My favourite writers
Reading is to mind what exercise is to body. The rise of television
sometimes has been coupled with the dearth of books. But I don’t think
books need to be rescued. A book is one of the greatest wonders of the
world. It gives us a unique chance to link up with authors who lived
hundreds and thousands years ago. Thanks to books we can talk to people
who lived in different ages and countries. Through reading books we hear
their voices, thoughts and feelings. The book is the surest way to bring
nations together. It gives us an insight not only into the past, but
also into the future. The book is a faithful and undemanding friend: it
can be put aside and be taken again at any moment.
As for me, I’m fond of reading. I became very keen on literature early
in life. Books stirred my imagination, expanded the boundaries of the
familiar world and filled my life with great expectations of joy and
happiness. Since childhood I have been enchanted by Pushkin and Gogol,
Chekhov and Turgenev, by poetry of Yesenin and Pasternak. Later on I got
acquainted with Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Ancient Greek mythology and
legends.
I think we can’t live without books. I consider, that books are with us
during all our life. To my mind the house looks glum and joyless
without books. I like to read books about the history of our country,
about famous people and the life of my contemporaries abroad. Literature
means much in my life. It helps to form the character and the world
outlook, to understand life better. Books give information and
knowledge, educate, give pleasure and sometimes they help people to
forget about problems.
It’s common knowledge that reading foreign literature helps you to learn
more about the life of people in other countries, their traditions and
customs. A I study English, I try to read as many books by English
writers as possible. The names of English writers and poets such as
William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Bernard Show, Conan Doyle, Agatha
Cristie, Oscar Wilde and many others are well-known to educated people
from any country. My favourite English writer is Charles Dickens. This
English xlassic is well-known all over the world. His books are
translated into many languages and a lot of films have been made after
his novels.
Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth. He was the second of the eight
children in the family. Although not poor by the standards of the time,
the Dickens family lived through a series of financial crises. In 1823
facing a financial ruin, the family moved to London, where Charles began
to work in a warehouse for six shillings a week. At that time his father
was arrested for debt. Only at the age of twelve Charles was sent to
school, where he did well, and at the age of fifteen he got a job in a
legal firm. After learning shorthand, he became a reporter for the
“Morning Chronicle” and soon wrote “Pickwick Papers”. In 1836, when
“Pickwick Papers” were published, he became the most popular living
novelist in England and held this position until he died. Then he
published novel after novel- “Oliver Twist”, “Nickolas Nickleby”, “The
Old Curiosity Shop”, “David Copperfield”, “Little Dorit” and many
others. Besides constantly writing novels he was editing newspapers and
magazines, giving readings from his books to huge crowds of people.
There was no other novelist in England who had such a hold on all
classes of people already during his lifetime. His books were read by
all- by learned and simple people, by the rich and the poor alike.
The popularity of his books hasn’t diminished with time. The
great-heartedness of the author appeals to the contemporary reader as
much as it did a century ago. His kindly, understanding eye looks with
tolerance on good and bad alike. Dickens believes in kindness and
generosity of people. It’s not just a happy end that his books have,
it’s a philosophy which gives optimism and faith to the reader.
Also, I have an interest in American literature. I’ve read several books
by American writers. The first American writer who came my way was Jack
London whose stories struck me by unusual situations and the courage of
his heroes. A also admire the humour of Mark Twain. I’ve read some of
his stories and ,of course, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and
Huckleberry Finn”. But my favourite American writer is Ernest Hemingway.
When I read his biography I was impressed by his personality. He was
born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His life was full of adventures and
events that required courage, strong will and determination. He began
his career as a brave war correspondent during World War I. The scope of
his interests was incredibly wide.
His war experience and adventurous life provided the background for many
of his short stories and novels. He achieved success with “ A Farewell
to Arms”, the story of a love affair between an American lieutenant and
an English nurse during World War I.
Hemingway actively supported the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.
In his articles he denounced the fascist regime of Franco. “The Fifth
Column” is a play about the Civil War in Spain.
In 1940 Hemingway completed the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. It’s a
story about a young American teacher of Spanish who joins the Spanish
partisans and gives his life for the cause of freedom.
In 1952 Hemingway finished his tale “The Old Man and the Sea”. This
story about an old Cuban fisherman is a hymn to human courage and
endurance. Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
Hemingway is famous for his simple style, which has been widely imitated
but never achieved by other writers. His heroes show courage in the face
of danger, the feature which Hemingway admired grealty and which he
himself possessed. Unwilling to live with the grave physical disease,
Hemingway committed suicide, as his father had done before him under
similar circumstances.
Belorusian writers: Our country is rich in remarkable authors. First of
all I’d like to mention the names of our outstanding national writers
Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, the voices of Belarus. They created a new
Belorusian literature and a Belorusian liteary language. Both are
considered to be the classics of Belorusian literature. These names are
followed by a number of other well-known writers and poets, such as K.
Krapiva, K. Chorny, P. Brovka, A. Adamovich, M. Bogdanovich, I. Melezh,
V. Korotkevich(“Old Legend”, “The Black Castle of Olshany”, “The Wild
Hunt of King Stakh”, “Impossible to Forget”, “The Land Beneath White
Wings”, “Kalasy Pad Siarpom Tvaim”), V. Bykov known both in our country
and abroad.
Russian writers: A. Pushkin, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A.
Chekov, M. Lermontov etc.
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