Based on a True Story

Abstract

Reality can perform different roles within the novel. It can be the unchallenged protagonist, an element of the setting or just a source of inspiration. In the contemporary literature and cinematography there is renewed interest in the representation of reality. The increasing production of documentary film and novels, memoir and reportage, witnesses this «obsession for reality» (Donnarumma, 2008). In a world where people are constantly looking for the truth, trying to distinguish fake news from reliable information, also within a novel the fine line between reality and fiction is often subjected to meticulous investigations, both from the audience and from critics. How does the author use real facts in the narrative? On one hand, some authors employ fiction techniques in the narration of historical facts and figures, acknowledging the power that the narrative has in making real facts more accessible and interesting to the reader. If the writer’s intent is to educate the reader about a certain subject, how much can the truth be “bended” to make a narrative engaging? On the other hand, some authors have a more literary and aesthetic aim. According to their poetic, how essential is the truth in building an entertaining narration?