Shane Jones (author)
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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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
. He graduated from
SUNY Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 as ...
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 very short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of French literary classics ...
'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. After announcing that it would cease publication in December 2022, it reported its relaunch under the direction of ''The Nation'' magazine six mo ...
, 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 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 created in ...
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. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 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 ...
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, covering topics ranging from art, music, and literature to politics, popular culture ...
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 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'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
. On December 21, 2010,
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
listed ''Light Boxes'' as one of its Best Books of 2010. In July 2012,
W Magazine ''W'' (or ''W Magazine'') is an American fashion magazine that was launched in 1972 as a sister publication to ''Women's Wear Daily''. The magazine features stories about style through the lens of art, celebrity, culture, fashion and film. Ba ...
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 an American 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 publi ...
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 (, ; ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. His best-known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosm ...
and
Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. He wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been publi ...
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 new works by Jack Kerouac, ...
,
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 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
,
VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
, The Believer, Full Stop, The L Magazine, The Rumpus, American Book Review, Numero Cinq, 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 201 ...
,
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 no ...
,
Electric Literature ''Electric Literature'' is an American literary magazine. History Founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a print quarterly journal, ''Electric Literature'' transitioned to a daily website in 2012 under the helm of Halimah Ma ...
, 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 Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
, 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 modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
, 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 Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, 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 ...
and sold to publishing houses across Europe. Several directors have shown interest in ''Light Boxes,'' including filmmaker Ellen Frances who began development in 2012. As of 2015 the film option is available. In early 2015, it was announced by Grid Iron Theatre Company that ''Light Boxes'' would run as its featured play for the duration of the 2015
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
.


Plagiarism accusation

On April 1, 2010, author Salvador Plascencia, 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 nouns 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 English. ''The ...
'' 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, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
on October 8, 2013, where he implied that the film adaptation by
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
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 Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, 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 ...
, 2010. * ''Daniel Fights a Hurricane'',
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, 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 ...
, 2012. * ''Crystal Eaters'', Two Dollar Radio, 2014. * ''Vincent and Alice and Alice and Alice'', Tyrant Books, 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, 2010. ;Stories * ''I Will Unfold You with My Hairy Hands'', The Greying Ghost, 2008.


References


External links


Jones's chart, "Literature Chart," at The Believer

Jones's list, "What Your Favorite Writers Eat," at VICE

Jones's essay, "The Pram in the Hall," at The Paris Review

Jones'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