Limestone tablet from Sumer with pictographic writing; may be the earliest known writing, 3500 BC. Ashmolean Museum – a real page-turner
Exactly what it says on the tin – counting down my Top 10 Literature, by author and literary work.
But what is literature?
By its widest definition, literature is any written work but this top ten follows the narrower definition of written fiction or “writing considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays and poems”. After all, I have my separate top ten lists for books in mythology, history, and philosophy or science.
POETRY (DRAMA)
And as usual, I make my own rules and break them anyway, following the vibe. I also have my Top 10 Poetry, so I tend to rank poetic literature there but the distinction between poetic and prose literature can be fuzzy, particularly as some authors alternate between the two, often in the same work. Accordingly, I will include a poetry ranking in entries.
On the other hand, I also tend to focus almost exclusively on novels or short stories in my literature rankings. In other words – not plays or drama, although they do pop up on occasion. Accordingly, I’ll note them when they do, including any notable adaptations on stage or screen.
Also, it’s not all literary fiction either – that is, novels or stories. Some of my favorite literary writing is in the form of essays and observational humor or comedy, although as with poetry, the distinction between literary fiction and non-fiction can be fuzzy, again with some authors alternating between them, often in the same work. So again I’ll include items of note here in the category of essays as broadly understood.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
As I also have my Top 10 Fantasy and Top 10 SF lists, I tend to reserve my Top 10 Literature for non-fantasy or non-SF literary fiction.
However, such distinctions of genre are also notoriously fuzzy and some of these works might be argued to have wandered in here from the fantasy or SF sections. Such is the nature of fiction and imagination, both of which have elements of fantasy at their core, but it’s also because I tend to lean towards fantasy as a genre in written fiction.
Not to mention comedy, which also looms large in my favorite literary fiction – and much the same argument might be made for elements of comedy also being at the core of fiction and imagination.
Accordingly, I will include a fantasy & SF ranking in my entries, in which I’ll also include comedy rankings.
(10) MARGARET ATWOOD –
OLD BABES IN THE WOOD (2023)
“I’m the plot, babe, and don’t ever forget it.”
Yes – that’s from her story collection Good Bones but it’s my favorite Margaret Atwood, voicing the evil stepmother in fairy tales, and in a way encapsulates all her writing, both fiction and non-fiction.
Otherwise, Margaret Atwood needs little introduction as an icon of modern literature – a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and critic (among other things). One might have anticipated that I would feature one of her novels as my top 10 entry here – with The Handmaid’s Tale as perhaps her best known – but I was introduced to her through her short story collections, indeed through Good Bones. However, I went with her 2023 collection Old Babes in the Woods for my usual tenth place wildcard entry from the present or previous year – and Atwood never loses her shine in her story collections.
She does however show her age in this collection – not in her mastery of form or style of course but in subject matter. As The Guardian reviewed it, “most of the characters in Margaret Atwood’s latest book are old or headed that way, and their stories unwrap what T.S. Eliot called the gifts of age. There are chips and fragments of lives, full of sass and sadness”. The standout for me was “My Evil Mother” – a vignette or series of vignettes narrated by a woman about her mother who may or may not have been a witch. There’s just something about the way that Atwood plays with fairytale stereotypes of witches or evil (step)mothers.
She deserves her own Top 10 or indeed two of them, one for her shorter works featured in collections such as this, and one for her longer works I have enjoyed as well. But her poetic style perhaps shines brightest in her shorter works.
POETRY (DRAMA)
Yes – she writes poetry, so earns my poetry ranking. It’s good too although her lyrical writing style walks the line with poetry even in her prose – very evocative, whether fiction or writing in the style of essays.
She also writes in a style that is easy to imagine as drama or plays on occasion – and indeed her work has been adapted to screen, again with the most famous (and visually iconic) being The Handmaid’s Tale.
