through remembering their journey together, everything that they found there that was beautiful and important for the future existence of both of them. This is a bridge of love along which the beloved will unmistakably find her way to the one who is waiting for her. Crazy, but beautiful and very brightly written book!

2016 Boslen

The third book is a study by Andrei Baldin “The New Bookvoskop, or the Beyond Travel of Nikolai Karamzin”(M.: Boslen, 2016). Andrey is one of the most original thinking people I have ever known. And I’m interested in his argumentation when he derives the modern Russian language from Karamzin’s long voyage abroad. In fact, almost everything was ready for the birth of the language in which Pushkin, Zhukovsky and everyone after Karamzin later wrote. But abroad he was the first to catch some kind of wave, some kind of rhythm of modern literary legend and, returning to Russia, wrote the first modern story « Poor Lisa» . This removal of language from its journey was extremely curious to me.

In general, this year my old dream came true - I acquired a twenty-volume edition of Leo Tolstoy. And here I really read... All the novels, all the stories and short stories again - and everything was the same as the first time... I read Bunin with the same voraciousness in the spring. I’m not at all convinced that you should only read new things. That’s why I reread so much of what was published a long time ago. We had the highest, first world class literature. I think things are not so optimistic now.

During the holidays I will read the autobiography of Vasily Vasilyevich Nalimov "Rope Walker"(M.: Progress, 1994) - an outstanding, although still only relatively well-known philosopher. I hope I have to big job according to Nalimov next year: we must somehow “get used to” the atmosphere and the meanings by which this amazing person- mathematician, freethinker, anarchist, mystic, who made a real revolution in philosophy, which philosophers themselves are only just beginning to understand.

Lyudmila Saraskina

• Vasily Aksenov. “Catch the pigeon mail...” Letters (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015). The richest correspondence with parents, friends, comrades in the literary profession, extracted from American archive, provides valuable material not only for understanding the fate of the Russian writer, forced to become an emigrant, but also for the perception of the Russian emigration of the “third” wave itself.

Vladimir Ermakov "In Search of the Lost Metaphysics. Book of Doubts"(Eagle: Spring Waters, 2016). A book of deep reflections from a man for whom philosophizing is akin to breathing.

• “Butterflies and chrysanthemums. Japanese classical poetry of the 9th-19th centuries". Translated by A. Dolin, V. Markova, A. Gluskina, T. Sokolova-Delyusina. (SPb.: Arka, 2016). An amazingly beautiful book to read and contemplate. “It’s so good / When you turn it around at random / An ancient book- / And in combinations of words / You will find your dear soul". Haiku and tanka are juxtaposed with color photographs and woodcuts of birds, flowers, animals, rivers and waterfalls from ancient albums. Magic lantern.

Arka press service

Guzel Yakhina

The beginning of the outgoing year was successful - it gave two very good books. In winter I read the long-awaited Lyudmila Ulitskaya (M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015) - a large multi-layered novel-parable, where fiction discreetly bound with original documents from family archive Lyudmila Evgenievna - letters from her grandfather. What was unexpected in the text was that Ulitskaya acted not only as a writer, but also as a production designer - on behalf of main character Nora described stage keys to solving several plays. You read it and it’s as if you are watching performances staged by Ulitskaya.

• Irakli Kvirikadze "The Boy Following the Wild Duck"(M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015). A collection of stories, scripts and memories. Remarkably capacious, concise, outwardly simple and unexpected texts, striking with the ease of transitions from funny to tragic, from farce to parable, from everyday authenticity to absurdity.
• Antoine de Becque « New wave: portrait of youth"(Translated by Irina Mironenko-Marenkova, M.: Rosebud Publishing, 2016). A fascinating study of the revolutionary movement in French cinema, which preserved for us the image of “the greatest decade in the history of mankind”, as in one later film ( "Withnail and I", 1987) were named the sixties. And in many ways, he shaped this image.
• Igor Levshin "Parsley and the mosquito"(M.: Russian Lessons, 2015). Tough absurdist stories, some of which are very successful. Others you simply don’t know which way to approach: puzzling, unsettling, irreconcilably opposed to the inertial flow of descriptive literature.
". I will highlight the text here, which is not yet very widely famous Sergei Lebedeva (M.: Alpina Publisher, 2016). It's part detective, part historical prose and investigating family secrets. The starting point is August 1991, the anticipation of freedom and reading my grandmother’s diary, which suddenly destroys the protagonist’s illusions about his own roots. Can our unpredictable past explain the present, who we are and where it is taking us? These questions are posed, probably, in every second novel of 2016, but Lebedev, in my opinion, turned out to be fascinating, sincere, and disturbing.




