Anything by Tom Wolfe is worth reading, as is anything by Kurt Vonnegut. Other great fiction writers of the 20th century are Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, And Cynthia Ozick. For less highbrow, but quality reading, look at Scott Turow, Leon Uris, and James Michinner. Among non-American authors, I very much enjoyed reading Thomas Mann’s Joseph series and his Budenbrooks. Stefan Zweig’s anthology of historic short stories was great. A.J. Cronin’s The Citadel and A Pocketful of Rye were good reads. Leon Feuchtwanger’s biography of Benjamin Franklin (the title escapes me) was excellent. And of course, there is Erich Maria Remarque’s A Time to Love and a Time to Die (which is far better than his All Quiet on the Western Front) and Arc Du Triomphe. Another great book, is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It’s rather nice to remember the old days when I read fiction.
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