She does write actual essays, although her short pieces often straddle the line between story and essay but in the most engaging way for both.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Speaking of The Handmaid’s Tale, some might say she wandered in here from the science fiction section, particularly for that novel – one of the most famous SF dystopias up there with 1984 and Brave New World. Atwood herself resisted the suggestion it was science fiction, although recently she’s embraced her inner fantasy nerd and the science fiction label to some degree, including in some stories in her latest book. She’s even written graphic novels! So she gets my fantasy & SF ranking as well.
As for comedy, she does have a certain black or dry comedy about her but I wouldn’t really rank her as a comedic writer.
RATING: 4 STARS****
X-TIER (WILD TIER)
(9) IAIN BANKS –
THE WASP FACTORY (1984)
“Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.
That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again.
It was just a stage I was going through.”
Says it all really. I’m a big fan of the importance of first lines or openings in books or stories. They should pack a punch or two – and Iain Bank’s The Wasp Factory certainly does that.
As for the book is about, well, let’s just say it’s one of the strangest coming of age books I’ve read, about a pyschopathic teenager living in a remote Scottish island with some big twists in the tale and not for the faint-hearted – par for the course for Banks, really. The titular Wasp Factory is a weird shamanic divinatory device the protagonist has constructed. Interestingly, it was Banks’ first novel and he wrote it to resemble science fiction – with the island resembling a planet and the protagonist an alien.
POETRY (DRAMA)
No poetry ranking – apparently he did write some but I haven’t read it. Nothing of note in drama either – I’m not aware of any screen or stage adaptations.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Banks definitely earns my fantasy & SF ranking for his SF books, most famously his Culture series of novels, although he published them as Iain M. Banks as opposed to Iain Banks.
There are comedic elements in Banks but I wouldn’t rank him as a comedic writer.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(8) TOM ROBBINS –
ANOTHER ROADSIDE ATTRACTION (1971)
“Real courage is risking one’s clichés.”
Writer of comic novels, “often experimental in form and subject”, with “satirical, political and erotic elements”. Also fantasy or literary magical realism.
Another Roadside Attraction essentially – but entertainingly – meanders through musings on religion from the lens of the 1960’s.
The plot is too convoluted to encapsulate here without spoiling it, but it does indeed involve the titular roadside attraction – or at least attempt at one by an archetypal sixties couple, with Amanda Ziller or the female member of the couple resembling a pagan goddess figure. Things heat up when one of their friends smuggles out of the Vatican a certain mummified corpse that shouldn’t have been there – or anywhere if certain books are to be believed.
POETRY (DRAMA)
I’m not sure if he’s written any poetry but he certainly has a lyrical prose style.
“When he starts a novel, it works like this. First he writes a sentence. Then he rewrites it again and again, examining each word, making sure of its perfection, finely honing each phrase until it reverberates with the subtle texture of the infinite. Sometimes it takes hours. Sometimes an entire day is devoted to one sentence, which gets marked on and expanded upon in every possible direction until he is satisfied. Then, and only then, does he add a period.”
As for drama, at least one of his books – Even Cowgirls Get the Blues – has been adapted to film
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Did you not see my reference to fantasy and magical realism? Definitely one of my top ten entries that wanders more into fantasy than most.
Also did you not see my reference to writer of comic novels – not the most comedic entry in my top ten but definitely one of the more comedic entries.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(7) KURT VONNEGUT –
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE (1969)
“And so it goes”.
Kurt Vonnegut has his own eponymous literary adjectives – or adjectives, Vonnegutian as pertaining to Vonnegut or his works, and Vonnegutesque more broadly as reminiscent or in the style of Vonnegut’s works.
Of course, he earned his eponymous adjectives with his signature style and themes. For the former, I always think of his conversational prose or playful synchronicity, and for the latter, I always think of his absurdist satire.
Vonnegut definitely wandered into here from the science fiction section. Of course, the literary establishment tend to identify him as ‘proper’ literature rather than science fiction, despite the time travel and aliens in his most iconic work, Slaughterhouse Five.
“Satirical, anti-authoritarian, humanist, absurdist and often brutally depressing world-view” (although tempered by his recurring theme that love may fail but courtesy will prevail).
