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Howard Jacobson

ハワード・ジェイコブソン

Howard Jacobson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1942-08-25 （Manchester, England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Religion
Jewish background
Residence History
Prestwich (near Manchester) → Manchester → Cambridge → London → Sydney, Australia → Wolverhampton

Career

Occupations
novelist, columnist, journalist, broadcaster, lecturer
Active Years
1983-
Influenced By
F. R. Leavis, Philip Roth (often compared to)
Nominations
Kalooki Nights — longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, J — shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize

Education

Downing College, Cambridge
English / Department of English
Degree: BA (2:2)
Period: 1961–1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United Kingdom
Studied under F. R. Leavis

Awards

Man Booker Prize
2010
Work: The Finkler Question
Organization: The Man Booker Prize
Result: 受賞
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
1999
Work: The Mighty Walzer
Organization: The P. G. Wodehouse Society / Everyman
Result: 受賞
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
2013
Work: Zoo Time
Organization: The P. G. Wodehouse Society / Everyman
Result: 受賞
JQ Wingate Prize
2007
Work: Kalooki Nights
Organization: Jewish Quarterly / Wingate Prize
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2012
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Finkler Question

2010 comic novel

A comic novel exploring Jewishness in contemporary Britain, love, loss and male friendship; follows characters grappling with identity and relationships.

Jewishnessidentityfriendshipcomic-tragic tone

The Mighty Walzer

1999 comic novel

A semi-autobiographical comic novel set in 1950s Manchester about a teenage table tennis champion.

coming of agehumourself-discovery

Zoo Time

2012 comic novel

A humorous, satirical novel about the oddities of everyday life and human relationships; won Jacobson his second Wodehouse prize.

satirehuman relationshipshumour

J

2014 literary fiction

A novel with a near-future setting handling themes of memory, history and Jewish identity; shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

memoryhistoryJewish identity

Bibliography

  • Coming From Behind (1983)
  • Peeping Tom (1984)
  • Redback (1986)
  • The Very Model of a Man (1992)
  • No More Mister Nice Guy (1998)
  • The Mighty Walzer (1999)
  • Who's Sorry Now? (2002)
  • The Making of Henry (2004)
  • Kalooki Nights (2006)
  • The Act of Love (2008)
  • The Finkler Question (2010)
  • Zoo Time (2012)
  • J (2014)
  • Shylock Is My Name (2016)
  • Pussy (2017)
  • Live a Little (2019)
  • What Will Survive of Us (2024)

Adaptations

  • My Son the Novelist (Arena documentary)
  • Howard Jacobson Takes on the Turner (TV programme)
  • The South Bank Show (feature)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
discursive, narrative proseuses satire and black humourfocus on character psychology and dialogue
Recurring Motifs
Jewish identitymale friendship and jealousyabsurdities of everyday life

Legacy

One of the leading contemporary British comic novelists. Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize and multiple other awards; widely recognised for works addressing Jewish identity and humour. Also notable for his public commentary.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

In Popular Culture

  • Appearances and programmes on BBC and Channel 4

Quotes

  • I have been described as "a Jewish Jane Austen" but I'm not conventionally Jewish. I feel I have a Jewish mind, a Jewish intelligence.
    Source: Interview
  • "The Finkler Question is a marvellous book: very funny, of course, but also very clever, very sad and very subtle. A completely worthy winner of this great prize."
    Source: Andrew Motion (chair of the Man Booker Prize judges) (2010)

Trivia

  • Was a teenage table tennis enthusiast; The Mighty Walzer contains semi-autobiographical elements.
  • Has lectured at the University of Sydney and taught at Selwyn College, Cambridge.
  • Has been married three times (Barbara, Rosalin Sadler, Jenny De Yong).