Memoir
Only a short post today, on the notion of truth in Fiction. Is it really necessary to state absolute fact in storytelling? Because, after all, storytelling in it's nature is partly fictional, that is, made up, created, unfathomable, fictionalised life.
The story began as an oral tradition, one that went from one person to another, changing and evolving, why can;t fiction now evolve? Must be demand for truth?
I say this in reference to James Frey's A Million Little Pieces which is on my reading list for this term, and I have just begun my research into the novel, which claims it is Frey's memoir. Many readers claimed they felt cheated by Frey's mis-selling of the novel as a memoir, because some of the novel was, indeed, fictionalised. Frey describes he wrote about the person inside his head to hep him cope with the life he was facing, and, to some extent, isn't that what all fiction writers are doing?
When I'm writing my character is in my mind, controlling what is displayed on the page, to make sure they would say it that way themselves. I edit my work to ensure the voice which I am portraying is accurate for the character, not for the truth. No one wants to read the 'absolute truth', not just because it doesn't exist (as Barthes says, everything is a tissue of quotations, everything you say/write has been written/said before, nothing is original) but because humans are actually quite boring in reality. most reality television shows rely on some kind of writer or script to make things exciting.
So what if Frey fictionalised his memoir? Perhaps he shouldn't have sold the book as memoir, which I understand, but the need for truth perplexes me. The truth can be painful or boring. I am eager to read Frey's book, having enjoyed a module defining the nature of biographies and the need for truth in fiction and having loved Easton Ellis's Lunar Park, (which is autobiographical, fictional lunacy and it is wonderful) so I will order the book immediately.
That is all.
Happy Days :)
Soundtrack: Wolf Alice
The story began as an oral tradition, one that went from one person to another, changing and evolving, why can;t fiction now evolve? Must be demand for truth?
I say this in reference to James Frey's A Million Little Pieces which is on my reading list for this term, and I have just begun my research into the novel, which claims it is Frey's memoir. Many readers claimed they felt cheated by Frey's mis-selling of the novel as a memoir, because some of the novel was, indeed, fictionalised. Frey describes he wrote about the person inside his head to hep him cope with the life he was facing, and, to some extent, isn't that what all fiction writers are doing?
When I'm writing my character is in my mind, controlling what is displayed on the page, to make sure they would say it that way themselves. I edit my work to ensure the voice which I am portraying is accurate for the character, not for the truth. No one wants to read the 'absolute truth', not just because it doesn't exist (as Barthes says, everything is a tissue of quotations, everything you say/write has been written/said before, nothing is original) but because humans are actually quite boring in reality. most reality television shows rely on some kind of writer or script to make things exciting.
So what if Frey fictionalised his memoir? Perhaps he shouldn't have sold the book as memoir, which I understand, but the need for truth perplexes me. The truth can be painful or boring. I am eager to read Frey's book, having enjoyed a module defining the nature of biographies and the need for truth in fiction and having loved Easton Ellis's Lunar Park, (which is autobiographical, fictional lunacy and it is wonderful) so I will order the book immediately.
That is all.
Happy Days :)
Soundtrack: Wolf Alice
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