I was pleased with the charming collection of essays by Evgeniy Lesin “And he drank immediately. Viktor Erofeev and others.”(M.: RIPOL Classic, 2016). The book is not only about the author "Petushkov", but also about Arkady Severny, the Marquis de Sade, Edgar Poe, Yuri Olesha, Tatyana Bek, editor Alexander Shchuplov and others. There is also an amazingly lyrical history of alcoholic local history - a guide to drinking glasses, indicating prices and related details. And funny, and serious, and, as they say, atmospheric.

But for the upcoming ones New Year's holidays I'm going to have a nice enlightening read "Dark Matter and Dinosaurs" physics by Lisa Randall (M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2017) The title is promising.

Thank you literary prize Yasnaya Polyana for assistance in preparing the material.

Text: Alexandra Bazhenova-Sorokina

Illustrations: Dasha Chertanova

THEY SPEAK MUCH MORE ABOUT GREAT WRITERS THAN WOMEN WRITERS- the latter are often associated with literature “for women”. This is definitely unfair - modern literature I wouldn’t be myself without outstanding writers. We decided to remember ten of our writing contemporaries, who will probably be read tomorrow and in several decades.

Donna Tartt

Perhaps the most successful intellectual writer of the 21st century, Donna Tartt made a splash around the world with her third novel, The Goldfinch. It turned out that among postmodernity and post-irony there is a place (and there is a need) for an old-fashioned, serious work. Tartt's hefty volumes are selling out quickly: both readers and critics appreciate her for her beautiful language, clever plots, humanism and for the thoughtful slowness with which you read Dickens or George Eliot.

In The Goldfinch, a classic novel of education, based on the tragedy of a boy and his long journey to growing up and finding himself, captivates with both the sophistication of the style and the twists of the plot. This is exactly the case when thinking about a text drags on like a trail - significantly exceeding the time of actually reading.

Joyce Carol Oates

For some time it was customary to make fun of Joyce Carol Oates's performance, but the critics dried up, but the talent of the 78-year-old American did not. Dozens of novels, hundreds of stories and poems, of course, are not of equal size, but there are already articles on this that will help to understand Oates’s existing legacy.

Over the years, few people have been able to talk so consistently and with such subtlety about violence, about sexual and racial inequality, about social problems, showing them not only as “environmental problems,” but as part of the inner life of the individual and, accordingly, as anthropological problems . In Russia, Oates is primarily known for her programmatic novel “The Garden of Earthly Delights” about the struggle between destructive and creative principles in one woman.

Toni Morrison

At eighty-five, Toni Morrison - living legend, a literary pillar, undeservedly little read in Russia. One of the main authors of American multiculturalism, like no other, claims the title of Marquez USA. Mine last novel She graduated only a year ago, actively lectures and is a loud voice of “black America”, whose comments on the murders of African-American teenagers are no less important for many Western intellectuals than the statements of politicians or pop stars.

In his novels, Morrison talks about the identity of the African-American population of the United States through magical realism. For example, “Beloved” is written in the best traditions American Gothic the story of a woman fleeing slavery and forced to confront her own past, which takes on flesh and blood. The writer’s texts are structured in such a way that the author’s reflection on human dignity, about different types oppression, myth and love.

Lyudmila Petrushevskaya

In modern Russian prose, women play a key role, and it is impossible to list all the important names. However, towering over all of them like a pillar is the Russian word magician Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. The author of novels, plays, stories, songs, fairy tales that have become memes (Peter the Pig), and the script for the mystical “Tale of Tales” by Norshtein is still actively writing, and also sings, draws and does everything else.

