As autobiographies account the stories of individuals and/or groups, one would think that fiction has little place in their texts. Yet, fiction is sometimes used by writers in their autobiographies to help readers understand what they are truly feeling. In an interview with Carroll Coates, Dany Laferrière was asked about his use of fiction in some of his texts and he stated in response,
When I talk about my books, I always say that they are an autobiography of my
feelings. I’m not interested in recounting my life in any traditional way. There are my
dreams, my friends’ lives, my dream life—so different from my actual life, my lies, my
concept of truth, my struggle to become a writer rather than a memoir writer—all of
that is part of my life. And it all comes out in my books. The life I dream is as true as
my actual life. (916)
Tim O’Brien, also blends fiction and nonfiction in his book The Things They Carried. It is a collection of short stories based on his experiences as an American soldier fighting in the Vietnam war. In this book, I presume, the use of fiction was used to represent what the “true feeling” of being in the war was like, which may not be obvious by recounting what actually happened. The book then ends up having very surreal, mystical moments, such as in the chapter “How To Tell a True War Story”, when O’Brien explains being stationed in the mountains with his troop, when they start hearing noises such as voices and music. Getting spooked they order an airstrike, but wake up the next morning still hearing the sounds (Sparknotes).
Although both authors feel it is necessary to use fiction to relate their stories, it may create a major obstacle with the reader by compromising the authenticity of the writer. Readers realize that what they are reading is not 100 percent truth and may become sceptical of the book. So, is using fiction to reveal the “true feelings” of a story to a reader worth the compromise? I looked at the first ten reviews and the first ten lowest rated reviews for O’Brien’s book on amazon.com, to see what readers had to say.
Out of the highest ratings, readers often commented on how the author was able to explain to them what being in the war was truly like, and make them feel like they were really there, even though some of it was fiction. For example, there is a review by John T. Long that states “You become a living breathing witness, almost a character in the simple magnificent web of his true-fiction. It hits the deepest of emotional truth, goes to a core that is unexplainable, a core that only the heart knows”. This review supports that the use of fiction accomplishes the author’s purpose in revealing the the feeling of being in war.
Out of the lowest rated reviews, only three of the ten reviews said anything about fiction creating a problem with the authenticity of the writer, such as in the review by Matt, which said “I thought about that this and figured what is the point of reading a war story if it is all made up”. Just as many, if not more reviews commented on the violence depicted being the major issue, but noted O’Brien’s successful description and explanation of what being in the war was truly like. This further suggests that O’Brien’s use of fiction was more often than not successful.
So based off of customer reviews, incorporating fiction into an autobiographical text to reveal the “true feelings” of a story, perhaps outweighs the compromise of the author lacking authenticity.
Works Cited
Laferriere, Dany, and Carrol F. Coates. “An Interview with Dany Laferriere.” Callaloo 22.4 (1999): 910-21. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 28 Jan. 2017.
Long, John T., “deeply felt”. 5, Oct. 2001. Review of, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Mariner Books. 13 Oct. 2009. Amazon.com. 21, Feb, 2017. https://www.amazon.ca/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/product-reviews/0618706410/ref=dpx_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1
Matt, “One of the not so good war stories”. 2, Sept, 2003. Review of, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Mariner Books. 13 Oct. 2009. Amazon.com. 21, Feb, 2017. https://www.amazon.ca/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/product-reviews/0618706410/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_hist_1?showViewpoints=1&filterByStar=one_star&pageNumber=1
O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Mariner Books. 13 Oct. 2009.
“The Things They Carried.” SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.