Shane Jones (born February 22, 1980) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He has published three novels, two books of poetry, and one novella.
Personal life
Shane Jones was born in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...
. He graduated from
SUNY Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
in 2004 with a B.A. in English. As of May 2015, Jones is represented by the literary agency Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. He was a student in
Lydia Davis
Lydia Davis (born July 15, 1947) is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator from French and other languages, who often writes short (one or two pages long) short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of ...
's fiction workshop taught at the
NYS Writers Institute.
Critical response
Jones's novels have received mixed reviews and little attention from mainstream venues. On June 3, 2010,
Bookforum
''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature that was based in New York City, New York. The magazine was founded in 1994 and announced in December of 2022 it would cease publishing after 2 ...
, in a positive review, wrote: "''Light Boxes'' is absurd, cryptic, and often bizarre, but if you're willing to roll with it, all is made clear by the end (and is quite satisfying). This book is not for everyone – but that, of course, is one of its virtues." That same day,
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
said, "Jones suffers from seasonal depression, and while his depiction of a town where February lasts all year benefits from his real feelings of dread, its greatest weakness is going too far into autobiography." Later in the same month, writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'', critic Steven Poole wrote: "In its pre-industrial surrealism, the world here at first resembles slightly that of
Ben Marcus
Ben Marcus (born October 11, 1967) is an American author and professor at Columbia University. He has written four books of fiction. His stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in publications including ''Harper's'', ''The New Yorker'', ''The ...
...But Jones's is a saccharine version of the style, too concerned to be pretty or childlike (with its owls and teacups and mint leaves) to provoke any real aesthetic shock within a single sentence."
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
said, "This literary gem of metaphysical malaise has that ideally weird blend of offputting sensualism and heartfelt emotion – just the sort of thing to ensure a dedicated, if limited, following."
BlackBook
''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine published bi-annually to print and online. Founded by Evanly Schindler in 1996 as a quarterly print publication, the now digital magazine covers topics ranging from art, music, and literature to poli ...
said, "This slim and absorbing novel reads like a bedtime story that your mother forgot to tell you, and it announces Jones as a stunning new literary voice."
Rivka Galchen
Rivka Galchen (born April 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American writer. Her first novel, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in 2008 and was awarded the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She is the author of five books and a co ...
has praised Jones's work as "Resplendent, and somehow nearly edible." The praise was satirically criticized by Ben Crair on August 6, 2013, at
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
.
On December 21, 2010,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
listed ''Light Boxes'' as one of its Best Books of 2010.
In July 2012,
W Magazine
''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film.
W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine '' Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ...
wrote positively about Jones's second novel (published July 31, 2012) ''Daniel Fights a Hurricane'': "A surreal and playful postmodern fable about an epic struggle against a villainous force-of-nature, with a surprisingly human love story of intriguing complexity." Later in the year,
Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fr ...
praised the novel in a 9.0 rating (out of 10.0), writing: "Unhinged or sane, grieving or resolute, the Suppletons represent a kind of hero seldom seen in today’s texts. We’ve been missing them."
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
, in a negative review, wrote: "Admirers of
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...
and
Richard Brautigan
Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c. September 16, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four bo ...
will appreciate Jones's sensibility, but an unsatisfying surreal conclusion keeps the work from achieving its full potential."
Jones's most recent novel, ''Crystal Eaters,'' was released on June 9, 2014. On February 4, 2014,
Buzzfeed Books listed ''Crystal Eaters'' as one of the most highly anticipated books of the year.
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
, in a negative review published on April 29, 2014, wrote: "Jones recreates a mythical and hallucinatory experience of a family fighting mortality...But, ultimately, undeveloped characters, excessive ungrounded tangents, and general disorganization obscure a lovely premise."
''Crystal Eaters'' received attention from a variety of magazines and websites, including:
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phi ...
,
Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition beca ...
,
VICE
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
,
The Believer, Full Stop,
The L Magazine, The Rumpus,
American Book Review
''American Book Review'' is a literary journal operating out of the University of Houston-Victoria. Their mission statement is to “specialize in reviews of frequently neglected published works of fiction, poetry, and literary and cultural critici ...
,
Numero Cinq Numero may refer to:
* Number
*Numero sign (№)
*'' Numéro'', a French fashion magazine
* Numéro#, an electro-pop duo from Montréal
* The Numero Group, an American reissue record label
*Numero 28
Numero 28 is an Italian restaurant chain, headq ...
, Bookslut,
Los Angeles Review of Books
The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012 ...
,
The Millions
''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews.
''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary not ...
,
Electric Literature
''Electric Literature'' is an independent publisher founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a quarterly journal. It launched the first fiction magazine on the iPhone and iPad. The print version of the journal is produced via print ...
