David Mamet's Favorite Novelists of the Second Half of the 20th Century

The Humble Genre Novel, Sometimes Full of Genius

This is old and may have been posted, but I recently came across it. I have read almost every LeCarre and Higgins novel, which is why I found it interesting. I realize Mamet is most likely being contrarian. However, Higgins and LeCarre have unique styles that I think go beyond their genres. Higgins was a journalist (and an attorney). A friend who was a relative once told me Higgins told him that writing game stories was the best experience for a young writer.

 

Never read anything by these three authors, though I've heard of them, of course. LeCarre angered me for years when he came out against Salman Rushdie during the imbroglio surrounding "The Satanic Verses," writing in a newspaper:

"My position was that there is no law in life or nature that says great religions may be insulted with impunity."​

They later mended fences, but it steered me away from him during a time when I was really reading heavily.

Salman Rushdie, John Le Carre End Literary Feud