Julian Barnes

I think Julian Barnes is one of the most fascinating writers working today because he is so deeply skeptical and witty. Born in Leicester, England, he actually spent his early career working as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary, which I think explains why his command of language is so incredible. He is probably most famous for The Sense of an Ending, which won the Booker Prize, and Flaubert’s Parrot, which is just a masterpiece of postmodern literature. He also wrote crime thrillers under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh, which shows just how versatile he is. He’s a well-known Francophile, and his writing often explores the really tricky, unreliable nature of our own memories and how we tell stories about our own lives.