The focus of Slaughterhouse-Five, is the bombing of Dresden in the WW2 – as it was for Vonnegut himself as a prisoner-of-war in the city at the time (even if he understandably relied on over-estimates of the civilian casualties).
Hapless protagonist Billy Pilgrim, stand-in for Vonnegut as POW in Dresden, has come “unstuck in time”, due to being abducted by the four-dimensional Tralfamadorian aliens.
Among other things, they place Pilgrim in an alien zoo to mate with a fellow abductee, adult film star Montana Wildhack – which, incidentally, is my own fervent aspiration in the event of alien abduction or invasion. Or really just any excuse for it.
And it gets weirder from there – interspersed throughout with characteristic running gags of synchronicity or serendipity. In this case, the recurring first dirty photograph in the world, made a year after photography itself.
POETRY (DRAMA)
Yeah – I can’t give Kurt a poetry ranking. He had one of the most, ah, prosaic prose styles of my top ten, albeit easy-going for the reader. Unless you count “So it goes”.
He did write plays however so I suppose he should get a drama ranking but even more so he earns a ranking for essays if only for the conversational introductions to his books. I particularly liked his introduction to Jailbird – which I might rank higher than Slaughterhouse but for that book’s iconic status – in which he quips a student summed up all his writing in just seven words. “Love may fail but courtesy will prevail”.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
As I said, he wandered into literary fiction from the SF section – and also is one of the more comedic writers in my top ten.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
Yeah – I can see why they just used his name and the title on the cover. I mean, they couldn’t exactly just put a piece of liver on it…
(6) PHILIP ROTH –
PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT (1969)
“Doctor, this is my only life and I’m living it in the middle of a Jewish joke!”
And it even has a punchline. No, seriously.
Well, I suppose it could be worse – he could be undergoing a Kafkaesque transformation into a breast, the titular (heh) fate of Roth’s protagonist in a subsequent book, The Breast. No, seriously.
Philip Roth put the kink into my literary fiction. And he did it with this book – his fourth and most controversial novel that nevertheless gave him “widespread commercial and critical success”.
Portnoy’s Complaint is his magnum opus of kink, perpetually warring with the Freudian Jewish-American guilt from that kink – a confessional of unsatiated satyriasis. Or dare I quip of sexual Judaism – or a comedic spin on Chesterton’s Song of the Strange Ascetic, of one who does have the guilt and cannot have the fun.
Again no, seriously. The titular Portnoy’s complaint even has a clinical definition at the outset, virtually synonymous with satyriasis.
“The novel tells the humorous monologue of “a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor”, who confesses to his psychoanalyst in “intimate, shameful detail, and coarse, abusive language.”…Portnoy’s Complaint is a continuous monologue by narrator Alexander Portnoy to Dr. Spielvogel, his psychoanalyst”.
Apparently in the one session, albeit of a few hours or so – the bill from that had to hurt – and he’s still (literally) only just getting started.
And oh boy – Alex Portnoy is one sick puppy. Men will compulsively pursue one sexual misadventure after another before going to therapy.
Let’s just say you won’t forget one chapter title in particular – or one scene in a chapter of similar scenes of frenzied onanism that I’m sure was the inspiration for the titular scene in the American Pie film, except with the liver that was the family’s dinner.
POETRY (DRAMA)
“Roth is known for his distinctive writing style, which is at once analytical, empassioned, confessional, foul-mouthed and extremely verbose.” Now if that’s not poetry, I don’t know what is!
Also “several of his works have been adapted into films, but rarely with results considered satisfactory by critics”.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Not so much on this book but Roth definitely flirts with fantasy, at least as magical realism – see the aforementioned transformation in (and into) The Breast. And science fiction, at least as alternative history.
