Goldstein, Jonathan

views updated

Goldstein, Jonathan

PERSONAL:

Born in Brooklyn, NY.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

CAREER:

Writer, journalist, commentator, and broadcaster. This American Life (Public Radio International radio program), producer, 2000-02, contributing editor, 2002—. Wire Tap, Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Radio, host. Worked in telemarketing for ten years.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Gold Prize, Third Coast Audio Festival, 2002.

WRITINGS:

Lenny Bruce Is Dead (novel), Coach House Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2001, reprinted, Counterpoint Press (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Max Wallace) Schmelvis: In Search of Elvis Presley's Jewish Roots, ECW Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2001.

Contributor to periodicals, including GQ, New York Times Magazine, Ready-Made, Saturday Night Magazine, and the New York Times. Editorial board member, Public Radio Exchange.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author and journalist Jonathan Goldstein is a radio commentator and broadcaster whose on-air work is frequently heard on National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Radio International (PRI). Goldstein's debut novel, Lenny Bruce Is Dead, is an "assortment of bite-sized vignettes, observations, and nonsequiturs that challenges categorization," observed a critic in Kirkus Reviews. The rapid-paced narrative follows protagonist Josh as he grows from a young boy to a sexually obsessed teen to a morose and depressed adult—no less obsessed with sex for having reached adulthood. Josh describes his father, Chick, and his mother, Frieda, and chronicles his mother's illness, death, and his mourning of her loss. He relates stories of his dead-end job at a local fast-food house, Burger Barn, and how dissatisfying it is. Many of Josh's girlfriends appear and disappear within the novel's pages, clearly described and treasured even in their absence, as he recalls their sexual proclivities and regrets their loss. As the novel progresses, Josh becomes obsessed with a Hasidic Jewish neighbor, a rabbi who makes and sells a dubious concoction called the "Rebbe's Kosher-Style Love Lotion." Promptly, Josh begins to experiment with the lotion. The details of Josh's life, work, and sexual activities "often achieve a level of nuance that's poetic and almost profound," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who concluded that Goldstein's ability with imagery and sense for dialogue make him "a writer to watch."