Stories, novels, and the story “Time is Night,” which brought Petrushevskaya her first fame, are really difficult to read, because what makes her prose frightening is not the fantastic component (where it exists at all), but Gogol’s irony and the vitality of the nightmares that occur. However, the oppressive and magical world of Petrushevskaya is attractive, and not only for her compatriots: she managed to achieve recognition both in the post-Soviet space (and this after a many-year ban on her books) and abroad. To this day, she remains one of the most translated Russian writers.

Isabel Allende

The most famous Spanish-language writer of the 20th century is Chilean by nationality, born in Lima, and lives in the USA, so she may well be considered Pan-American. In addition to the classics “The House of the Spirits” and the adventures of Eva Luna, the writer has, for example, an amazing autobiographical book “Paula”, dedicated to her deceased daughter and telling about the coup in Chile, the personal life and vocation of Allende herself and motherhood.

Allende proved that a Latina could become an internationally popular writer, and she herself began to set the rules for the relationship between magical realism, eroticism and historical storytelling. It deserves special attention wonderful book"Aphrodite", dedicated to aphrodisiacs.

Ursula Le Guin

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, David Mitchell and Salman Rushdie, J. R. R. Martin and other greats of the literary world openly acknowledge the undeniable influence of Ursula Le Guin's work on their prose. One of the main authors of science fiction and fantasy of the 20th century, she has an imagination capable of inhabiting distant planets and thinking through in detail the features of forms of culture alternative to human ones. But not only.

In her texts, she accurately and deeply, with the wise detachment of an anthropologist, analyzes the nature of gender, sexual and social inequality, reflects on otherness in all its manifestations, on the ecology and politics of the colonialists - and the author of “The Left Hand of Darkness” and Tales of Earthsea began asking these questions long before it became mainstream.

Olga Sedakova

Olga Sedakova was entrusted with “Moscow - Petushki” by Venedikt Erofeev, John Paul II corresponded with her, Sergei Averintsev taught her and studied with her. She translated Thomas Aquinas, Emily Dickinson, Paul Claudel and others, but most importantly, she wrote and writes poetry that in the 20th and 21st centuries does not speak funny or falsely about faith.

Sedakova began working when any creativity related to religion was banned in the USSR, and now, finding herself in completely different conditions and facing other difficulties, she continues to prove that spiritual heights and true art can still be combined and bring light, not destruction. The poetess is published in Russia and abroad, and her philosophical and philological works are no less interesting than her poems. The amazing purity and greatness of the Russian language, which the author speaks at a level unattainable for most modern writers, is visible in any of her texts, including the latest collection of poems from different years, “The Garden of the Universe.”

Svetlana Alexievich

The figure of Svetlana Alexievich is constantly surrounded by controversy, and after being presented to her Nobel Prize in literature and even more so: after all, she doesn’t write fiction. Indeed, Alexievich is the first non-fiction author in the history of the award. If the writer’s political statements raise questions, then her works speak for themselves.

Alexievich gives texts ordinary people the opportunity to write history, whether we are talking about women and children in World War II or those who served in Afghanistan. And in the program book “War has no woman's face", and in the new work about the 90s, Second-Hand Time, it is difficult to separate fiction and non-fiction. The emotional effect of the great Belarusian’s prose is no less than that of novels, and what she tells is both a document of the era and a universal monument to human suffering.

The stories are written in such a way that you want to re-read them, and every time small text she manages to fit a surprisingly rich narrative, creating a world that far exceeds the volume of the work. In the collections “Too Much Happiness” and “Runaway” published in Russian, you can feel everything character traits Munro's prose. There is more ambiguity than clarity, time jumps back and forth, and the story can end in mid-sentence. Despite the sometimes wildly twisted plots and characters unexpectedly changing in the eyes of the reader, you believe every word of the author, as if you were personally observing what was happening.

Joan Didion

One of the most influential nonfiction writers to emerge from the school of New Journalism, Joan Didion is an example of a writer who creates literature from life. Since the 1960s, Didion has written prose and journalism, exploring a wide variety of social phenomena and problems. One of Didion’s most highly regarded works, the autobiographical book “The Year of Magical Thinking,” was written as a kind of therapy: the author describes the death of her husband, her daughter’s illness, and grief as a social phenomenon and as a personal experience.

