Julie Myerson
Julie Myerson | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | novelist critic |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
Julie Myerson (born 2 June 1960, Nottingham) is an English novelist and critic.
Education and journalism
She studied English at Bristol University before working for the National Theatre.[1]
She has written a column for The Independent about her domestic trials including her husband, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Jonathan Myerson, and their children Jacob (known as Jake), Chloe and Raphael. More recently she has written a column for the Financial Times about homes and houses. Myerson is a regular reviewer on the UK arts programme, Newsnight Review, on BBC2.
Fiction
Myerson's novels are usually quite dark in mood tending towards the supernatural.
Her first novel was Sleepwalking (1994), and it was to some degree autobiographical. It deals in part with the suicide of an uncaring and abusive father (Myerson's own father committed suicide). The main character Susan is heavily pregnant and begins an affair. She also feels she is haunted by her father's mother, reliving the neglect that made him abusive.
In The Touch (1996) a group of young people try to help a tramp who preaches fundamentalist Christianity, and who turns violently against them.
In Me and the Fat Man (1999) a waitress takes to earning extra money giving oral sex in a park, though not out of necessity; she gets involved with two other men, friends who have an awkward relationship and a secret between them that turns out to be related to her own birth.
Laura Blundy (2001) is set in the Victorian period, and Julie Myerson tries to bring out the freshness and modernity of the period as it would have appeared at the time.
Something Might Happen (2003) is about a murder in a Suffolk seaside town.
Family Controversies
Julie Myerson was the anonymous author of 'Living with Teenagers',[2] a Guardian column and later book[3][4] that detailed the lives of a family with three teenage children. The column was stopped after one of the children was identified and was ridiculed at school.[5] After the Guardian confirmed the author of the series it removed the articles from its website to 'protect their privacy'.
She was at the centre of a media controversy in March 2009 when details of her book 'The Lost Child: a True Story' emerged; commentators criticised Myerson for what Minette Marrin in The Sunday Times, called her "betrayal not just of love and intimacy, but also of motherhood itself".[6] Tim Lott called the book a "moral failure", adding "Julie has betrayed Jake for her own ambition".[7]. However, some critics took a diametrically opposing view. The Guardian's Mark Lawson called the book noble, saying that "The elegance and thoughtfulness of this book - and its warning of a fate that may overtake many parents - should not be lost in the extra-literary frenzy.",[8] while The Observer's Kate Kellaway stated called the book rash but courageous, writing that Myserson had tried to "write honestly about a nightmarish situation and a subject that never seems to get the attention it deserves."[9]
Myerson stated she may also sell the film rights at some point in the future, "maybe in 20 years."[10]
Her son described her as "slightly insane" the publication as "obscene" and declared his intention to change his name to "Jake Karna" [11], the last name being of Karna, a Hindu warrior rejected by his mother. Jake thinks he is very clever but deserves all he gets for breaking the golden rule "be nice to your mum" by openly smoking skunk in front of her knowing she was worried about it.
Novels
- Sleepwalking (1994)
- The Touch (1996)
- Me and the Fat Man (1998)
- Laura Blundy (2000)
- Something Might Happen (2003)
- The Story of You (2006)
- Out of Breath (2007)
Non-Fiction
- Home, The Story of Everyone Who Lived In Our House (2004)
- Not A Games Person (2005)
- Living with Teenagers – 3 kids, 2 parents, 1 Hell of a bumpy ride (2008)
- The Lost Child (2009)
Awards
- 1994 Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (shortlist) for Sleepwalking
- 2005 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (shortlist) for Something Might Happen
- 2005 WH Smith Literary Award (shortlist) for Something Might Happen
References
- ^ Julie Myerson
- ^ "Becky Gardiner: 'Living with the Myersons'". The Guardian. 10 March 2009.
- ^ "Kate Figes: 'Chill-out zone'". The Guardian. 22 March 2008.
- ^ ": 'The hell of living with teenagers'". The Times. 6 March 2008.
- ^ "Tim Walker: 'Julie Myerson and the extraordinary case of the copycat column'". The Telegraph. 9 March 2009.
- ^ "Her son was betrayed because she's a writer first, mother second". The Sunday Times. 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Tim Lott: 'Julie has betrayed Jake for her own ambition'". The Independent. 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Mother courage". The Guardian. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "A potent dose of mother courage". The Guardian. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ^ "Matthew Bell: The IoS Diary". The Independent on Sunday. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
- ^ "My name's Jake Karna ...not Myerson - drug novel son changes name to disown writer mother". Mail Online. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
External links
- Profile of Template:Contemporary writers
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