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03/29/2024 04:36:38 am

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'Little Big Man' Author Thomas Berger Writes 30

An author who is dubbed as a satirist or comic novelist dies at the age of 89. His works on crime novels, detective stories, science fiction, and classical mythology will be the only things left for the next generation. He has now departed from his loved ones leaving only his witty and humorous novels.

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Just days before his 90th birthday, Thomas Berger dies. It has been reported by his literary agent, Cristina Concepcion, that he died in Nyack Hospital last July 13. The witty novelist who authored "Little Big Man" had a good run in writing and in his life as a whole. Being one of the few who reimagined the American West using the historical facts and relaying it to the younger generations, his work was well loved by the public.

He wrote more than 20 books mastering genres such as detective stories and domestic embarrassment. His stories were to let the people know how warring families lived back in the 1930s. His Book "The Feud" has been recommended for the 1984 Pulitzer Prize but was overruled. An autobiographical piece was written by him which was entitled "Rinehart".

Berger's novel "Little Big Man" was published in 1964. The novel was about a 111-year-old Jack Crabb. Crabb claims he was abducted by the Indians when he was young and that he fought with the Cherokees in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The novel was later turned into a movie.

Other novels of Berger that were made into movies are "Neighbors" and "Meeting Evil". Berger did not get a lot of attention although many admired him. Some of his fans say that he was the kind of writer who makes a fan feel special. He was also regarded as unique yet underappreciated. Berger was equally adjusted to both the past and the present of America. His books both have the moralist and the comical side.

An essay written by Jonathan Lethem back in 2012 says that Berger's books are accessible and funny. A reader immerses in the permanent strangeness of the author's language and attitude. Lethem says that Berger offers a book for every reader's taste. Berger shifts from classic western stories to fables of suburban life to crime stories to fantasies and to philosophical allegories.

Berger was the son of a housewife and a public school business manager. He was from Cincinnati. He was said to be influenced by the legends of King Arthur. Berger once said in an interview that he enjoyed being a boy while he played with fire guns, balls, hooks in the water but he preferred the pleasure of the imagination while he read incessantly.

Berger served the army from 1943- 946 and he used this experience to write for another novel of his. He was a graduate from Columbia University.

He worked in libraries and in a variety of publications.

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