Jonathan Littell is a renowned writer living in Barcelona. After completing his bachelor's degree, he worked for a humanitarian organization for nine years, but in 2001 he decided to quit and focus on literary work. His first novel, The Beneficent, written in French, became a worldwide bestseller. In addition, Littell tried himself several times as a documentary filmmaker. The film "The Wrong Elements", which Jonathan directed in 2016, was highly praised by the Cannes Film Festival jury.
Early biography
The Littell family has Russian-Jewish roots. In the late 19th century, Jonathan's grandparents immigrated to America from Russia. The boy was born in New York, but at the age of three he and his parents moved to France. Here the future writer graduated from high school, and then returned to the United States to study at the prestigious Yale University. It was during his studies that Lyttell wrote his first book, Bad Stress. At the same time, he met by chance with popular author William Burroughs. The famous essayist invited the young man to familiarize himself with the work of such great writers as Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Samuel Beckett and Maurice Blanchot. Subsequently, Jonathan acquired all the necessary literature and for several months immersed himself in the study of the work of the masters of the word. The works read later had a strong influence on the author's style of the writer.
In 1994, Jonathan Littell stops writing his books and joins the Fight Hunger international humanitarian organization. Together with other specialists, he worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chechnya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia. In January 2001, Littell fell victim to a Chechen ambush, during which he was slightly injured. Since then, he decided to leave charity to focus on writing.
Career
A few years later, Jonathan received French citizenship and was able to keep the American one. In 2006, he officially released his new book, The Benefactors. The novel tells the story of the Second World War and, in particular, the Eastern Front. In his literary work, Lyttell collected fictional memories of an eloquent officer named Maximilian Aue. At one of the presentations, Jonathan said that he was inspired to write the book by a photograph of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The author was amazed by the biography of a Soviet partisan who tragically died at the hands of the fascist invaders. In addition, he took some of the ideas from Claude Lanzmann's film "Shoah", which is dedicated to the Holocaust. For his historical novel in 2006, Littell won the prestigious Goncourt Prize and the Grand Prix of the French Academy Festival. By the end of 2007, more than 700,000 copies of the book had been sold in France.
However, Jonathan has always been interested in the secrets of the Third Reich. He read over a hundred books about German generals and the aggressive actions of the Nazis. Following the publication of The Benefactors, Littell directed the documentary The Wrong Elements, in which he interviewed former German child soldiers. The film was screened out of competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The jury was amazed when they found out that this is Jonathan's first directorial work. The picture was filmed so well that the main film critics could hardly believe that Littell was just beginning to take his first steps into big cinema.
Interestingly, Jonathan Littell is not satisfied with all of his creative work. For example, he considers his first science fiction novel about cyberpunk "Bad Voltage" to be extremely unfortunate. On the pages of this work, the writer told the story of a hero living in futuristic Paris. Despite its self-criticism, Bad Stress is still very popular in France and America.
In addition, Littell was engaged in intelligence activities in Russia. He has published several detailed reports on Russian security agencies. In particular, Jonathan made an attempt to assess the situation in Chechnya. The writer came to the conclusion that now the political system in the country is arranged in such a way as to protect society from any manifestation of freedom.
Hobbies and personal life
At the moment, Jonathan continues to improve in directing. He develops the creative concept for his forthcoming film-opera The Coronation of Poppea to music by Claudio Monteverdi. In parallel with his writing and directing activities, he regularly gives lectures on historical topics in leading museums in France and the United States.
Jonathan Littell lives in Brazil with his wife and two children. He frequently appears in opposition speeches, promoting social values such as gender equality, pluralism of opinions and the possibility of self-expression.
Littell is often referred to as "dandy" in the London press. The point is that the writer loves to wear vintage blazers, vintage raincoats, and colorful ties. The writer himself is in no hurry to say goodbye to his style. In an interview, he repeatedly said that public opinion does not matter to him at all. In general, the popular author has a rather scandalous reputation in the media. He is known for his harsh speeches against officials and government institutions. As a creative person, Littell rejects stereotypical values in every possible way and advocates for each individual to independently determine their own path in life.
However, Jonathan Littell has great respect for his readers and fans. The writer regularly participates in collective discussions of his own books, and also conducts open seminars on literary skills.
