Joseph O'Neill is an Irish novelist and non-fiction writer. O'Neill's novel ''

Netherland , informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; i ...

'' was awarded the 2009

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living Americans, Green Card holders or permanent residents. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of ...

and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award.

Early life

Joseph O'Neill was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland, on 23 February 1964. He is of half- Irish and half-Turkish ancestry. O'Neill's parents moved around much in O'Neill's youth: O'Neill spent time in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

as a toddler and in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

until the age of four, and he also lived in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. From the age of six, O'Neill lived in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he attended the Lycée français de La Haye and the British School in the Netherlands. He read law at

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, preferring it over English because "literature was too precious" and he wanted it to remain a hobby. O'Neill started off his literary career in poetry but had turned away from it by the age of 24. After being called to the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1987, he spent a year writing his first novel. O'Neill then entered full-time practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in London, principally in the field of business law. Since 1998 he has lived in New York City.

Career

Writing

O'Neill is the author of five novels. He is best known for ''

,'' which was published in May 2008 and was featured on the cover of the ''

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', where it was called "the wittiest, angriest, most exacting and most desolate work of fiction we've yet had about life in New York and London after the World Trade Center fell". It was included in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' list of the ''10 Best Books of 2008''. Literary critic James Wood called it "one of the most remarkable

postcolonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

books I have ever read". In an interview with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in June 2009, US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

revealed that he was reading it, describing it as "an excellent novel." Among the books on the longlist, it was the favourite to win the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. However, on 9 September 2008, the Booker shortlist was announced, and the novel failed to make the list. The book received the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the 2009 Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. It was shortlisted for the Dublin International IMPAC Award. His next novel, ''The Dog'' (2014), was longlisted for the

for Fiction, named a Notable Book of 2014 by ''The New York Times,'' and shortlisted for the Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. His most recent novel, ''Godwin,'' was published in June 2024. It was a Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. O'Neill is also the author of ''Good Trouble'' (2018), a collection of short stories, most of which first appeared in the ''New Yorker'' or ''Harper's'' magazine. Two of his stories have been awarded an O. Henry prize. Others have been anthologized in: *''New Irish Short Stories'' (ed. Joseph O'Connor) (Faber & Faber) (2011) *''Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories'' (ed. David Marcus) (Faber & Faber) (2007) *''Dislocation: Stories from a New Ireland'' (ed. Caroline Walsh) (Carroll & Graf) (2003) *''Phoenix Irish Short Stories'' (ed. David Marcus) (Phoenix) (1999) O'Neill has also written a non-fiction book, ''Blood-Dark Track: A Family History'', which was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002 and a Book of the Year for the ''Economist'' and the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''. In 2019, O'Neill began to publish political essays in the ''

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

''. He has also written literary and cultural criticism, notably for ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

''.

Teaching

He is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Written Arts at

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Personal life

O'Neill speaks English, French and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. He played club cricket in the Netherlands and the UK, and has played for many years at the

Staten Island Cricket Club The Staten Island Cricket Club (SICC) is a cricket club on Staten Island, New York, United States, that was incorporated as the Staten Island Cricket and Base Ball Club on March 22, 1872. It became the first tennis venue in the United States. ...

, much like his ''Netherland'' protagonist Hans. His love of cricket continues and he is an active player (). In an interview with ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'' in 2014 O'Neill said, explaining his interest in writing about Dubai in ''The Dog'', "I’ve moved around so much and lived in so many different places that I don’t really belong to a particular place." He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, writer

Rivka Galchen Rivka Galchen (born April 19, 1976) is a Canadian American writer. Her first novel, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in 2008 and was awarded the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She is the author of five books and a staf ...

Bibliography

Novels

*''Godwin'' (Pantheon; Fourth Estate) (2024) *''The Dog'' (Pantheon; Fourth Estate) (2014) *''

'' (Pantheon; Fourth Estate) (2008) *''The Breezes'' (Faber & Faber) (1996) *''This Is the Life'' (Faber & Faber; Farrar Straus & Giroux) (1991)

Short fiction

;Collections *''Good Trouble'' (2018) ;Selected Stories *"Keuka Lake" ''The New Yorker,'' February 23, 2025 *"The Time Being" ''The New Yorker,'' March 11, 2024 *"Rainbows" ''The New Yorker'', September 28, 2020 *"The Flier" ''The New Yorker'', November 4, 2019 *"The First World" ''The New Yorker'', June 25, 2018 *"The Poltroon Husband" ''The New Yorker'', March 5, 2018 *"The Sinking of the Houston" ''The New Yorker'', October 23, 2017 * "The Mustache in 2010" ''Harper's'', June 30, 2017 *"Pardon Edward Snowden" ''The New Yorker,'' December 12, 2016 *"The Trusted Traveler" ''Harper's'', May 20, 2016 * *

Non-fiction

*''Blood-Dark Track: A Family History'' (Granta Books) (2001) ;Introductory Essays *''The Blue Mask'' by Joel Lane (Influx Press) (2023) *''Amsterdam Stories'' by Nescio, tr. Damion Searles (New York Review of Books Classics) (2012) *''The Actual: A Novella'' by Saul Bellow (Penguin Classics) (2009) ;Selected Personal Writing *"Good Day Sunshine" ''In Their Lives: Great Writers on Great Beatles Songs'' (by Andrew Blauner, Ed.) (Prentice Hall Press) (2017) *"Memories of Trump's Wedding" ''The New Yorker'' online, August 1, 2016 *"A Sartorial Personal History" ''Esquire: The Big Black Book #3'' Spring 2014 *"What's Wrong With Me?" ''The Dublin Review'' 50, Spring 2013 *"Losed" ''Granta'' 111, July 2010 *"The Relevance of Cosmopolitanism" ''The Atlantic'', Fiction Issue 2009 *"Why Updike Matters" ''Granta'' online, January 29, 2009 *"Portrait of My Father" ''Granta'' online, November 20, 2008
''The Ascent of Man''
(''Granta'' 72, Winter 2000)

Selected Critical Writings

*"Population: 1" ''Poetry Ireland Review 116: A WB Yeats Special Issue'' (2015) * "Roth v Roth v Roth" (on Philip Roth) ''The Atlantic'' February 27, 2012 * "Man Without a Country" (on V.S. Naipaul) ''The Atlantic'' July 24, 2011 * "Killing Her Softly" (on Muriel Spark) ''The Atlantic'' August 11, 2010 * "Touched by Evil" (on Flannery O'Connor) ''The Atlantic'' June 1, 2009 * "The Last Laugh" (on Flann O'Brien) ''The Atlantic'' May 1, 2008 * "Bowling Alone" (on C.L.R. James) ''The Atlantic'' October 1, 2007 * "New Fiction" (on ''Never Let Me Go'' by Kazuo Ishiguro) ''The Atlantic'' May 2005

References

External links

*"The Dubai Gesture", by John Banville, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', 19 March 2015. Review of ''The Dog''.
"Post 9/11, a New York of Gatsby-Size Dreams and Loss"
by Michiko Kakutani, ''

'', 16 May 2008. Review of ''

''.
"Pen in One Hand, Cricket Bat in the Other"
by Charles McGrath, ''

'', 17 May 2008. Article on O'Neill.
"What Did You Do in the War?"
by Colin Harrison, ''

'', 17 February 2002. Review of ''Blood-Dark Track''.
Archive of Atlantic writingsArchive of pieces for New York magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Joseph Living people 1964 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge The Atlantic (magazine) people Irish literary critics Irish male novelists Irish male poets Irish novelists Irish people of Turkish descent Irish poets PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Writers from Cork (city) The New Yorker people