NELSON, Lee J. 1954-

PERSONAL: Born 1954.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Bridge Works/Rowman & Littlefield, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706.

CAREER: City University of New York, New York, NY, instructor in English.

WRITINGS:

The Boy in the Box: A Novel, Bridge Works (Bridge-hampton, NY), 2002.

Contributor of short stories to numerous periodicals. Contributor to anthologies, including Unscheduled Departures and Literature around the Globe.

SIDELIGHTS: Lee J. Nelson's debut novel is The Boy in the Box. In it, Smith, an industrial engineer, goes to New York City for a job interview and stays at his sister's apartment while she is out of town. Shortly after arriving, Smith meets the building's janitor, who is foreign born and slightly crazy. He mumbles something to Smith about a boy being held in a box, which Smith dismisses, until he watches the news and learns of a missing boy. Smith sets out on a mission to find this boy, whom he thinks the janitor may be holding captive. When he tries to talk to the janitor again his son threatens him. He also gets no response from neighbors or even the police about his concerns. The Boy in the Box ends with Smith's interview, which turns out to not really be a job interview at all. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted, "Parts of the narrative are a bit clumsy and opaque, but Nelson creates an edgy, compelling world." A Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded, "A Kafka-laced concoction full of jarring, calibrated effects, for those who take their fiction dry and chilled."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2002, Whitney Scott, review of The Boy in the Box: A Novel, p. 733.

Boston Globe, December 29, 2002, Steve Greenlee, "A Satisfying Debut about Shifting Realities."

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2002, review of The Boy in the Box, p. 1499.

Publishers Weekly, January 13, 2003, review of TheBoy in the Box, p. 40.*