Jonathan Evison
Author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
About the Author
Works by Jonathan Evison
Associated Works
My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop (2012) — Contributor — 615 copies, 16 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Evison, Jonathan
- Birthdate
- 1968
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- novelist
writer
rabbit raiser
radio host
taster (beer)
sorter (tomatoes) (show all 8)
telemarketer
editor (script doctor) - Agent
- Mollie Glick
- Short biography
- His work had appeared in the Portland Review, Orchid, Knock, Opium, Quick Fiction, and other journals. All About Lulu is his first novel.
Jonathan's a happy guy. He like rabbits. He has eight of them... all cute little f*****s with names like Javier and Little Turkey. He lives out in the woods on an island in Puget Sound, where he spends the majority of his time writing and sitting in the bathtub. He makes all his business calls from the bathtub. People are always asking him: "What's that echo? Are you in a bus station?" He says: "No, I'm in my office." Pretty cool, huh? He's developing something I call the sweats to pants ratio (SPR), by which success is measured relative to the days one spends in formal versus casual attire (formal being anything with pockets). By this measure, seven days a week in sweats is the pinnacle of success. He's at about five-to-two right now.
As a syndicated talk radio host, his comedy show "Shaken Not Stirred" was nominated for two Peabody Awards. He has received two Silver Microphones, and two Communicators and was frequently nominated for the Soundie Award.
He is the founder and moderator of the FICTION FILES, a forum for literary discussion. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- San Jose, California, USA
- Places of residence
- Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
Seattle, Washington, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
San Francisco, California, USA
Missoula, Montana, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Jonathan Evison’s Small World Is the author’s hefty swing at The Great American Novel, and it can certainly be considered in the running for that honor. It is a sprawling work that spans centuries and multiple generations of families. The novel employs parallel sets of narratives of different characters in both the mid-nineteenth century and pre-pandemic modern day. In 2019, we follow the paths that lead the present day characters to take an ill-fated train ride destined for a harrowing show more rail accident. We also follow the paths of their mid-1800s ancestors, fully representative of the diversity which is the fabric of America: Irish, Chinese and Jewish immigrants; Native Americans; and runaway slaves - all of which is set against the backdrop of westward expansion and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The themes of movement and travel, freedom and escape from persecution, and betterment to achieve the American ideal of individual independence are struck continuously throughout each of the narratives. Lives intersect in some interesting ways with a clear homage to Dickensian coincidence and serendipity. And we see how the modern generation has been shaped and impacted by the trials, travels, and decisions of their ancestors. Small World is a thoroughly optimistic novel that, in these increasingly fractious times, dares to remind us of what, at our core foundation, bonds Americans together. show less
I hated this book. It is smarmy and filled with hackneyed platitudes about the best things in life, and about the experiences and crushed aspirations of 50s/60s housewives. The characters are one dimensional and utterly inauthentic. The titular Harriet is filled with regrets and Chardonnay, scarred by the evildoing of the adults in her young life (I won't say more since I guess there is a bit of a spoiler here, but if you have watched a Lifetime movie you know what happened.) The next show more generation (our boomers/Gen x'ers) are shifty and selfish. The awful fat man with he vulgar t-shirts who learns that he is worthwhile and immediately pushes aside the pork loin for a nice chopped salad! Oh, I almost forgot the Grey's Anatomy Denny crap with the "I'm here for you" ghost. Jonathan Evison knows nothing about women, and most especially about mothers and daughters or women's friendships. Though he left no cliché unturned, gave voice to every Feminine Mystique assertion (no disrespect to Betty Friedan, who spoke for millions who had their voices silenced, but what is in that book was not enough to define a full and complex character) and Adult Children of Alcoholics support group slogan, he got just about everything wrong. Just... no. show less
What I love about Jonathan Evison's stories is his absolute commitment to the possibility of redemption. His stories are all about men and women who screw up and then march on, determined to try to do something to make up for whatever they've done. They break hearts, including their own, and then fumble for the Crazy Glue. How Evison gets us to both cry and laugh at them is a mystery, but it's one I like trying to solve. No matter how different each of his books is from his others, that show more narrative of redemption--a messy, ill-timed, poignant, at times hilarious affair--is at the core of his novels. Harriet Chance is no different in that regard. The story's structure, with its narrative voice, jumping around in time, and slow piecemeal reconstruction of Harriet's life, could have been annoying and cheesy in the hands of a less-skilled writer, but it works here. If he keeps this up, Evison risks becoming our 21st-century Dickens. show less
I loved this book! It is truly a good read. Jonathan Evison has done a great job at pulling the reader right into the story, and right into the story's heart. He handles heartbreak, disappointment, lost causes, with a of brave humor that one usually encounters only among the very injured...and most of the characters in this book are wounded. But such resilience! Such unmawkish compassion! His characters live and breathe and you just root for them. It's a beautiful story of Benjamin Benjamin show more (Jr.!), a man who has lost way too much, returning to the land of the living - through caregiving?! It says a great deal (of good stuff) about fatherhood, parenthood, friendship, healing, responsibility, trust, life itself, and it says it in such a winsome, believable voice. Revised is the kind of book you read, relishing every word, dying to find out how it's going to end, and yet not wanting it to end because it's just so enjoyable. My favorite book this year! show less
Lists
Indie Next Picks (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Pride Wishlist (1)
Best Audiobooks (1)
Banned Books (1)
B-B to Get (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 3,243
- Popularity
- #7,880
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 230
- ISBNs
- 91
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 6
