About
Jonathan Littell, born October 10, 1967 in New York, is a French-American writer. Son of writer Robert Littell, he grew up in France and studied at Yale. After an early cyberpunk novel, he worked for Action Against Hunger in conflict zones. His novel The Kindly Ones (2006), fictional memoirs of an SS officer, won the Prix Goncourt and the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française. Naturalized French in 2007, he has also published travel narratives and essays.
* 1967-10-10
Major works
- Bad Voltage (1989)novel
- Les Bienveillantes (2006)novel
- Carnets de Homs (2012)narrative
- Triptyque : Trois études sur Francis Bacon (2013)essay
- The Damp and the Dry (2025)essay
Key milestones
- 2006Wins the Prix Goncourt and the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for The Kindly Ones.
- 2007Naturalized French under an honorary clause.
- 2016His documentary Wrong Elements is screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Themes
World War IIHolocaustViolence and evilMemory and guiltContemporary conflicts
Sources: id.loc.gov · nytimes.com · theguardian.com