Life narratives, either autobiography or memoir, can be found everywhere about everyone. However, not all the voices can be heard in the global market. To unveil the reason why some life narratives get widely circulated, I did Gillian Whitlock’s challenge in Soft Weapons: Autobiography in Transit, and explore how life narratives are marketed in both real and virtual bookstores.

Walking into the biography section in Chapters, the book that first caught my eyes was “Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela”. The close-up photo of Mandela grinning from ear to ear grasped my attention right away. Just by looking at the photograph, it is hard to tell that he is such a renowned person. Instead, he is like any ordinary old man we come across everyday, This relatable cover allows people to establish connection with Mandela and be eager to know his story.

The blurb for this book is excerpted from Chicago Tribune, an American newspaper. “Foreword written by President Bill Clinton” is also indicated specifically on the cover. Quoting praises from these reputable people and newspaper raise the credibility of the book, making it more compelling to potential readers. Furthermore, the “Indigo Essential” sticker on the cover presents the book as a necessity that encourages consumers to own this must-read item.
Another thing that intrigues me is how the book place emphasis on the author. It is noticeable that the font size of the subtitle(which is also the name of author) is much bigger than the title itself. Moreover, the introduction at the back talks more about the roles of Mandela rather than his experience. These give a sense that the eminent narrator, not the story, is the crux why the book is published. The reason for this is twofold: to readers, it is beneficial to read from successful people so someday they may be one of them; while to publishers, notable people are the ones who have market value and can guarantee sales. In other words, this market structure hinder unknown people with amazing story, such as refugees, to get their story across.
Then when I went online to Amazon, I found that more detailed information are given to persuade consumers to purchase this book. The rating (4 out of 5 stars) and the number of customer reviews are placed right below the title. These statistics immediately attract people’s attention and assure customers the worthiness of reading this book.

Reviews also play a part in promoting life narrative online. Readers not only simply commented “Great book” or “highly recommended”, they go on to talk about how the book shapes or reshape their values, what they have learnt from the book and how they are going to respond. As they actively engage themselves in the narrative, they are promoting the book to potential readers at the same time by telling them how they can be benefit from it. They turned passive reading to active learning, and associate their own experience with the life narrative.

Image source: Amazon-http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-To-Freedom-Autobiography-Mandela/dp/0316548189