Contemporary Fiction - Recommendations please.

[dookeyXXX]

Just got hooked on this dude Ron Carlson after reading a review of his new novel The Signal. In the review they commented a number of times on Carlson being one of the premier American short story writers. Being more willing to take a chance on a collection of short stories by a writer I was unfamiliar with than plunking down on a full novel, I picked up At The Jim Bridger at a local used book store and promptly got sucked into it. Finished up in less than a week (I take my time with short story collections, usually trying to read a story or two a night when I find the time).

Needless to say, ATJB was awesome. I recommend digging up a copy of that as all of the stories are engaging and well-crafted.


Another suggestion is Willie Vlautin's Motel Life. Read this last year and then gave a copy to Corky as a Thank You for letting me crash at his pad in Reno while riding at Rose. He cranked through it and enjoyed it so much that I believe he picked up Vlautin's other book (and this was after telling me that he wasn't that much of a reader).

http://www.willyvlautin.com/index.php


I'm presently finishing up Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale.

Lansdale is a strange cat who rambles around in western, sci-fi, and horror genres, but with his own unique kind of gonzo take on those areas. He also excels at mysteries and has several fine novels out there worth checking out if you want something well- crafted but a bit off the beaten path (he's really just an awesome storyteller from the campfire/strange old coot sitting in the back of the bar regaling all those who will listen with tales of strangeness and glory school of writing).

Joe posts a lot of free stories on his website:

http://www.joerlansdale.com/


Another good read is Boonville by Robert Mailer Anderson. Quirky tale about a slacker who inherits some property up in Boonville (where they brew Anderson Valley beer).

There's also Tom Franklin, whose short story collection Poachers is pretty solid.

And if you've never read anything by Christopher Moore, he's definitely a hoot. I'd recommend Practical Demonkeeping, Bloodsucking Fiends, Coyote Blue, Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, but other'll probably give shout outs to Fluke, Lamb, and some of his others (that I have yet to tackle). He's an uber quirky, yet highly enjoyable writer based out of the Central Coast. Definitely worth a look:

http://www.chrismoore.com/


Finally, if you want some crazy, hard-boiled crime fiction you could hardly do worse'n Andrew Vachss.

http://www.vachss.com/

[jaygu]

Bret Easton Ellis does some truly remarkable stuff, Glamorama is an excellent work of his.

[Hugh Conway]

Bret Easton Ellis does some truly remarkable stuff

American Psycho is the most onanistic novel I've ever read.

[mgurtman]

tim powers- last call, anubis gates, on stranger tides, 3 days to never

richard k morgan - altered carbon

josh Conviser- empyre

steven pressfield- gates of fire

jose saramago- blindness

freakonomics , blink, tipping point

[Stu Gotz]

Masters of Atlantis, by Charles Portis
I Am Not Sidney Poitier, by Percival Everett

[berko]

Someone mention T.C. Boyle earlier. Just finished Drop City. Great read.

[dookeyXXX]

Here's what I've recently whipped through (all are neo-hard-boiled quasi-mysteries in the vein of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen but on meth)

Beat The Reaper - Josh Bazell
this is a quick, exciting read that's about a NYC doctor with deadly skills. the only downer is that it's set up for a sequel/to be a series (but then some folks like series with the same characters). it's also ready-made to be a movie it moves along so fast.

The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death - Charlie Huston
this is another slam-bang number. it's based in L.A. and follows the exploits of a slacker who works for a cleaning service that sterilizes violent crime scenes. like BTR it too is set-up to be a potential series and would probably make a decent movie in the right hands.

Moist - Mark Haskell Smith
another L.A. based pop thriller, this time about a slacker who works at a crime lab and discovers a tattooed arm that sucks him into a strange Mexican mafia mystery/adventure

Street Sleeper - Geoff Nicholson
a bugged out road trip book about a librarian who buys a beat-up VW and tours across England. interspersed throughout are strange historical vignettes about the history of Volkswagen.


I'm currently embroiled in The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes, which is like Sherlock Holmes as interpreted by Lemony Snickett, but with lascivious nuances.

[schuss]

has anyone said world war z? read that.
Kavalier and Klay was fantastic as well.