“Where would David Copperfield be if Dickens had gone to writing classes? Probably about seventy minor characters short, is where. (Did you know that Dickens is estimated to have invented thirteen thousand characters? Thirteen thousand! The population of a small town!)”

British novelist and essayist, 1957–present. He blends sharp social observation with humor in works like *Fever Pitch*, a memoir about football fandom, and *High Fidelity*, a novel exploring music, relationships, and regret. His writing often captures the mundane and the emotional with wit and honesty.