Jonathan Evison
Jonathan Evison
Jonathan Evison, is an American writer best known for his novels All About Lulu, West of Here, and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving. His work, often distinguished by its emotional resonance and offbeat humor, has been compared by critics to a variety of authors, most notably J.D. Salinger, Charles Dickens, T.C. Boyle, and John Irving. Sherman Alexie has called Evison "the most honest white man alive." His debut novel, All About Lulu, published in 2008 by Soft Skull Press, won...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
CountryUnited States of America
The jocks that used to stuff me into a locker when I was a punk rocker are my best buddies now.
When I started caregiving, I was not on very firm ground. My first marriage had dissolved. I was working at an ice-cream stand in my thirties. I learned that when you don't have anything to give, that's when you really give, and then you get back so much more.
I've been blessed with an optimistic disposition, I think.
So often when we historicize material, we use this big wide-angle lens.
Most everything that happens to me in any significant sense finds its way into my fiction.
I grew up in the Bay Area until 1976, then I pretty much went all the way through primary and high school on Bainbridge, though like anybody who grows up on an island, I ran the first chance I got.
Maybe a theme that touches all of my work is people reinventing themselves.
There are holes in our lives that can never be filled - not really, not ever.
Too many writers of fiction don't give the reader enough credit.
For me, an ideal novel is a dialogue between writer and reader, both a collaborative experience and an intimate exchange of emotions and ideas. The reader just might be the most powerful tool in a writer's arsenal.
There're so many great writers out there who aren't getting the exposure they deserve.
After 20 years of writing in basically a vacuum, I love being part of a community. I've vetted other writers' contracts for them and do publicity for free just because I like a book. Some people think of it as hubris or careerism, but I love to champion books. You can't use your whole sphere of influence just to help yourself.
I write as a matter of need - seven books and God knows how many short stories before anyone published me.
My parents divorced after 25 years of marriage.