Jayne Joso
Encyclopedia
Jayne Joso is a British novelist.
Having lived and worked in Japan and China, she now lives in London.
Her first novel Soothing Music for Stray Cats was published in 2009. The Times Literary Supplement review said it ‘may emerge as one of the great, eccentric London novels’. Author and The Guardian
journalist Joe Moran
also heralded it as ‘the debut of a distinctive voice in contemporary British fiction’. Natalie Haynes
, author and BBC2 The Review Show
panellist, described it as ‘an unexpected and moving story about the redemption of misfits and the consolation of strangers’.
Soothing Music for Stray Cats was shortlisted for the People’s Book Prize in 2010 (founding patron Dame Beryl Bainbridge
); and is now cited in Green’s Dictionary of Slang by Jonathon Green
Other works:
Joso’s first children’s book How do you Feel? was published by Benesse
in Japan; and her first play China’s Smile which was commissioned in celebration of China’s Children’s Day (1 June) enjoyed a long theatre run and was later televised. As well as fiction and drama, Joso has a huge fascination with architecture and has written for publications such as Architecture Today magazine and German publisher, Prestel Art as well as ghost writing on the subject.
Having written for various architecture publications, Joso draws on her fascination for architecture and the idea of the ideal dwelling place in her second novel Perfect Architect (2011).
"Joso maintains a fine balance between the intellectual and the emotional in this promising, character-rich work"
Publishers Weekly
, New York
"The name of Coover – recalling the American postmodern writer Robert Coover
, who specialises in elaborate parodies and disrupting myths – is perhaps revealing."
"There are echoes of a Thomas Mann-style Künstlerroman
– charting an apprentice’s growth to maturity... an illuminating read"
ICON Magazine (issue 099, 2011) discussion by Agata Pyzik
Having lived and worked in Japan and China, she now lives in London.
Her first novel Soothing Music for Stray Cats was published in 2009. The Times Literary Supplement review said it ‘may emerge as one of the great, eccentric London novels’. Author and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalist Joe Moran
Joe Moran (social historian)
Joe Moran is a social and cultural historian who has written about everyday life, especially British everyday life from the mid-twentieth century until the present day....
also heralded it as ‘the debut of a distinctive voice in contemporary British fiction’. Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes is a British comedian and writer. She has been performing stand-up comedy since 1994 and was a member of Footlights at Cambridge University where she read Classics at Christ's College...
, author and BBC2 The Review Show
The Review Show
The Review Show is a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which airs on Friday evenings at 11:00pm on BBC Two. The programme features a panel of guests who review the week's developments in the world of the arts and culture.-Background:...
panellist, described it as ‘an unexpected and moving story about the redemption of misfits and the consolation of strangers’.
Soothing Music for Stray Cats was shortlisted for the People’s Book Prize in 2010 (founding patron Dame Beryl Bainbridge
Beryl Bainbridge
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
); and is now cited in Green’s Dictionary of Slang by Jonathon Green
Jonathon Green
Jonathon Green is a British lexicographer of slang and writer on the history of alternative cultures...
Other works:
Joso’s first children’s book How do you Feel? was published by Benesse
Benesse
is a Japanese company which focusses on correspondence education and publishing. Based in Okayama-City, it is the parent company of Berlitz Language Schools, which in turn is the parent company of ELS Language Centers...
in Japan; and her first play China’s Smile which was commissioned in celebration of China’s Children’s Day (1 June) enjoyed a long theatre run and was later televised. As well as fiction and drama, Joso has a huge fascination with architecture and has written for publications such as Architecture Today magazine and German publisher, Prestel Art as well as ghost writing on the subject.
Having written for various architecture publications, Joso draws on her fascination for architecture and the idea of the ideal dwelling place in her second novel Perfect Architect (2011).
"Joso maintains a fine balance between the intellectual and the emotional in this promising, character-rich work"
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, New York
"The name of Coover – recalling the American postmodern writer Robert Coover
Robert Coover
Robert Lowell Coover is an American author and professor in the Literary Arts program at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction.-Life and works:...
, who specialises in elaborate parodies and disrupting myths – is perhaps revealing."
"There are echoes of a Thomas Mann-style Künstlerroman
Künstlerroman
A Künstlerroman , meaning "artist's novel" in German, is a narrative about an artist's growth to maturity. It may be classified as a specific sub-genre of Bildungsroman; such a work, usually a novel, tends to depict the conflicts of a sensitive youth against the values of a bourgeois society of his...
– charting an apprentice’s growth to maturity... an illuminating read"
ICON Magazine (issue 099, 2011) discussion by Agata Pyzik