(Stories by) Jonathan Hill

There are writers you just have to read. And there are writers buried under the pile of books unworthy of your time and money, books free to download but also deprived of quality of writing, editing and even cover design but successfully marketed and therefore read.

How to distinguish one from another? Who has the will and the time to dig through the rubbish to pull out a hidden treasure? Not always easy, I agree. 

This is why I bring Jonathan Hill’s work into your spotlight. Maybe his work is not your genre, your kind of read, that is something everyone needs to decide by themselves.

What I want to bring to your attention is the unquestionable quality of his writing, situations so realistic and characters so alive that you feel you are talking to them. Jonathan Hill has a sophisticated sense for a sincere humor which will catapult you into a good laughter. But he is also a master of building multi-layered stories, which you might not notice at first glance but will feel deep inside when your heart starts beating faster and your body is going to shiver in sympathy, care and understanding for his characters.

Jonathan Hill is the author whom we will believe even when we know he is only making up stories.

Here I present three of his books, each one different in its own character, personality and charm. I hope you like at least one of them!

Pride 

What do you remember most from your first Pride? Are you still making plans for your first Pride? Or you think it is all just a bunch of crap wrapped up in the glittering human rights propaganda? 

To teenage boy Liam his first Gay Pride march is everything. Not even traveling by himself to another town and lying to his parents can prevent him to attend it. Because Liam reached the point when he accepted himself for who he was and now he seeks the acceptance of others too.

But is he ready to accept the dire consequences of his actions and coming out to another teenage boy, a stranger to him? Can he embrace the pain and guilt of a caterpillar spreading its rainbow-colored wings as a new butterfly?

Tender is the way and splashed with the right dose of humor with which Jonathan Hill makes us to befriend and love the characters in his novella Pride. It’s a brutally honest and beautifully realistic story which begs for your attention. In other words, a must-read!

The Anniversary

For some, Christmas is the most depressing time of year. For most of the people, it is all about the family and giving while others despise its fake glitter and profit-oriented consumerism. For individuals like the narrator of The Anniversary, it is an opportunity. An opportunity to be themselves.

Any time is a good time to read this dark and macabre novella by Jonathan Hill. But if you want its element of surprise to take the full effect, read it again when you hear laughter and clinking of the glasses in someone's office; read it again when you walk down the frozen street and the cold wind blows through your coat and chills your bones; and read it once more when the first snowflakes mingle with confetti and the smell of food and booze because its Christmas time.

This time Jonathan Hill won't make you laugh. Instead, you will shiver in his company. Can I sit next to you, Jonathan!?

A Surprise for Maureen

A beautiful, charming and funny read! Jonathan entertains us with style!

Although not all animals given as gifts end up in happy and loving homes, I am glad Jack did. Thank you for that, Jonathan, and thank you for making me laugh again!

Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com

Photo source: Goodreads