Factual fictions
Narrative Truth and the Contemporary American Documentary Novel
Cambridge Scholars, 2010
The book explores the connections between the nonfiction novel and the simultaneous rise of (literary) journalism in the United States, situating both genres in the cultural context of the tumultuous 1960s and the emerging postmodern ethos.
Factual Fictions offers a compelling and comprehensive new evaluation of the literary importance and the historical value of the modern version of the genre that is deeply rooted in the cultural, political, and social upheavals of the 1960s America the nonfiction novel. It builds on various theoretical and socio cultural premises and perspectives, emphasizing the precarious question of adherence to truth claims and referentiality in the nonfiction novel. Flis's book represents a singularly welcome addition to literary scholarship in that it is a tool for rethinking the reader's understanding of the fictional and the factual.
Jerneja Petri , Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
In an era when the boundaries between fact and fiction have become more permeable in public discourse, when distinctions between the memoir and novel are contested with increasing frequency, Flis's book is provocative and timely.
Mark J. Madigan, Nazareth College of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Leonora Flis is a writer who is not afraid to dig deep into human emotions, be it those associated with joy or those connected to trauma. She is a brilliant observer of human nature and the surroundings which offer the background for her stories. She has received many praises for her writing and her stories have been translated into several languages.