Four books that changed Peter Twohig

Peter Twohig was a rock musician, public servant, management consultant and naturopath before turning to full-time writing. He has degrees in professional writing and philosophy, and lives on the NSW Central Coast. His first novel, The Cartographer, won the prestigious Ned Kelly Award. Its sequel, The Torch, is "a novel about innocence for grown-ups" set in 1960s Melbourne.

One of four books that changed him, as shared at the Sydney Morning Herald:

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Anthony Burgess

This was the book that showed me it's the artist who determines art, not society. Burgess freely invented an argot for the main characters, then played with it happily, if darkly. It was impossible not to be drawn into thought-forms conjured by the slang, not to enjoy the evil. What a thrilling power to possess. I wanted it. I read the book when I was 15; shortly after, I would hear a similar linguistic power on the radio. It was John Lennon.

Read about the other books on the list.

A Clockwork Orange is among Darren Shan's top ten books about outsiders for teenagers, Ian Rankin's six best books, and Laura Hird's literary top ten.

--Marshal Zeringue