Saddened to read today of the death of Barry Unsworth. The one Booker prizewinner of recent years that I would recommend to any reader with no hesitation is Sacred Hunger (and it had to share the award instead of winning it outright.) The novel has everything: gripping story, fine characterisation, powerful themes, and readability. Why they've never made the movie I don't know - though I'm rather relieved they didn't - except for the fact it would have brought more readers to this superb novel.
You don't see Unsworth on lists of texts studied and the like, which is odd because the novels are ripe for use in the classroom. A bit like Golding methinks. Morality Play is another that springs to mind in that regard.
We are blessed to live in an age when there are no obvious great writers but a heck of a lot of very, very good ones.
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