Honest!. She died on Jan. 22, 2018. //]]> Although, that just reminded me of one of my favorite David Bowie songs, Is There Life on Mars? and Space Oddity mentioned by J.J. below. She said that down there Harper Lee is known as Nelle Harper Lee and those who knew her personally called her Nelle. I havent read the novel, but the film version starring Clive Owen as the washed up, cynical journalist who gets sucked into the drama and becomes the pregnant womans protector/guide was one of the most intense, powerful films of the past 10 years. She only wrote two books about her, which I was disappointed in at first, but Adam Dalgliesh is such a compelling character that I read the entire series. Sic transit gloria mundi. Stephanie Adams. Thanks, Kat Lib! Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-2014) was of course best known for his epic masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, which took eighteen months to write Im pretty sure it took me at least that long to read it! googletag.pubads().setTargeting("gr_author", "false"); Thanks for the comments, Kat Lib, and #*+&%#@ about your continuing posting issues. })(); Not at all your fault, Dave, just one of those vagaries of certain websites. And I Still Rise is also a PBS documentary that can be streamed on public television websites. I will miss Marquez most, out of all listed. Posted on . Your favorite authors who died during the past five years either ones I named or others? Ms. Lees death is indeed very sad, but Im glad she got to live until almost 90 on her own terms. Only I, or another WordPress blogger, can do that. Oh did you hear Rex likes to take frequent naps ? She published more than 20 novels, a dozen poetry . He seems to kind of sneer and smirk at the fact that lovers of literature (and lovers of the other arts) as well as creators themselves tend to be more liberal and open-minded. Edward Albee (1928-2016), Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? "https:" : "http:") + aphra brandreth husband authors who died in the last 10 years. The faults I found with this film were (1) I had to fast-forward through the scene that depicted very ugly sketches of life on a slave plantation, but more importantly (2) the character of Fanny Price was portrayed as a very spunky, 20th century sort of heroine, not anywhere near the character of the book. setDisplayBids: function() {}, In some ways, Solitude is like The Brothers Karamazov absolutely brilliant in many sections, even as things drag a bit elsewhere. Nicely put, jhNY. First of all, Im going to let go of my concerns with the WordPress site, even with all of my problems with it. Much appreciated. a[a9] = { When I think of her I see her smiling, she was someone so true to herself, so transparent. Billie Letts (1938-2014) saw her very appealing debut novel Where the Heart Is published when she was in her mid-50s during a career teaching creative writing at the college level. ), I guess the born-somewhat-later Pete Hamill is still around, but writing books more than columns these days . When I was a kid in the 1970s, I avoided book reviews so I could formulate my own opinions about that which I was about to read. For some reason I am reminded of the old Fugs line: It crawled into my hand. 5. Who are some famous people that have died in the past 10 years? World stays with you long after youve read it. var source = getCookieWithoutJQuery("source"); I wondered what there was about The Last of the Mohicans that made it worthy of great American novel status. James, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Terry Pratchett. These can be used to determine whose copyrights expire(d) each New Year in past and future years. And thanks for all that info on P.D. Denis Johnson - American writer of Jesus' Son: Stories. And, yes, the white supremacist far right can have Ayn Rand, but it should leave Jane Austen alone. var gads = document.createElement("script"); Which just leads me to thinking about which actors portrayed their characters better David Rintoul or Colin Firth as Darcy? In addition to doing this weekly blog, I also write the award-winning Montclairvoyant topical-humor column now with Baristanet.com, which covers Montclair, N.J., and nearby towns. And then theres the novel Island by Aldous Hux-yumHuxley. She was also the only author who I trusted to write a mystery sequel to Pride and Prejudice, I also read her book Talking About Detective Fiction, which for a longtime crime novel aficionado was quite interesting. Chuck Berry was indeed an extraordinary writer: terse, witty, and more as you noted, jhNY. thanks for the reminder. What you might not be aware of is that he was a descendant of one of the accused (Mary Bradbury) during the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. Its