Dear Readers,
Last evening I read a story that has been nagging me persistently ever since. The setting of the story is a familiar territory that I’ve had the opportunity to observe closely. Naturally, the moment I glanced at the snippet, I was keen to read the whole thing. Unfortunately, the story left me disappointed, especially on two grounds. First, it misrepresented some facts and secondly, it appeared as if the writer had been largely influenced by reading other authors or watching filmed entertainment. I am not sure if the writer has any firsthand experience of the setting (which includes the landscape as well as social circumstances), but it doesn’t appear like they are aware of the situation on the ground.
There can be a long discourse on the responsibility of a writer and the need for thorough research/ writing only what one knows, but I’ll come to that part later. First, I’m more interested in talking about my role as a reader.
This is perhaps the first time that I have come across a piece that I can say with surety is far removed from the truth. Yes, I’ve had ideological differences with authors, but that is fine because as long as something is presented as an opinion, it is acceptable and is the only logical and healthy way in which society can function. A xerox of points of views will make the world redundant and superfluous.
The problem is when facts are distorted based on opinion. My current read has made me think about all the times when I’ve believed something without questioning the authority of the author to talk about it, or without trying to find out more on the subject. Those are the times I have failed as a reader.
Reading is a nourishment we choose for ourselves. Even though a manufacturer wants to sell me trash, it is for me to be wary of the ingredients used, and decide if it’s actually worth buying. This becomes even more important today when we are grappling with mis(information) and false narratives.
Because I am also a writer, this responsibility doubles up when I assume that role. When E.B. White wrote Charlotte’s Web, he spent a year studying spiders, their life, habits, temperament and capabilities. He literally watched Charlotte at work at his place (he had an animal farm and even paid attention to the birth of hundreds of baby spiders in a box with holes in which he had put spider eggs). He also learnt Charlotte’s scientific name (Araneus Cavaticus) and all of this for a children’s book! Need I say more?
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“Reading is a nourishment we choose for ourselves.” So true. I always make sure I get my fair share 🙂
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Sometimes when I come across such situations, I let them slide, mostly in the name of fiction. But there are certain instances, certain books that are difficult to pass under pretence. I have also found recently that I don’t like books that have many minor errors, grammatical or otherwise. It puts me off.
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Yes, that’s another problem.
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It’s interesting that you detected the lack of truth in the story. To me that means you’re a perceptive reader and the writer didn’t pin the story to either what is factual or truly a human experience.
I had no idea E.B. White had been so thorough in his research for C’sW. However, I’m a devoted reader of his essays, and the underpinnings of truth in all of those is why.
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I got this from a copy with an intro by Mellisa Sweet. Thank you, Lee.
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Most of the people don’t like to read books so they don’t have value of authors
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Totally agree.
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💐
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I haven’t really questioned the author’s version of facts when reading fiction as much as I should. But you’re right that we shouldn’t just assume it’s accurate.
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I feel fiction forms a lot of our opinions. So many people can hardly differentiate.
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Questioning the author’s authority to write about a subject is automatic when I read nonfiction (CRAAP test). It’s different with fiction, though. The question is whether I believe it. Has the author done her job in creating a world I can enter and navigate without stumbling?
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Totally agree, Liz. But can I ignore it even when it borrows events/setting from a socio-political angle? Even if it sounds believable, it is not true. How far can I go in exercising creative liberty?
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It is a balancing act for sure to ensure that the reader doesn’t get pulled out of the “fictive dream.” With my current novel, I had a plot element that was historically accurate but two people in my writing group questioned it. I ended up changing it.
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That’s why beta readers are necessary.
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True.
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I agree – the reader has to exercise caution and a lot of facts can be very easily checked in most cases. What is grey generally is the issue of appropriation (does every story have to be the writer’s personal lived experience) and the space for fiction itself (assuming something is not being presented as a fact or report)… lots to ponder, glad you are talking about these things. I’d love to learn more.
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Thanks, Rajani. I was a little taken aback. Fiction is often interspersed with facts, especially when a piece is placed in a historical context. How far we can exercise creative liberty is worth pondering.
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True, if the facts are part of the story the reader would expect them to be right. Otherwise it is just a post-truth puff piece. But in say a piece of fiction that was a what-if about an alternate reality… like you say, it is worth thinking about and I am curious to learn all sides of this. Thanks, Sonia.
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