Jonathan Lethem books in order
American novelist, essayist, short story writer, Roy E. Disney Chair in Creative Writing, Pomona College
- Born
- 1964
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 25
- Also writes as
- Harry Conklin
Jonathan Lethem has published 16 novels, 5 short story collections and 4 non-fiction books, beginning with Gun, with Occasional Music (1994). The best-known is The Fortress of Solitude (2003). The latest is The Arrest (2020).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Jonathan Lethem
Start here
The Fortress of Solitude
Jonathan Lethem's most-read book.
Shortest way in
Gun, with Occasional Music
One of the most-read, at about 262 pages.
Newest
The Arrest
Published 2020.
Standalone novels in order
The Year's Best Science Fiction (1993)
Gun, with Occasional Music (Mar 1994)
Amnesia Moon (Sep 1995)
As She Climbed Across the Table (Feb 1997)
Girl in Landscape (Apr 1998)
Motherless Brooklyn (1999)
Omega: The Unknown (2000)
The Fortress of Solitude (Sep 2003)
You Don't Love Me Yet (2007)
Chronic City (2009)
They Live (2010)
Dissident Gardens (2013)
A Gambler's Anatomy (2016)
The Blot (2016)
The Feral Detective (2018)
The Arrest (2020)
Short story collections in order
The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye (1996)
Kafka Americana (1999)
Men and Cartoons (2004)
The Disappointment Artist (2004)
Lucky Alan (2015)
Non-fiction in order
Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc (2011)
Talking Heads' Fear of Music (2012)
Ecstasy of Influence (2013)
More Alive and Less Lonely (2017)
Film and TV adaptations
- Motherless Brooklyn (2019)Film · from Motherless Brooklyn
About Jonathan Lethem
Jonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. In 1999, Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn, a National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel that achieved mainstream success. In 2003, he published The Fortress of Solitude, which became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2005, he received a MacArthur Fellowship. Since 2011, he has taught creative writing at Pomona College. In 2025, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction, a prestigious honor recognizing exceptional artists and scholars in the arts and humanities.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Jonathan Lethem FAQ
- How many books has Jonathan Lethem written?
- Jonathan Lethem has published 16 novels, 5 short story collections and 4 non-fiction books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Jonathan Lethem's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Fortress of Solitude.
- What is Jonathan Lethem's latest book?
- The Arrest (2020).
- What is Jonathan Lethem's most famous book?
- The Fortress of Solitude (2003) is Jonathan Lethem's most widely read book.
- Does Jonathan Lethem write under a pen name?
- Yes: Jonathan Lethem has also published as Harry Conklin.
- Which Jonathan Lethem books have been adapted?
- 1 book has been adapted for film or TV, including Motherless Brooklyn (film, 2019).
Authors like Jonathan Lethem
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.