so infuriating when a long post disappears. We've said goodbye to some iconic faces over the past decade. googletag.pubads().setTargeting("sid", "osid.2c3b515e1a0051376904441ddfdc8736"); He also wrote Foucaults Pendulum, which has impressive intellectual heft but contains some sections that work better than a sleeping pill for getting a bit of shut-eye. "CacheDetection.RequestID": "JW4DJKAX8F5XDRVNSR6V", One of the tracks? American former glamour model, known as the November 1992 Playboy Playmate, jumped from a 25th floor window after pushing her seven-year-old son Vincent out the same window. His songs are stories, well-told, tightly constructed and downright clever. I suppose this is why I usually keep them in different compartments. We all know that there were many so-called enlightened men who didnt consider women as equal, let alone people of color or other religions. Indeed. Edmund Morris was a British-American writer best known for his biographies. And perhaps Austen herself would be very happy with the way her characters were portrayed in films today, but we dont know! At the time of his death, he had $91 in his bank account . Colin Dexter - English author of the Inspector Morse series. Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems Selected and New, 1950-1984. Alvin Toffler (1928-2016), Future Shock. !function(){function n(n,t){var r=i(n);return t&&(r=r("instance",t)),r}var r=[],c=0,i=function(t){return function(){var n=c++;return r.push([t,[].slice.call(arguments,0),n,{time:Date.now()}]),i(n)}};n._s=r,this.csa=n}(); One Hundred Years of Solitude contains many old tales of wonder from Colombia, like the galleon miles from the ocean, to which Marquez added several of his own creation, and his own narrative genius, for which he was rewarded critically as a founder of a fiction school termed magic realism, more of a useful marketing tool, I always thought, than a designation of something even mostly new, given the history of world literature. I used to read a lot of it (biographies, mostly) before getting on my current novel binge for the past fifteen years or so. And he wrote (it wasnt ghosted) quite a vivid/accomplished 1987 memoir, now out of print, according to The New York Times, which reviewed the book a few days ago. Youre absolutely right that Jane Austen had an excellent sense of humor and plenty of wit whether in her narration or in the personalities of some of the female and male characters she created. Plot Or Character Which Comes First In A Romance Novel? E.L.s first name was Edgar after Edgar Allan Poe. Kerouac died in 1969 at the age of 47 from alcoholism his liver was pickled by the time he moved back in with his mother. A compelling book starring an ambitious, resourceful, resilient protagonist named Adah who is frustrated with the ultra-patriarchal nature of 1960s Nigeria and eventually makes her way to London for a life that ends up still having plenty of challenges such as dealing with an abusive husband and blatant racism. Too late! I realize it would be time-consuming, but if you want to try reconstructing your comment, that would be great. Umberto Eco (1932-2016) was best known for The Name of the Rose, a fascinating detective novel set in the 14th century. Thanks for all that interesting information, bobess48! mortality, a pressing subject you got that right, applemcg. A.src = t; Austen was humanistic and a keen social observer, but not overt in addressing gross injustice in her fiction. Maya Angelou died a couple of years ago wrote several books notably And Still I rise. } Youd really enjoy almost anything by Maya Angelou, and Billie Letts Where the Heart Is which also has the distinction of characters with some VERY colorful names. I`ll let you know if they do. Youre so right about Mary Tyler Moore being the prototype for the character portrayed by the main person in Mansfield Park, the film. Fathers and sons, I guess. Douthat is indeed living in some alternate reality. He wrote 16 No. One Hundred Years of Solitude IS a challenging read. return true; var node = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; So it makes sense for course inclusion as an example of novels from that earlier era. Who knows ? //, So these are the authors who died this year. Football player turned actor Bubba Smith died on August 03, 2011. 1966 William Frawley, American vaudeville, silent and sound screen actor (I Love Lucy - "Fred"; My Three Sons - "Bub"; Miracle on 34th Street), dies of a heart attack at 79; 1967 Georges Lonque, Belgian composer, dies at 66; 1969 Fred Alexander, American tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1908, 5-time US Indoor winner), dies at 88; 1973 Vera Panova, Russian author and journalist (Sputniki . for(var i=0; i