# Which novelist has the best dialogue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413 "2010-07-21T01:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/1 "2010-07-21T01:35:06Z")
I’m doing some research. So far, I know that Elmore Leonard has a good reputation about it, but I was wondering who else is known for their expertise in dialogue. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/2 "2010-07-21T02:16:54Z")
Well, when I saw the thread title I was on my way in to say… Elmore Leonard. I always liked Raymond Chandler’s dialogue as well. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/3 "2010-07-21T03:28:20Z")
I find Tom Robbins to be quite good with the verbal gymnastics, if a touch odd. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/4 "2010-07-21T03:43:15Z")
Robert A. Heinlein is my favorite for snappy patter. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/5 "2010-07-21T03:52:06Z")
Denis Johnson. _Jesus’ Son_ is my evidence. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/6 "2010-07-21T04:20:04Z")
Henry Green has some of the most convincing dialogue I’ve ever seen. I also like Ivy Compton-Burnett - no one actually talks like this, but it cuts to the heart of her characters’ psychology and the essence of situations in a really amusing way. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/7 "2010-07-21T05:08:20Z")
Dashiell Hammett’s dialogue (and plots) are better than Raymond Chandler’s. N.B. Dashiell Hammett’s best-known works are the novels _The Glass Key_, _The Maltese Falcon_, _The Thin Man_. I see we’re excluding plays, but Oscar Wilde was a master (e.g. _The Importance of Being Ernest_). ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/8 "2010-07-21T05:08:59Z")
Terry Pratchett writes fabulous dialogue. His characters have some of the most distinctive voices in memory (even if we ignore his love of character-specific fonts/ CAPITALIZATION). ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/9 "2010-07-21T05:22:48Z")
Richard Price, Anne Tyler. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/10 "2010-07-21T13:38:03Z")
Charlie Huston’s dialogue is great, once you get used to the absence of quotes and attributions. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/11 "2010-07-21T13:45:27Z")
Gotta be George Lucas. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/12 "2010-07-21T13:48:28Z")
I like Andrew Vachss and Kinky Friedman. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/13 "2010-07-21T13:51:39Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Gotta be George Lucas. For the win. I enjoy Elmore Leonard quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/14 "2010-07-21T13:57:40Z")
Even I ain’t gonna say Ayn Rand. Some friends & I watched The Fountainhead and one said “Ayn Rand characters don’t have conversations. They make speeches to each other.” Yep. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/15 "2010-07-21T15:01:56Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Robert A. Heinlein is my favorite for snappy patter. That’s pretty much why I generally \*don’t \*care for his dialog except as a device to move the plot along, or as exposition (and I like Heinlein). Real people don’t talk that way. Elmore Leonard is still the king in my book. You can tell who is talking by not only what they say, but how they say it, and it can be pretty subtle. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/16 "2010-07-21T17:06:19Z")
“Best” dialogue: beats me. The one that comes to my mind: Joseph Heller. . ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/17 "2010-07-21T17:13:20Z")
Based on The Last Picture Show, Lonesome Dove, Texasville and Hud, I’m rather partial to Larry McMurtry. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/18 "2010-07-21T17:32:42Z")
As was mentioned above, playwrights don’t appear to be fair game. It won’t stop me from submitting **Edward Albee**. He has an undeniable genius for scathing dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/19 "2010-07-21T18:04:02Z")
I’m voting for Stephen King. He writes like people talk. To me, that’s good dialogue. John Irving isn’t bad either. I love, love Larry McMurtry, but his dialogue gets a little wonky at times, which pulls me out of the story. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413/20 "2010-07-22T12:43:58Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I see we’re excluding plays, but Oscar Wilde was a master (e.g. _The Importance of Being Ernest_). He also wrote short stories. “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime” has some good dialog. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-novelist-has-the-best-dialogue/547413.md?page=2)