Daily Times

Do you know poet and essayist TS Eliot was working as a financial analyst for Lloyds Bank when “The Waste Land” made him the most talked-about poet of his age?

Did you know that Naguib Mahfouz is the only Arab to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988? And do you know when Gabriel Garcia Marquez died, the President of Columbia ordered three days of national mourning and asked that flags be flown at half-mast? Facts such as these are abundant in A-Z Great Modern Writers by Andy Tuohy with text by Caroline Taggart. Engaging, informative and illustrative are the words that best describe this fact-filled book. With a plethora of authors doing their bid in reshaping the world of literature, this book focuses on some of the writers who have made an impact with their creative prowess, intellectualism and dexterity in writing prose that until today enthrals readers across the globe.

Andy Tuohy writes in the preface, “I fretted about how to reduce the list of entries to the required length. It’s been even more difficult with Great Modern Writers and frankly, it would have easier to produce 520 names than 52. Caroline Taggart, our editor Hannah Knowles and I started by defining ‘modern’, very roughly, as ‘flourishing in the 20th century.’ The oldest writer here is Proust, born in 1871; the youngest Ishiguro, born in 1954. So no Hardy, no Conrad, no HG Wells. We also insisted that our writers had been around long enough to show that they would have a lasting influence: that they would still be read decades if not centuries on.”

In essence, A-Z Great Modern Writers is a reference guide to the most influential contemporary writers of the world. Andy Tuohy known for his iconic and signature illustrations has brought to life the writers mentioned in this book with his distinctive artworks and designs that personify the writers based on their personality traits.

Caroline Taggart, on the other hand, has used her ingenuity and research-based facts to write details of the writers whose works we have read and some have even become a household name both in the world’s west and in the east. Each of the 52 chapters discusses a writer’s life and career, writing style, most famous works along with certain facts that are not known by even those who have read their works. These chapters offer a glimpse into the writers’ personal life and reveal to the readers their literary achievements. The writers included in this book among others are Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou, T. S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Aldous Huxley, Franz Kafka and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

In essence, A-Z Great Modern Writers is a reference guide to the most influential contemporary writers of the world. Andy Tuohy known for his iconic and signature illustrations has brought to life the writers mentioned in this book with his distinctive artworks and designs that personify the writers based on their personality traits

This book is more of a guide where readers enter the world of each one of the writers comprising this book. The chapters present an idiosyncratic view of each writer’s personal and literary life. The chapter begins with the writer’s introduction with a full-page illustration of the writer on the opposing page. Every chapter also has two sections, “Works to Read” and “Did You Know?” Caroline has done her best to use minimum words to reveal the most about each writer. This feature along with the illustrations of Tuohy makes this book not only a great read but a great gift as well.

While Caroline Taggart was born in London and has been an editor for over three decades, Andy Tuohy is also based in the UK and is an illustrator and designer who specialises in portrait and location-based illustrations, merchandise product design, print and editorial work.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com