The art of storytelling

I look up to a number of authors, whilst I read modern literature, I think I prefer authors from a bygone era, their prose was free flowing and wonderfully descriptive. For me, I feel a sense of belonging with these literary greats, you feel part of the fun.

Of my favourite authors of past eras are Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald as all three offer excellent explanations of life in Paris in the period of exuberance after World War I.

The Great War as is described took its toll on Europe with wide ranging ramifications for the whole world. Life in Paris was filled with fun and joy with the Bohemian set drinking and partying while no doubt collaborating on ideas and themes.

Maugham was part of the literary circle who tends to float in and out, Hemingway was the larger than life figure who partied hard with Fitzgerald writing his epic novel of the jazz age in the lead up to the stock market crash of 1929.

I began with reading Fitzgerald’s short stories and essays before moving onto his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. Likewise, I have volumes of Maugham’s short stories but The Razor’s Edge is what sets Maugham apart.

Whilst Hemingway’s masterpiece is The Old Man and the Sea, written at the end of his career down in Cuba is his famous work. For Whom the Bell Tolls, Death in the Afternoon and The Sun Always Rises are my favourites along with his short stories and essays.