High Dive (Excerpt)

by Jonathan Lee

"Jonathan Lee’s brilliant, tense new novel weaves fiction around a real the attempted assassination of Margaret Thatcher in Brighton in 1984. The book follows a young IRA volunteer, and the father and daughter who feature in this excerpt. Moose is the manager of the hotel in Brighton where the Prime Minister and her cabinet will stay; Freya, just out of high school, works the check-in desk, the boredom of the job broken by the occasional erotic flare with a guest or co-worker. Their relationship is the heart of the book, and this short, tender scene captures much of what defines it." - Garth Greenwell, Author of What Belongs to You

About the Jonathan Lee is a British writer living in New York, where he is the Senior Editor at Catapult and a Contributing Editor for Guernica. High Dive is published by Knopf on March 8, 2016.

About the Guest Garth Greenwell's debut novel, What Belongs to You, was published by FSG in January.

About the Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Stay connected with us through our eNewsletter, Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.

12 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 29, 2016

About the author

“THE GREAT MISTAKE is a great New York story.” —Entertainment Weekly

“The best American novel of the year.” —The Guardian

“Seriously entertaining...The detective work is ingenious.” —The Sunday Times (London)

JONATHAN LEE's new novel, THE GREAT MISTAKE (June 2021) dramatizes the mysterious life and murder of a real historical figure — Andrew Haswell Green — who was central to the creation of Central Park, The Met, The New York Public Library, and much more.

Jonathan's previous book HIGH DIVE was named a best book of the year in publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The New Yorker.

Jonathan is also editor in chief of the indie publishing house Catapult in NYC, publishing work he loves by authors like Chelsea Bieker, Jon McGregor, Jokha Alharthi, Chloe Aridjis and more.