"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Ted Gioia is a writer and musician. He is the author of Delta Blues, The History of Jazz and, most recently, The Birth (and Death) of the Cool.
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88
Conceptual Fiction: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess feared his novel was too traditionally moralistic, but I doubt that will be your reaction to A Clockwork Orange.
87
Conceptual Fiction: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
There may be stories of interplanetary conflict with better special effects, but they don't come any smarter than this Heinlein classic.
86
Conceptual Fiction: Nightwings by Robert Silverberg
A fire had destroyed Robert Silverberg's home, and to raise money quickly he churned out a masterwork of conceptual fiction.
85
The New Canon: The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Ben Okri's novel The Famished Road, a winner of the 1991 Booker Prize, is a classic of magical realism with a distinctively African twist.
84
Book Review: The Women by T.C. Boyle
T.C. Boyle's novel The Women looks at architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the context of three turbulent love affairs.
83
Book Review: The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
Hannah Arendt famously called attention to the “banality of evil,” but Jonathan Littell reveals an even scarier “bureaucratization of evil.”
82
The New Canon: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Marisha Pessl's stunning debut novel starts out as a coming-of-age story but morphs into a dark whodunit with political overtones.
81
Satire: New Rules for Monopoly
The rules for the board game Monopoly need to be updated in light of the dramatic changes in the economy.
80
Conceptual Fiction: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Of all the dystopian novels of the post-WWII years, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 may be the most relevant to our current situation.
79
Conceptual Fiction: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
The most accurate prediction in Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man was its visionary anticipation of head-to-toe tattoos.
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