Complete, Powerful Novelists: Paul Auster, James Morrow, Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, Virginia Woolf

Powerful Novelists

Notes on some of the most powerful novelists in the last centuries, including Virginia Woolf, Mary Sheller, Paul Auster, Stephen King, and James Morrow.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

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Paul Auster is perhaps the foremost novelist here with his own power. When I read “The New York Trilogy” I saw a writer taking us readers to the edge. These novellas, as the book is three, are not perfect—they tend to each have their own life and power. What worked most for me was Paul Auster’s personal flair and touch. This New York writer understood madness and the depths of man’s mind. “City of Glass” is likely his best story ever, odd that it was his first. I reviewed both “Brooklyn Follies” and “Travels in the Scriptorium” here on A Reader’s Eye. I love his writing; he makes me want to keep reading, and not all authors can do that. For a primer on his work, I would begin with “The New York Trilogy” and, maybe, avoid his non-fiction works. They didn’t work for many critics; to Paul Auster has a talent more for fiction than non-fiction. He is also a screenwriter and director, but foremost he is famous as a novelist. He may not be on the edge, but he is oh-so-close. His novels express something powerful.

James Morrow is the next step back and up from the worlds of Paul Auster. I haven’t read as many works by Morrow as other authors (namely Auster and Stephen King) but I have explored many of his visions, even found the time to talk to the fantasy novelist through emails. Morrow might shudder at my calling him a fantasy novelist, especially with the success of his more mainstream work, “The Last Witchfinder.” I, however, saw him at his very best in “Only Begotten Daughter,” a tale which won a World Fantasy award, and for good reason. That is his best work. I read “The Last Witchfinder” after catching a review in the New York Times Book Review. It was, not so good, in my opinion, but still leagues ahead of other fiction.

Stephen King has been fairly popular on A Reader’s Eye in the past months, as I reviewed his novel “IT” and I wrote a piece “Hero and Writer: Stephen King and the Horror.” I will speak of him again. Never read Carrie or Firestarter. But I read “The Shining,” “The Gunslinger,” “IT,” “Bag of Bones,” “On Writing,” and a good number of his short stories. Some say “The Stand” is his best work, but I would find it hard to beat “The Shining,” a perfect combination of madness, alcoholism, and horror. Yes, Stephen King is a writer hero. Sure he gets the big checks. But he deserves them!

The Poor Man’s Stephen King. What a horrible name … but it aptly sums up the works of horror legend but relatively forgotten author Robert R. Mccammon. I read “Swan Song,” “Stinger,” some of “Boy’s Life,” and a few non-fiction articles. It is safe to say “Swan Song” is his best horror work. Since he was tagged as a horror writer, Robert R. Mccammon had trouble publishing later, non-horror books like “Sings The Nightbird.” As a writer of anything, he has plenty of talent. “Swan Song” is my favorite of Mccammon’s, and I think it could give “The Stand” or “The Shining” a run for the money. His name just never reached Stephen King or Anne Rice status.

Speaking of Annie Rice, where are all the female writers? I am more of a genre enthusiast. Powerful female novelists … there are plenty. I have yet to finish one of her books, but J.V. Joyce is one of the masters of the modern fantasy epic. Anne Rice moved away from horror—much to my chagrin—and wrote “Christ Out of Egypt,” which I tried to read, and I should have underlined tried. A powerful novelist named Mary Shelley wrote the best horror novel ever in her 20s, something called “Frankenstein.”

But, now that I think of it, the most powerful female novelist, and one who can give any male writer a run for their money, is …

Virginia Woolf. Who? Yes, you might have picked her up in some lost issue of “The New Yorker” or while scribbling in a crossword. But Virginia Woolf is the best literary novelist I have ever read. Simple as that. “To The Lighthouse” taught me more about language than any other book. There isn’t much tangible story—just tangible words which seem to move on the page. Move and dance.

Of all of them, who would I pick? Sure, I can tell you, soon, sooner … getting close … moving away, running to the next article …

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