My favourite author gotta be Albert Camus, followed by Chinua Achebe.
I like Camus, because of the introspective nature of his novels. ( I will try to write a small summary based on Camus' fiction seperately).
Achebe is great because he shows in a narration mixed with humour and insight, how the white man with his disease "white man's burden" screwed Africa up (e.g. Things fall apart, Arrow of God), and how in the post-indepence scenario the Africans tend to screw themselves up, due to corruption etc. (No longer at ease, Man of the people).
mohsin, I've read the Alchemist (like many others I am sure), and I liked it immensely. It is very poetic and imaginative. It is mainly about how adequate focus on intuition pays dividends. However I have wondered ever since what the man must be saying in his other novels- the pilgrim, veronica decides to die etc. But I haven't still being able to spend some time reading any of them.