Both the literary and journalistic texts of the writer are thought out to the smallest detail: a student of Hemingway, Henry James and George Eliot preaches the value of the correct construction of each sentence, because syntax, like a camera in a movie, snatches from reality exactly what the author wants to show the reader.

1. Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" García Márquez(b. March 6, 1927, Aracataca, Colombia) - famous Colombian prose writer, journalist, publisher and political figure; winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1982. Representative literary direction"magical realism". His novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad, 1967) brought him worldwide fame.

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) - popular English writer. The most popular is his satirical fantasy series about Flat world(eng. 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.

Modern Russian writers continue to create their excellent works in the present century. They work in various genres Each of them has an individual and unique style. Some are familiar to many devoted readers from their writings. Some names are well known to everyone, as they are extremely popular and promoted. However, there are also modern Russian writers about whom you will learn for the first time. But this does not mean at all that their creations are worse. The fact is that in order to highlight true masterpieces, a certain amount of time must pass.

Modern Russian writers of the 21st century. List

Poets, playwrights, prose writers, science fiction writers, publicists, etc. continue to work fruitfully in the current century and add to the works of great Russian literature. This:

• Alexander Bushkov.
• Alexander Zholkovsky.
• Alexandra Marinina.
• Alexander Olshansky.
• Alex Orlov.
• Alexander Rosenbaum.
• Alexander Rudazov.
• Alexey Kalugin.
• Alina Vitukhnovskaya.
• Anna and Sergei Litvinov.
• Anatoly Salutsky.
• Andrey Dashkov.
• Andrey Kivinov.
• Andrey Plekhanov.
• Boris Akunin.
• Boris Karlov.
• Boris Strugatsky.
• Valery Ganichev.
• Vasilina Orlova.
• Vera Vorontsova.
• Vera Ivanova.
• Victor Pelevin.
• Vladimir Vishnevsky.
• Vladimir Voinovich.
• Vladimir Gandelsman.
• Vladimir Karpov.
• Vladislav Krapivin.
• Vyacheslav Rybakov.
• Vladimir Sorokin.
• Darya Dontsova.
• Dina Rubina.
• Dmitry Yemets.
• Dmitry Suslin.
• Igor Volgin.
• Igor Guberman.
• Igor Lapin.
• Leonid Kaganov.
• Leonid Kostomarov.
• Lyubov Zakharchenko.
• Maria Arbatova.
• Maria Semenova.
• Mikhail Weller.
• Mikhail Zhvanetsky.
• Mikhail Zadornov.
• Mikhail Kukulevich.
• Mikhail Makovetsky.
• Nick Perumov.
• Nikolai Romanetsky.
• Nikolai Romanov.
• Oksana Robski.
• Oleg Mityaev.
• Oleg Pavlov.
• Olga Stepnova.
• Sergei Magomet.
• Tatiana Stepanova.
• Tatiana Ustinova.
• Eduard Radzinsky.
• Eduard Uspensky.
• Yuri Mineralov.
• Yuna Moritz.
• Yulia Shilova.

Writers of Moscow

Modern writers(Russians) never cease to amaze with their interesting works. Separately, we should highlight the writers of Moscow and the Moscow region who are members of various unions.

Their writings are excellent. Only a certain time must pass in order to highlight real masterpieces. After all, time is the harshest critic that cannot be bribed with anything.

Let's highlight the most popular ones.

Poets: Avelina Abareli, Pyotr Akaemov, Evgeny Antoshkin, Vladimir Boyarinov, Evgenia Bragantseva, Anatoly Vetrov, Andrey Voznesensky, Alexander Zhukov, Olga Zhuravleva, Igor Irtenev, Rimma Kazakova, Elena Kanunova, Konstantin Koledin, Evgeny Medvedev, Mikhail Mikhalkov, Grigory Osipov and a lot others.

Playwrights: Maria Arbatova, Elena Isaeva and others.

Prose writers: Eduard Alekseev, Igor Bludilin, Evgeny Buzni, Genrikh Gatsura, Andrey Dubovoy, Egor Ivanov, Eduard Klygul, Yuri Konoplyannikov, Vladimir Krupin, Irina Lobko-Lobanovskaya and others.

