I can understand when an author
wants to write about an event that they were not actually a part of, but I do
expect them to label it as fictional. It is awful that so many ‘fake memoirs’
are out there posing as nonfiction and hurting the credibility of memoirs in
general. I am also aware that people tend to embellish their stories when they
tell them. Again, I expect that if they are going to list their work as
nonfiction that they keep their embellishment to a minimum. We may remember one
funny family story a little differently than how it happened, but I would like
to think we could keep the important aspects straight. When authors write books
like A Million Little Pieces and make
up a whole different life for themselves, I expect it to be labeled as
fictional. When I take the time to read a memoir or any piece of nonfiction, I
want to be able to trust that it is cemented in the truth.
Works that are incorrectly labeled
as nonfiction about historic events like the Holocaust or internment camps are particularly
despicable to me. They hurt real survivor’s credibility, and they add fuel to
the flame for people denying these historical events. I do not expect every
detail to be perfect, and in a traumatic situations our brains may not accurately
record what happened. It is irresponsible though to knowingly publish
fabrications of these events as the truth when authors are aware they are
writing fiction.
Hi Brandi.
ReplyDeleteI can't disagree with you. You mentioned trust - and I think that's a major element of the nonfiction experience. We trust the writer when they tell us it really happened. To find out that it did not, in fact, happen (or was embellished) is a violation of that trust.
I read Michael Chabon's new book when it came out at the end of last year and even though it was a memoir, Chabon called it fiction. It was a memoir of his grandfather's life but because he wasn't actually there he felt uncomfortable calling it nonfiction. I found that very admirable. And even though it read like nonfiction (and it was a wonderful book), by labeling it nonfiction it changed the way I experienced the book. Not for better or worse - just different.
Wonderful response! Full points!
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