Anthony Burgess at 100: unearthly powers

As a teenager I came across the eclectic medley of Anthony Burgess novels in my school's library, and fell in love. They're all so vastly different and weird and yet they made for great reading:

- The Wanting Seed: sci-fi about an overpopulated planet, full of dry humor

- The End of the World News: a musical about Trotsky's final days in Mexico, mixed with Freud and an Earth-destroying comet. Supremely weird but entertaining

- Tremor of Intent: Ian Fleming-style spy novel

He also wrote books on linguistics and was a composer. (Not sure about his compositions, but I have a degree in linguistics and found "A Mouthful of Air" to be solid.) Really underrated writer.

I had the same experience in my teenage years. I also remember enjoying 'One Hand Clapping.'

The quasi-religious stuff in Burgess gets old fast, but boy, the man could write. His best novels are linguistic powerhouse rollercoasters, and they stand up well to repeat readings.

The Long Day Wanes trilogi and Kingdom Of The Wicked are among my personal favourites.

His subtitling in English of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) was a major part of why I fell in love with that film.

His memoir Little Wilson and Big God is most interesting also.