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Joy [Hardcover]

Jonathan Lee
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Book Description

7 Jun 2012

'Did she jump? Did she fall? Will she wake?'

On an ordinary Friday afternoon in the office, talented young lawyer Joy Stephens plummets forty feet onto a marble floor.

In the shadow of this baffling event, the lives of those closest to her begin to collide and change in unexpected ways. There is Dennis, her disgraced husband, who finds consolation in books; her colleague Peter, whose refuge is a mix of hedonism and hard work; Barbara, Joy's prickly PA, who'd be content if only she could get away to New York; and Samir, Joy's hygiene-obsessed personal trainer, who escapes into exercise routines and other, stranger rituals. In a sparkling glass office in London's Square Mile - a place bursting with flirtations, water cooler confrontations and dangerous amounts of abject boredom - each of them is forced to question what they've witnessed, and to face past moments that have defined Joy's life, as well as their own.

Joy is a hugely inventive, ambitious and absorbing novel about pleasure, love, loss, and work by 'a major new voice in British fiction' (Guardian).


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Joy + Who is Mr Satoshi?
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: William Heinemann (7 Jun 2012)
  • Language: Unknown
  • ISBN-10: 0434020427
  • ISBN-13: 978-0434020423
  • Product Dimensions: 14.3 x 3 x 22.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 190,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

A brilliant book... Jonathan Lee is one of those rare, agile writers who can take your breath away. (Catherine O’flynn, Author Of What Was Lost )

With its supple prose, ingenious structure, wit and slow-burn sympathy, Joy is a sly miracle of a novel. (A.D. Miller )

Exquisitely and surprisingly written.[Joy] proves that Lee is a significant talent and that his future work should be well worth awaiting. (Observer )

Lee's the real deal - a British writer on the cusp of greatness... A brilliant powerful dissection of modern Britain. (Henry Sutton Daily Mirror )

Jonathan Lee's second novel, Joy (William Heinemann), charts the final day in the life of a high-flying young lawyer. Lee writes with extraordinary vividness, with prose so sharply defined it takes your breath away. (Elizabeth Day Observer )

Book Description

JOY is a hugely inventive, ambitious and absorbing novel about pleasure, love, loss, and work by 'a major new voice in British fiction' (Guardian).

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Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling novel with an unusual structure 7 Jun 2012
By I Readalot TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
In July 2010 I read Jonathan Lee's debut 'Who is Mr Satoshi' and looked forward to his 'difficult second novel'. 'Joy' has confirmed that he is not a one hit wonder. 'Mr Satoshi' asked the question can we really 'know' anyone 'Joy' covers similar ground but in a totally different way. The eponymous heroine is in a coma having plummeted 40 feet from a viewing platform in front of work colleagues on the day she is made partner of her law firm. It happened at 5pm on a Friday afternoon. Suicide, accident or something more sinister? The novel winds its way into revealing the truth using an unusual narrative structure. The first and every alternate chapter follows Joy from the Thursday night, her experiences, thoughts, memories and intentions. The other chapters are written as a form of monologue as 4 characters take turns to talk to a counsellor, the counsellor is silent but his questions become apparent from the answers given. It gave me the feeling that I was the counsellor, quietly taking notes and trying to make sense of what was being said.

These 4 characters represent different facets of Joy's life, Dennis, her husband, Peter, a colleague, her PA Barbara and fitness instructor Samir. Each colourful character has their own voice, quirks and personality, Samir suffers from OCD and Barbara believes everything will be fine if she could just visit her sister Jackie in the States. Dennis is on 'sabbatical' from the university and finds solace in books and Peter has a thing about rubber bands! We learn about Joy through them but there are pieces of the puzzle missing, things that none of them know which only come to light through Joy's personal narrative. Frequent mention is made of the whale that somehow made its way into the River Thames in 2006, the same year that a tragedy befell Joy, a tragedy that goes a long way into explaining her behaviour. The theme of colour is present from the greyness of the whale to the multitude of shades Joy tries out to decorate her house and the 4 characters colour in various aspects of Joy's life and personality. The novel opens with a situation worthy of an adult farce and although there is much humour throughout it moves into the realm of tragedy.

It is quite a complex novel although once you adapt to the structure it is not hard to read, however if you like your novels to have a straightforward linear narrative then maybe this is not for you. As well as moving between characters it also moves around in time as the characters recall their memories of Joy. The ending is strong and although unexpected, with hindsight it really does make perfect sense. I will definitely be looking forward to Lee's next novel.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Read 17 July 2012
By OllyR
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'd really enjoyed Jonathan Lee's first novel, 'Who is Mr Satoshi?', so I was looking forward to his second. It didn't disappoint; in fact it was even better. The initial question of how and why Joy falls from a balcony in her law firm is just the start of a story that widens and deepens in its scope and ambition.

The complex characters, wry humour and gripping intertwined plotlines kept me enthralled from beginning to end. It's written with great style and erudition too. There is bleakness here - the darker sides of human nature are unsparingly depicted. But this finely wrought novel also points the way towards some sort of redemption. I can't recommend 'Joy' enough & look forward to the next one!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable novel 13 July 2012
By leakym
Format:Hardcover
This is a remarkable novel. Lee not only penetrates the depths of the tortured female mind with utter conviction and clarity, he also offers the reader a deliciously dark satire on the behaviour of some of the rich and powerful in the city of London.

Lee explores the insurmountable human price paid for treachery and lust, whilst seamlessly interweaving hilarity throughout (often at the darkest times). This beautifully tragic and comic story meant I couldn't sleep until it was finished. (Bed time on a week night- 3am!). And my goodness, what an ending...

Those with a penchant for the dark, the comic, the human, the tragic - read it today.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The title's spot on
Really fantastic book by a relatively new author. Highly original and engrossing. Great characters and a wonderfully dark and slightly seedy storyline. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Strong Cheddar
2.0 out of 5 stars Tries too hard
The problem with this book is that, while it tries to be funny, while it tries to be literary, it achieves neither because it all feels so deliberate. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sigby
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking (loss, lawyers and a lizard)
Having hugely enjoyed Who Is Mr Satoshi, I delved straight into Jonathan Lee's latest with high hopes. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Shornexe
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
Joy was my choice for a recent book club, the discussion of which took place this week. It was a lively one! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Samantha Durham
5.0 out of 5 stars I cried on the tube reading it!
Jon Lee has written a wonderfully touching book in 'Joy'.

He manages to find the vulnerability in even the hardest of characters and captures the realities of life in a... Read more
Published 8 months ago by SammyPants
4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, tackles a taboo subject very well...
I felt this book was going to be about how hard law firms work their trainees and with some terrible stories that dispel the myth that being a lawyer is really glamorous. Read more
Published 8 months ago by shelia
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Tremendous book. I read this having enjoyed Who is Mr Satoshi; Joy is even better.

Jonathan Lee must have worked in the City - so many of his observations are laugh out... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Avid Rheader
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping!
I found myself missing my stop on the Metro more than a few times in my eagerness to keep reading Lee's "Joy". Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dubai Bookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars A moving read
A novel set in a law firm, where no one actually appears to do any work and where everyone is consumed by the past. From its first page we learn of Joy's discontentment. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Nina Jon
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turning literary Joy
I settled down with this yesterday and then ended up needing to finish it before I could go to bed. The structure is quirky, but not clunky and the story is allowed to unfold... Read more
Published 10 months ago by RenR
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