Arthur Phillips
Encyclopedia
Arthur Phillips is a Jewish American novelist active in the 21st century. His novels include Prague
(2002), The Egyptologist (2004), Angelica (2007), The Song Is You (2009), and The Tragedy of Arthur (2011)
(1986–90). After spending two years in Budapest (1990–1992), he then studied jazz saxophone for four semesters at Berklee College of Music
(1992–93). In his author biography and several interviews he claims to have been a child actor, a jazz musician, a five-time Jeopardy!
champion, a speechwriter "not for interesting people, for academic and business people" and an advertising copywriter "for medical devices like stents and angioplasty balloons," and a dismally failed entrepreneur. He lived in Budapest
from 1990 to 1992 and in Paris
from 2001 to 2003, and now lives in New York
with his wife and two sons.
Phillips was featured on the July 27, 2007, episode of "This American Life
", reading his short story "Wenceslas Square." The story is being produced for film by "This American Life" and Endgame Entertainment, with a script by Christopher Markus
and Steven McFeely.
Before becoming a best-selling novelist, Phillips was a five-time champion on Jeopardy!
in 1997. In 2005, he competed in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
. He won his opening-round game but lost in the second round.
, Hungary
, primarily in 1989 and 1990, with an interlude detailing 200 years of Hungarian history.
The main line of the novel follows a group of young Western expatriates through their lives in Budapest. The structure of the novel allows for various tales to be interwoven, producing an ensemble portrait of them and their adopted city, just recovering from decades of Communism, fascism, and war. The novel's recurring themes include nostalgia, sincerity and authenticity, and young people's first search for meaning in life.
The novel was well received commercially and critically, winning Phillips the 2003 Los Angeles Times/Art Seidenbaum Award for Best First Fiction, as well as other honors.
(the man who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun), risks more and more of his life and savings on an apparently quixotic effort to find the tomb of an apocryphal Egyptian king.
The book was an international bestseller and critical success in more than two dozen countries. US critics noted Phillips's versatility in producing a book so different from his first, and fans of the book included Gary Shteyngart
, George Saunders
, Elizabeth Peters, and Stephen King
. Others, however, most notably Michiko Kakutani
of The New York Times, found the book overlong and confusing.
, Vladimir Nabokov
, and Stephen King
. King himself praised the book, and the Washington Post opined that it cemented Phillips's reputation as "one of the best writers in America."
In the novel, the same events are retold four times from four different perspectives, each section casting doubt on the version that came before, until the reader is left to sort truth from fantasy on his or her own. Although the novel received extensive critical praise, it was a commercial disappointment in the US and abroad, perhaps because many readers felt it was not, in the end, the conventional horror story they were promised.
The novel has been optioned for film by the filmmaker Mitchell Lichtenstein
.
The novel was published on April 7, 2009. Preliminary reviews included a blurb from Kurt Andersen
and this notice from Kirkus Reviews
: "Phillips still looks like the best American novelist to have emerged during the present decade."
The novel was optioned for film by Focus Features
for writer-director Bill Condon
in the Guardian stated of this book "I have been reading a 'newly discovered' Shakespeare play, The Tragedy of Arthur, that's going to cause a stir in the coming year." The book was published on April 19, 2011. Michiko Kakutani
gave the book a rave review in the New York Times. Stephen Greenblatt, a well-known critic and biographer of Shakespeare, likewise gave Phillips' novel a rave review in the NY Times.
Prague (novel)
Prague is a historical novel by Arthur Phillips about a group of North American expatriates in Budapest, Hungary circa 1990, at the end of the Cold War. Prague is the author's debut novel, first published by Random House in 2002...
(2002), The Egyptologist (2004), Angelica (2007), The Song Is You (2009), and The Tragedy of Arthur (2011)
Life
Phillips was born in Minneapolis, received a BA in history from HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1986–90). After spending two years in Budapest (1990–1992), he then studied jazz saxophone for four semesters at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
(1992–93). In his author biography and several interviews he claims to have been a child actor, a jazz musician, a five-time Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
champion, a speechwriter "not for interesting people, for academic and business people" and an advertising copywriter "for medical devices like stents and angioplasty balloons," and a dismally failed entrepreneur. He lived in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
from 1990 to 1992 and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 2001 to 2003, and now lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his wife and two sons.
Phillips was featured on the July 27, 2007, episode of "This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
", reading his short story "Wenceslas Square." The story is being produced for film by "This American Life" and Endgame Entertainment, with a script by Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus is an American screenwriter who frequently collaborates with Stephen McFeely.-Filmography:*The Life and Death of Peter Sellers *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe *You Kill Me...
and Steven McFeely.