, Impose Magazine, and
Vanity Fair. Flavorwire included ''Crystal Eaters'' on several lists, including: 10 Must Read Books of July, The 50 Best Genre-Bending Books, 50 Excellent Fabulist Books Everyone Should Read, and as a Best Book of the Year. The now defunct literary journal ''HTMLGIANT,'' of which Jones was an original contributor, ran an unprecedented four positive reviews of the novel between April 14, 2014, and September 16, 2014. Rebecca Rubenstin, the former interviews editor for The Rumpus, and editor-in-chief of Midnight Breakfast, wrote: "''Crystal Eaters'' is dreamlike and devastating, with language that affixes itself to your bones and won’t let go, even long after you’ve finished. I can’t recommend it more highly."
On July 21, 2014, an intentionally controversial essay/review by Lee Klein published by
3:AM Magazine discussed ''Crystal Eaters'' in terms of "literary citizenship" and the conflict a writer feels when reading a novel with intent to review to either support and dishonestly hype or uphold personal standards and present an honest review, sparking an online debate regarding how authors review each other and a lengthy response the following day from Edward Champion of The Bat Segundo Show, who wrote, "Jones is a smart and imaginative writer," while deeply criticizing Klein who said, regarding ''Crystal Eaters'', "I probably would've preferred if I didn't often catch myself zoning out and then backtracking to identify the sentence or passage that triggered the zone out. The language often seemed rushed and like it strived for a style that required rereading and translation."
Film and theater adaptation
In August 2009, Jones sold the film option to his first novel, ''Light Boxes'', to
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
, with speculations that
Ray Tintori Ray Tintori is an American director, screenwriter and founding member of Court 13, the filmmaking collective behind '' Beasts of the Southern Wild''. He has directed three short films, as well as several music videos for bands, such as MGMT, Chairli ...
would direct. However, Spike Jonze, in an interview with
Times Online
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (f ...
, said that Tintori was no longer a director for the project. In an interview with
''Interview'' Magazine in June 2010, Jones (author) said the film option had been dropped.
''Light Boxes'' was originally published in a small run of 500 to 600 copies by Publishing Genius Press. After the securing of the rights by Jonze, and subsequent pickup by
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
, the novel was reissued by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...]
.
Plagiarism accusation
On April 1, 2010, author
Salvador Plascencia
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
, in an interview with Nashville Review, stated: "''Light Boxes'' freeloads off and piggybacks on the work of ''
The People of Paper
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'' and does so without any formal acknowledgement. And, in many ways, unless you want to buy some hackneyed and anachronistic surrealist defense, it's a novella dependent on ''The People of Paper'' to make any real sense."
Jones detailed his experiencing of being accused of plagiarism in an essay published at
VICE
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...
on October 8, 2013, where he implied that the film adaptation by
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
had been dropped because of Plascencia's plagiarism accusation.
[Jones, Shane]
Now That Dave Eggers Has Been Accused of Plagiarism We Finally Have Something in Common
October 8, 2013, ''VICE.com''.
Bibliography
;Novels
* ''Light Boxes'',
Publishing Genius Press, 2009; reissue
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.][Two Dollar Radio
Two Dollar Radio is an independent family-run publisher based in Columbus, Ohio. The company was founded in 2005 by husband-and-wife team Eric Obenauf and Eliza Jane Wood-Obenauf, with Brian Obenauf. The press specializes in literary fiction. In ...]
, 2014.
* ''Vincent and Alice and Alice and Alice'',
Tyrant Books
Tyrant Books is an independent book publisher based in Rome, Italy and New York, New York. It was created in 2009 by Giancarlo DiTrapano as an offshoot of ''New York Tyrant Magazine'', which was also founded by DiTrapano, in 2006.
History
Tyr ...
, 2019.
;Poetry
* ''A Cake Appeared'', Scrambler Books, 2010.
* ''Paper Champion'', with illustrations by John Dermot Woods. Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2014.
;Novellas
* ''The Failure Six'',
Fugue State Press
Fugue State Press (established 1992) is a small New York City fiction publisher, specializing in the experimental novel. Novelist James Chapman is the founder and publisher.
It has published 28 titles to date, including work by Chapman, Josh ...
, 2010.
;Stories
* ''I Will Unfold You with My Hairy Hands'', The Greying Ghost, 2008.
References
External links
Jones's chart, "Literature Chart," at The BelieverJones's list, "What Your Favorite Writers Eat," at VICEJones's essay, "The Pram in the Hall," at The Paris ReviewJones's story, "Foods," at Quarterly West
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Shane
21st-century American novelists
1980 births
Living people
American male novelists
American male short story writers
21st-century American poets
American male poets
Chapbook writers
21st-century American short story writers
21st-century American male writers
University at Buffalo alumni