As for comedy, one of the most comedic entries into my top ten. Portnoy’s Complaint reads up as stand-up comedy performance – and has been literally “likened to the stand-up performances of 1960s comedian Lenny Bruce”.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
Poster of the 2001 Australian film adapted from the novel, directed by Richard Lowenstein (and distributed by Roadshow Entertainment) and starring Noah Taylor
(5) JOHN BIRMINGHAM –
HE DIED WITH A FELAFEL IN HIS HAND (1994)
I haven’t just read He Died with a Felafel in His Hand – I’ve lived it!
JB was first published in Semper Floreat, student newspaper at the University in Queensland, where he studied law among ‘rat-faced bastards’ who wouldn’t lend him their notes. Damn law students!
Fortunately he did not graduate to become a lawyer but instead became a published writer with his 1994 share-house living memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand – an eclectic gonzo collection of “colorful anecdotes” about living in increasingly squalid share houses in Australia and with increasingly dubious housemates (included the titular deceased felafel-holder).
And not just any writer – Australia’s own gonzo writer in the style of Hunter S. Thompson, albeit without the trunk full of acid and other drugs (or at least, not quite full).
POETRY (DRAMA)
No poetry ranking as such, but he does score my drama ranking – with Felafel adapted into the longest running stage play in Australian history, a cult film in 2001 and a graphic novel. It was also arguably adapted as its own sequel The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco, which was less a sequel than a more straightforward linear narrative fictionalization of the original (or ‘remake’).
And as Australia’s own gonzo writer in the style of Hunter S. Thompson, he also writes humorous essays or pieces, as well as other non-fiction.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Birmo scores high in my fantasy & SF ranking, as of late he’s taken to writing highly entertaining SF thrillers (including the so-called Birmoverse) and space opera.
Also one of the outright comedic entries in my top ten.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(4) PETER CAREY –
BLISS (1981)
“Harry Joy was to die three times, but it was his first death that was to have the greatest effect on him”.
More than a touch of fantasy – or “magical realism” as they call it in literary fiction.
Indeed, almost my favorite subgenre of fantasy, posthumous fantasy, with that first death of Harry Joy. He gets better.
But his ‘afterlife’ takes a turn for the worse.
“Written as a dark, comic fable, the story concerns an advertising executive, Harry Joy, who briefly ‘dies’ of a heart attack. On being resuscitated, he realizes that the life he has previously drifted amiably through is in fact Hell – literally so to Harry”
Resonant with mythic and symbolic imagery – one of the biggest influences on my own imagination. Not to mention one of two Australian entries in my top ten – publishing his works through the University of Queensland Press, no less.
POETRY (DRAMA)
I don’t know about poetry but Carey earns my drama ranking for the film adaptation of Bliss in 1985 as something of a cult classic, albeit award-winning (in Australia). It has subsequently been adapted to stage.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Yes – Carey earns my fantasy ranking, for that aforementioned touch of (posthumous) fantasy or magical realism.
Not the most comedic entry in my top ten but Carey also earns my comedy ranking for his dry black comedy.
RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(3) DOUGLAS COUPLAND –
GENERATION X (1991)
“Kind of scary, kind of sexy, tainted by regret. A lot like life, wouldn’t you say?”
Popularized the term Generation X with its title, as well as numerous other neologisms.
McJob – “a low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one”.
Or ‘veal-fattening pens’ for office cubicles. Or ‘pull-the-plug, slice-the-pie’ for the “fantasy in which an offspring mentally tallies up the net worth of his parents”. I wonder if my mother still pops in here – hi, Mum!)
Essentially a latter day Canterbury Tales on the eve of the second millennium – a framed narrative of a story-telling contest by a group of youths of the titular generation and varying dysfunction.
POETRY (DRAMA)
No poetry ranking as he hasn’t written any poetry, although he does get lyrical in his prose. He does earn a drama ranking as he has written screenplays – although ironically not for this novel, which would seem to be eminently suited to stage at least.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Coupland hovers on the edge of fantasy and SF – at least in some of the stories his characters tell here. While not the most comedic entry in this top ten, he does have a dry comedic style.
RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER)
(2) JEREMY LEVEN –
SATAN: HIS PSYCHOTHERAPY & CURE BY THE UNFORTUNATE DR KASSLER J.S.P.S (1982)
“The truth of the matter is, I am not the Father of Evil…I am not a seducer. Or an accuser. Or a destroyer…But let me tell you something. You never hear of a vengeful Satan, a Satan of wrath, a Satan who brings on pestilence and famine. That’s the other fellow. You should keep this in mind”.
Somewhat loosely a fantasy, but the titular character is primarily a plot device for black comedy and satire – a black comedy of life itself and a satire of religion. A theological version of my top entry and as indelibly planted in my adolescent psyche.
The raunchy cover of the edition I borrowed to read in my youth but sadly not the cover of the edition I bought later
Although devilishly funny in its entirety, the highlight (and centerpiece) of the book is the seven psychotherapy sessions with hapless psychologist Kassler, agreed by the latter in a literal deal with the devil in exchange for Satan’s revelation of the Great Secret of Life.
I and my sense of religion were never the same after reading this book – and Satan forever changed for me from a supernatural figure of childhood Catholic fear to a more mythic figure of the human condition, as forlorn and lost as any of us.
POETRY (DRAMA)
No poetry ranking but Leven does earn a drama ranking as an actual screenwriter. Sadly, while his first novel Creator – also a great read – was adapted to a film, this one wasn’t. Which is a pity as it would have made a cracking film.
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
Given its plot and premise, this book could well be argued to be fantasy – as indeed could all three of his books. And it is one of the funniest books in my top ten.
RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER)
(1) JOSEPH HELLER –
CATCH 22 (1961)
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22…”
Yeah – this is the big one. This is the book that changed me forever. If you peel back the layers of my psyche, you’d find this book lodged deep in my mind. Even more than any fantasy or science fiction book, this book is the lens by which I see the world.
An absurdist and at times black comedy. Life is the laughter of the gods – but sometimes they have a black sense of humor.
A satirical antiwar novel – it focuses on Yossarian, an American bombardier in the Second World War, who would very much like to not be a bombardier in the Second World War.
Distinctive non-linear or “non-chronological omniscient third person” narrative, with the plot seemingly an assortment of random events on base or shifting focus across several characters (among the most humorous character vignettes in literary fiction) – although linked by the main focus on Yossarian and recurring story arc of mysterious references to Snowden.
And of course the novel originated the titular expression to describe a no-win situation or a double bind.
“A wild, moving, shocking, hilarious, raging, exhilarating, giant roller-coaster of a book”.
POETRY (DRAMA)
No poetry ranking but Heller does get my drama ranking for writing plays and screenplays, including three plays based on Catch-22. Catch-22 has also been adapted to film in 1970 – it’s not bad but it’s not the book either – and a six-episode miniseries by George Clooney in 2019 – again not the book but not bad either, probably better than the film
FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)
The absurdism verges on fantasy but Heller can’t be ranked in the fantasy (or SF) genre, at least in this book – on the other hand, Catch-22 is the best comedic book in literary fiction.
RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER)
TOP 10 LITERATURE (TIER LIST)
S-TIER (GOD-TIER)
(1) JOSEPH HELLER – CATCH 22
(2) JEREMY LEVEN – SATAN: HIS PSYCHOTHERAPY & CURE
(3) DOUGLAS COUPLAND – GENERATION X
If Catch-22 is my Old Testament of literary fiction, Satan: His Psychotherapy & Cure and Generation X are my New Testament
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(4) PETER CAREY – BLISS
(5) JOHN BIRMINGHAM – HE DIED WITH A FELAFEL IN HIS HAND
(6) PHILIP ROTH – PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT
(7) KURT VONNEGUT – SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
(8) TOM ROBBINS – ANOTHER ROADSIDE ATTRACTION
(9) IAIN BANKS – THE WASP FACTORY
X-TIER (WILD TIER – for best of the present or previous year)
(10) MARGARET ATWOOD – OLD BABES IN THE WOOD (2023)