Jonathan Lee is a British writer. The BBC’s Culture Show programme recently featured him as being one of Britain’s ‘best new novelists’ & the Guardian has called him ‘a major new voice in British fiction’.


His debut novel, ‘Who Is Mr Satoshi?’, was a runner-up in the Edinburgh Festival’s First Book Award 2010, shortlisted for an MJA Open Book Award & nominated for the Desmond Elliott Prize for Literature.   


His second novel, ‘Joy’, has been translated into several languages & was included in the Observer’s Books of the Year list for 2012. You can read more about it here & there are some extracts from reviews below. It is currently being developed for television.


Jonathan is a writer in residence for the literacy charity First Story and in 2011/12 was a Literature Adviser to the British Council in London. He now lives in Brooklyn and works for Guernica Magazine & A Public Space.                                    






‘A brilliant book... Jonathan Lee is one of those rare, agile writers who can take your breath away’
–  Catherine O’Flynn


‘With its supple prose, ingenious structure, wit & slow-burn sympathy, Joy is a sly miracle of a novel’
A.D. Miller


‘Jonathan Lee's second novel, Joy (William Heinemann), charts the final day in the life of a high-flying young lawyer. Lee writes with extraordinary vividness, with prose so sharply defined it takes your breath away.’ – Observer (Books of the Year 2012)


‘Lee’s the real deal – a British writer on the cusp of greatness ... A brilliant & powerful dissection of modern Britain’ –  Daily Mirror


‘One of Britain’s most exciting writers ... A wonderful book’ – Stylist


‘A quite superb piece of work’ – Huffington Post


‘The world is due the darkly comic view of corporate law firm life depicted by Jonathan Lee’s second book. Joy is not only beautifully written, but a real page-turner’ – Guardian


‘A tense and disturbing, involving novel’ – The Times

‘Sparky ... modern ... brilliant’ – BBC Radio 2, Claudia Winkleman Arts Show


‘[A] discomforting and acute tragicomedy ... The bleaker and darker his book becomes, the better it gets, building to a shocking and expertly executed conclusion. Tipped for the top on publication of his first novel, Lee here confirms his talent’ – Daily Mail


‘Outstanding ... A forensic portrayal of despair that shows Lee to be an exceptional, brave prose stylist ... Funny and humane, Joy is an enormously impressive piece of storytelling’ – Literary Review


‘Exquisitely & surprisingly written, Joy proves that Lee is a significant talent’ – Observer


‘For all painful events it covers, this is a joyful book. Lee educates us in the beautiful mess of humanity surrounding this tragic event. Joy is one of the best new novels this year.’ – We Love This Book

‘Lee’s writing is clear, as if lit by the fluorescent, constant lights of a law firm. [He] is a fine temperature taker of our psyches, and this book confirms his talents as an exciting literary voice.’ – The Periscope Post


‘Very stylish, observant and oh so spiky, this is an incredible, often uncomfortable novel that you just can't put down. Modern, vibrant, funny and dark’ – www.thebookbag.co.uk



 







Jonathan Lee

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