Satirists: Zadornov.

Modern Russian writers of Moscow and the Moscow region have created: wonderful works for children, a large number of poems, prose, fables, detective stories, science fiction, humorous stories and much more.

First among the best

Tatyana Ustinova, Daria Dontsova, Yulia Shilova are modern writers (Russian), whose works are loved and read with great pleasure.

T. Ustinova was born on April 21, 1968. He treats his tall height with humor. She said that in kindergarten she was teased as "Herculesine". There were certain difficulties in this regard at school and institute. Mom read a lot as a child, which instilled in Tatyana a love of literature. It was very difficult for her at the institute, since physics was very difficult. But I managed to finish my studies, my future husband helped me. I got on television completely by accident. Got a job as a secretary. But seven months later she moved up the career ladder. Tatyana Ustinova was a translator and worked in the presidential administration Russian Federation. After the change of power, she returned to television. However, I was also fired from this job. After that, she wrote her first novel, “Personal Angel,” which was immediately published. They returned to work. Things were looking up. She gave birth to two sons.

Outstanding satirists

Everyone is very familiar with Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Mikhail Zadornov - modern Russian writers, masters of the humorous genre. Their works are very interesting and funny. Performances by comedians are always expected; tickets to their concerts are sold out immediately. Each of them has their own image. The witty Mikhail Zhvanetsky always goes on stage with a briefcase. The public loves him very much. His jokes are often quoted because they are incredibly funny. At the Arkady Raikin Theater, great success began with Zhvanetsky. Everyone said: “as Raikin said.” But their union fell apart over time. The performer and the author, the artist and the writer, had different paths. Zhvanetsky brought with him a new literary genre, which was at first mistaken for ancient. Some are surprised why “a man without a voice and acting ability goes on stage”? However, not everyone understands that in this way the writer publishes his works, and not just performs his miniatures. And in this sense, pop music as a genre has nothing to do with it. Zhvanetsky, despite the misunderstanding on the part of some people, remains a great writer of his era.

Bestsellers

Below are Russian writers. Three interesting historical adventure stories are included in Boris Akunin’s book “History Russian state. The Fiery Finger." This is an amazing book that every reader will enjoy. An exciting plot, bright heroes, incredible adventures. All this is perceived in one breath. “Love for Three Zuckerbrins” by Victor Pelevin makes you think about the world and human life. He puts at the forefront questions that concern many people who are able and eager to think and think. His interpretation of existence corresponds to the spirit of modernity. Here myth and the tricks of creatives, reality and virtuality are closely intertwined. Pavel Sanaev's book "Bury Me Behind the Plinth" was nominated for the Booker Prize. She made a real splash on the book market. The magnificent publication occupies place of honor in modern Russian literature. This is a true masterpiece modern prose. Easy and interesting to read. Some chapters are full of humor, while others move you to tears.

Best Novels

Modern novels by Russian writers captivate with a new and surprising plot and make you empathize with the main characters. The historical novel “Abode” by Zakhar Prilepin touches on the important and at the same time sore subject of the Solovetsky special purpose camps. In the writer’s book, that complex and heavy atmosphere is deeply felt. Whoever she didn't kill, she made stronger. The author created his novel based on archival documentation. He skillfully inserts monstrous historical facts into the artistic outline of the essay. Many works of modern Russian writers are worthy examples, excellent creations. This is the novel “Darkness Falls on the Old Steps” by Alexander Chudakov. It was recognized as the best Russian novel by the decision of the jury of the Russian Booker competition. Many readers decided that this essay was autobiographical. The thoughts and feelings of the characters are so authentic. However, this is an image of genuine Russia in a difficult period of time. The book combines humor and incredible sadness; lyrical episodes smoothly flow into epic ones.

Conclusion

Modern Russian writers of the 21st century are another page in the history of Russian literature.

Daria Dontsova, Tatyana Ustinova, Yulia Shilova, Boris Akunin, Victor Pelevin, Pavel Sanaev, Alexander Chudakov and many others won the hearts of readers throughout the country with their works. Their novels and stories have already become real bestsellers.