Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Semi-Fictional Non-Fiction Truth About Memoirs


I hate memoirs and non-fiction. I think I've mentioned that I don’t read non-fiction. However, I love a book based off of a true story—based off of, but not completely true, making it not non-fiction. When authors write something based off of a true story, some of the time they write about their lives or experiences but they sensationalize whatever it is they’re writing to make it sound cool and appeal to an audience. This is still fiction, even though it’s based off of someone’s life or experiences.
There’s a reason memoirs aren't very well liked by the average community, especially teenagers. They have nothing exciting to them. James Frey wrote A Million Little Pieces as a non-fictional memoir about his life and experiences. The book was very exciting and had lots of compelling events in it. It became a best seller because of its tremendous sales and good reception. Too bad it was fake. Frey sensationalized multiple events in his book. Wikipedia—though it isn't the most credible source—describes A Million Little Pieces as a “semi-fictional memoir.” How is that a memoir though if it’s semi-fictional? That means part of it isn't real. Memoirs are non-fiction pieces that describe one’s life. So if a memoir is semi-fictional then it didn't happen in that person’s life. So, it’s not a memoir.
All of this is just one more big reason I don’t like memoirs. It won’t be good or exciting if it isn't sensationalized and fake. This would make it not a memoir. 

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