William Styron

William Styron was National Book Award for Fiction and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winning American writer. Though his first few novels were well received, he made a breakthrough with his 4th novel, The confessions of Nat Turner. The novel was based on actual 1831 revolt by black slave but did not adhere strictly to the facts. Styron being a white men writing about black experience, the book received as much praise as criticism, especially from the black intellectuals. He is also well known for Sophie's Choice, which was made into a academy award winning film of same name. During latter part of his career he embarked on writing, though not strictly, autobiographical memoirs and essays. Darkness Visible : A Memoir of Madness offered a fascinating insight about his bouts with depression in depth. In Havanas in Camelot, published posthumously, he reveals himself as quite a multi-dimensional character, reflective and humorous with his essays. During his career he tackled issues that are far too large for any author and his work sometimes got criticized for collapsing under weight of its own enormity. Although his body of work is somewhat sparse, he remained as one of the most relevant figures of his time.