Thenon-fiction novelis a literary genrewhich, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and using the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwise loosely defined and flexible genre. The genre is sometimes referred to using the slang termfaction, a portmanteauof the wordsfactandfiction. Faction Faction is a literary genre which utilizes fictional characters and plotlines that must remain within the constraints of current reality. The authors tend to take current and recent-past events, and postulate what is likely or very possible to happen due to these events, utilizing current technology. In this way faction differs from fiction, which does not have constraints to stay within reality, non-fiction novels, which take actual past persons and events and fictionalize their story, and science fiction, which fictionalizes technology and places. Genre established In modern literature, it is commonly thought [ 1 ]that this genre was formally established with the 1965 publication of Truman Capotes In Cold Blood. That the genre was widely recognized in 1965 is undeniable, but influences on the genre can be traced much earlier. Works of historyor biographyhave often used the narrative devices of fiction to depict real-world events. Scholars have suggested that Operación Masacre(1957) by Argentineauthor and journalist Rodolfo Walshwas the first non-fiction novel. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] CapotesIn Cold Blood Truman Capotewas one of the first authors who was recognized for nonfiction novel writing. Capote read the story of the Clutter murders in a newspaper and was immediately hooked. He used the events surrounding the crime as a basis for In Cold Blood. He spent years tracking the story and spent considerable time with the people involved. He watched hours of film footage, listened to recordings, and read transcripts and notes. He once claimed[ citation needed]that everything within the book would be true, word for word. Although this is impossible, the majority of information is accurate and extremely detailed. Capote was able to interview the murderers, Richard Hickockand Perry Smith. This meant that he was able to establish their characters, making the details within the book extremely accurate. The way in which the book is written objectively means that Capote has little influence over the granular facts of the case. The creative choices he can make are those of tone, tenor. He can modulate the readers sympathy toward the subjects, the killers. Capote argued that the non-fiction novel should be devoid of first-personnarration and, ideally, free of any mention of the novelist. After the publication of In Cold Blood, many authors tested the forms original concept; notably including Hunter S. Thompson(1966s Hells Angels), Norman Mailer(1968s Armies of the Night) and Tom Wolfe(1968s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test). 20th century examples Another example of faction is the bookAccording to Queeneyby Beryl Bainbridge. This book describes the last few years of Samuel Johnsons life as seen through the eyes of Queeney Thrale, eldest daughter of Henry Thraleand Hester Thrale. In Tom Wolfes school of New Journalism(often characterized as an invention of the mid-sixties), the novel is hybridized with journalistic narration, which, like Capotes prose, places little emphasis on the process of narration (though Wolfe, unlike Capote, occasionally narrates from first-person). Thompsons approach of Gonzo Journalism abandoned Capotes narrative style to intermingle personal experiences and observations with more traditional journalism. Other examples include the story of author Alex Haleyand his entire family history for 9 generations in the book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evilby John Berendt, and Norman Mailers The Armies of the Nightand The Executioners Song. In the 1970s, authors began to re-publish essays or articles by uniting episodic works into a more cohesive whole, such as Michael Herrs non-fiction novel, Dispatches, which reflected on the journalists reporting from Vietnam. Reduced usage Since the 70s, the non-fiction novel has somewhat fallen out of favor. However, forms such as the extended essay, the memoir, and the biography (and autobiography) can explore similar territory: Joan Didion, for instance, has never called her own work a non-fiction novel, while she has been repeatedly credited for doing so with what she generally calls extended or long essays. Later works classified as non-fiction novels includeThe Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey: A Nonfiction Novelby Bland Simpson, published in 1993, which tells the dramatic story of the disappearance of nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in November 1901. A Civil Actionby Jonathan Harr, published in 1996, described the drama caused by a real-l
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:13:41 +0000
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