Jonathan Allen Lethem (born February 19, 1964) is an American writer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lethem trained to be an artist before moving to California and devoting his time to writing. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels. In 1999, Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn, a National Book...
more
Jonathan Allen Lethem (born February 19, 1964) is an American writer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lethem trained to be an artist before moving to California and devoting his time to writing. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels. In 1999, Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn, a National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel that achieved mainstream success. In 2003, he published The Fortress of Solitude, which became a New York Times Best Seller. Lethem is also a prolific essayist and short story writer.
Lethem was born in Brooklyn, New York to Richard Brown Lethem, an avant-garde painter, and Judith Lethem, a political activist. He was the eldest of three children; his brother, Blake, is an artist, and his sister, Mara, is a photographer and writer. Jonathan was raised in a commune in the pre-gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood...
less