Jonathan Littell Writer novelist Date of Birth: 10.10.1967 Country: USA

Biography of Jonathan Littell

Jonathan Littell, a novelist, was born on October 10, 1967, in New York City. He is the son of writer Robert Littell and comes from a family with Jewish heritage. However, Littell does not identify himself as Jewish, stating that Judaism is merely a historical context for him.

Littell spent his childhood in France and the United States. After obtaining a bachelor's degree, he worked in humanitarian aid organizations for nine years. In 2001, Littell left this job to focus on his writing career.

His first novel, "Les Bienveillantes" (2006), written in French, received two major literary awards in France, including the prestigious Prix Goncourt. Littell, who is bilingual and writes in both English and French, currently resides in Barcelona, Spain.

Littell's early years in France began at the age of three when he moved there with his family. He returned to his homeland for his teenage years but went back to France to complete his high school education and graduate. He pursued higher education at Yale University in the United States, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1989.

During his last year of studies, Littell completed his first book, "Légende d'un dormeur éveillé," and met William Barafs, who deeply impressed the young writer. Littell became enthralled with Barafs' work, as well as the works of authors such as Sade, Blanchot, Genet, Céline, Bataille, and Beckett. He later worked as a translator, translating the works of French authors Sade, Blanchot, Genet, and Cournar into English.

From 1994 to 2001, Jonathan Littell worked for the international humanitarian organization "Action Against Hunger" in various conflict-ridden regions, including Chechnya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Moscow, and the Caucasus. However, he spent most of his time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In January 2001, Littell became a victim of an attack in Chechnya, where he sustained minor injuries. Following this incident, he decided to leave his humanitarian work and focus on his second book, "Les Bienveillantes."

Published in France in 2006, Littell's novel "Les Bienveillantes" delves into the history of World War II and the Eastern Front through the memories of a fictional SS Colonel named Maximilien Aue. Littell drew inspiration for this book from a photograph of Soviet partisan Zoia Kosmodemianskaia, who was killed by the Nazis, as well as the documentary film "Shoah" by Claude Lanzmann. Before starting the book, Littell spent 18 months researching and reading over 200 books about Nazi Germany and the Eastern Front, in addition to visiting Germany, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.

Littell claims that the main character of his novel, Aue, is a fictional creation. He simply imagined what it would be like if he himself were born in pre-war Germany and became a Nazi. By 2007, "Les Bienveillantes" had sold over 700,000 copies in France alone, establishing Littell as a prominent and acclaimed author.