Before becoming a best-selling novelist, Phillips was a five-time champion on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
in 1997. In 2005, he competed in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
The Ultimate Tournament of Champions was a special fifteen-week single-elimination tournament that aired during the twenty-first season of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! that began airing on February 9, 2005 and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in all...
. He won his opening-round game but lost in the second round.
Prague (2002)
Prague, despite its title, is set almost entirely in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, primarily in 1989 and 1990, with an interlude detailing 200 years of Hungarian history.
The main line of the novel follows a group of young Western expatriates through their lives in Budapest. The structure of the novel allows for various tales to be interwoven, producing an ensemble portrait of them and their adopted city, just recovering from decades of Communism, fascism, and war. The novel's recurring themes include nostalgia, sincerity and authenticity, and young people's first search for meaning in life.
The novel was well received commercially and critically, winning Phillips the 2003 Los Angeles Times/Art Seidenbaum Award for Best First Fiction, as well as other honors.
The Egyptologist (2004)
The Egyptologist is structured as journals, letters, telegrams, and drawings, from several different points of view. The main story is set in 1922 and follows a hopeful explorer who, working near Howard CarterHoward Carter
Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...
(the man who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun), risks more and more of his life and savings on an apparently quixotic effort to find the tomb of an apocryphal Egyptian king.
The book was an international bestseller and critical success in more than two dozen countries. US critics noted Phillips's versatility in producing a book so different from his first, and fans of the book included Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart is an American writer born in Leningrad, USSR. Much of his work is satirical and relies on the invention of elaborately fictitious yet somehow familiar places and times.-Life:...
, George Saunders
George Saunders
George Saunders is a New York Times bestselling American writer of short stories, essays, novellas and children's books. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's and GQ, among other publications...
, Elizabeth Peters, and Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. Others, however, most notably Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
of The New York Times, found the book overlong and confusing.
Angelica (2007)
Angelica is superficially a Victorian ghost story, and won Phillips comparisons to Henry JamesHenry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, and Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. King himself praised the book, and the Washington Post opined that it cemented Phillips's reputation as "one of the best writers in America."
In the novel, the same events are retold four times from four different perspectives, each section casting doubt on the version that came before, until the reader is left to sort truth from fantasy on his or her own. Although the novel received extensive critical praise, it was a commercial disappointment in the US and abroad, perhaps because many readers felt it was not, in the end, the conventional horror story they were promised.
The novel has been optioned for film by the filmmaker Mitchell Lichtenstein
Mitchell Lichtenstein
Mitchell Wilson Lichtenstein is an openly gay American actor, writer, producer and director.Lichtenstein studied acting at Bennington College in Vermont....
.
The Song Is You (2009)
Phillips's fourth novel tells the story of a middle-aged man's pursuit of a young woman, an Irish pop singer he sees performing in a bar. According to Bookpage magazine, "Set in New York, the story follows Julian Donahue as he navigates the shadowy, grief-filled world of a parent who has lost a child [...] He's consumed by [the singer], but rather than introducing himself as another disposable fan, he becomes a faraway mentor and muse, setting himself on a course that will lead him from New York to Europe."The novel was published on April 7, 2009. Preliminary reviews included a blurb from Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen is an American novelist who is also host of the Peabody-winning public radio program Studio 360, a co-production between Public Radio International and WNYC. In 1986 with E. Graydon Carter he co-founded Spy magazine, which they sold in 1991; it continued publishing until 1998...
and this notice from Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
: "Phillips still looks like the best American novelist to have emerged during the present decade."
The novel was optioned for film by Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
for writer-director Bill Condon
Bill Condon
William "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director. Condon is best known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed films Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, and Dreamgirls. In 1998, Condon debuted as a screenwriter in Gods and Monsters, which won him his first Academy Award....
The Tragedy of Arthur (2011)
Robert McCrumRobert McCrum
Robert McCrum , is an English writer and editor. He served as literary editor of The Observer for more than ten years. In May 2008 he was appointed Associate Editor of the Observer and was succeeded as literary editor by William Skidelsky...
in the Guardian stated of this book "I have been reading a 'newly discovered' Shakespeare play, The Tragedy of Arthur, that's going to cause a stir in the coming year." The book was published on April 19, 2011. Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
gave the book a rave review in the New York Times. Stephen Greenblatt, a well-known critic and biographer of Shakespeare, likewise gave Phillips' novel a rave review in the NY Times.
External links
- Official Website
- Arthur Phillips discusses The Tragedy of Arthur
- Arthur Phillips on Radio Happy Hour w/ Cursive in 2010
- Arthur Phillips on Radio Happy Hour in 2011 w/ Elizabeth & the Catapult
- An interview with Arthur Phillips and John Reed on writing about Shakespeare
- http://www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum55.html