Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "dame-hilary-mantel"
Fact or Fiction?
A good book is a good book regardless of whether it is factual or not.
I was late to the party when it comes to reading non-fiction but I am glad I’ve discovered the form, I’m also fond of those stories which are based on truth - historical fiction is wonderful for this.
I was sorry to hear of the death of Dame Hilary Mantel. I loved Wolf Hall.
The best non-fiction books often read as if they could be a novel (and this is where creative non-fiction is a genre I definitely want to read more of).
The irony here though is that fiction can share truths which non-fiction cannot because those truths can’t be “scientifically” verified.
I love it when a character “rings true” and I can put myself in their stead and think yes I would’ve done that too.
Of course you sometimes come across a character where you almost want to shout at them “don’t do that”. That’s the fun of fiction though!
You can get behind the characters. You don’t necessarily need to agree with all they say and do.
The best non-fiction will show you aspects of a historical character you might not have considered before. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is fiction but it is a rare example, for me, of doing just that for Richard III.
I was late to the party when it comes to reading non-fiction but I am glad I’ve discovered the form, I’m also fond of those stories which are based on truth - historical fiction is wonderful for this.
I was sorry to hear of the death of Dame Hilary Mantel. I loved Wolf Hall.
The best non-fiction books often read as if they could be a novel (and this is where creative non-fiction is a genre I definitely want to read more of).
The irony here though is that fiction can share truths which non-fiction cannot because those truths can’t be “scientifically” verified.
I love it when a character “rings true” and I can put myself in their stead and think yes I would’ve done that too.
Of course you sometimes come across a character where you almost want to shout at them “don’t do that”. That’s the fun of fiction though!
You can get behind the characters. You don’t necessarily need to agree with all they say and do.
The best non-fiction will show you aspects of a historical character you might not have considered before. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is fiction but it is a rare example, for me, of doing just that for Richard III.
