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Nov
16
The First Book You Must Put On Your 2012 Reading List
2011 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
My friend and trusted font of book recommendations Josh Christie mentioned this title on the Bookrageous podcast a couple weeks ago and said, “It’s changing the way I read.” And that was all I needed to hear. I mean, we read books that change the way we think all the time, but how often do we read something that changes the way we READ? I had to get my hands on it.
Relentless pursuer of excellent reading material that I am, I obtained a galley and devoured The Lifespan of a Fact whole. Here’s the quick and dirty: author John D’Agata was hired in 2003 to write an essay about a teenager’s suicide jump from the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. It was rejected from the magazine that originally commissioned it due to factual inaccuracies, but The Believer picked it up. And they assigned then-intern Jim Fingal to fact check it.
Sounds straight-forward, right? But here’s the thing: an essay is not a piece of journalistic reportage. An essay, as D’Agata reminds Fingal throughout the text, is an attempt. An attempt to tell the truth. To reveal something about humanity. To get at an idea or event in a way that straight non-fiction cannot. It’s the old Tim O’Brien “story truth vs. happening truth” polemic. And yes, for the sake of this conversation, an essay is a story more than it is a factual account.
So The Lifespan of a Fact (coming from W. W. Norton February 2012) goes like this. Fact checker Jim Fingal reads a sentence of D’Agata’s piece, identifies the factual claims it makes (think: height of buildings, angles of intersections, minute but potentially important details) and trots off to investigate their accuracy. He reports inaccuracies to the editor and to D’Agata, who responds with increasing frustration to Fingal’s apparent lack of appreciation for the value and application of artistic license. This book presents the text of D’Agata’s original piece along with excerpts of the email conversations D’Agata and Fingal had over the next seven years. Seven years of conversation! About one essay! It boggles, but in the best possible way.
While D’Agata and Fingal grapple with the tension between factual accuracy and emotional poignancy (false dichtomy? perhaps…), readers are invited to consider the ways in which The Lifespan of a Fact has itself been edited, and for what purposes. D’Agata and Fingal ask us to think about whether we care more about knowing how many seconds it *really* took the boy to fall to the ground or feeling that the story of his fall is connected to larger themes in the essay. They force us to examine the value we place on finding “the truth” and to acknowledge the compromises—artistic and otherwise—that affect the works we think of as nonfiction.
And that’s the thing about this book that will change the way you read. You’ll never pick up another nonfiction book believing that, because it is heavily-researched and made it past the gateways of mainstream publishing, it must be factually true. The Lifespan of a Fact will make you question every so-called fact you read, and while that sounds like it could quickly devolve into you locking yourself in the basement to think about conspiracies like those Lone Gunmen dudes from The X-Files, it really means that you’ll think more about the art of writing (and reading) nonfiction and become a more engaged, critically thinking reader.
I’m calling it right now. The Lifespan of a Fact is going to be a 2012 favorite. Put a circle around February 27th on your calendar. You’ll be glad you did.
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Sounds fascinating. I’ve never heard of a book like this before.
And lo, the TBR grows once again. I was just talking about D’Agata with a friend of mine who teaches creative writing here. She couldn’t rave about him enough. This sounds wonderful. Can’t wait!
This one sounds awesome and perception-bendy. I can see myself using this in the classroom — especially with students who are sold on non-fiction as some sort of “right way” to read.
Sounds really good. I like Andi’s “perception-bendy” phrase. Does this bring up the whole nonfiction-novel vs narrative-nonfiction vs historical-fiction (etc) debate or just another sliver of fun into the discussion?
Welcome to my world.
It more raises the distinctions of essay vs. narrative nonfiction vs. journalism. Fascinating.
Gah! End of February… killing me…
Thanks for this. I’m really looking forward to the release of this book.
Predictably, I am dying to read this book. February cannot come soon enough.
This is the first book of its kind that I have heard of. It seems to give a different outlook on the way that we understand the truth. Your review was great. I’ll be picking up a copy come February!
This sounds fascinating. I worked as a medical editor for four years at a parenting magazine. Fact checking led me into some very strange experiences. OK, journalistic experiences, but nevertheless, strange! Can’t wait to read this.
I am legitimately excited.
I heard this mentioned on the podcast and was instantly fascinated. Can’t wait until it comes out!
oh.mai.god. This sounds amazing!!!
Color me intrigued! Already adding it to the ol’ wishlist.
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