"There's fiction and then there's autobiography, right? Not quite, it turns out. Autofiction has opened up a whole spectrum in between, wherein things get slippery and fascinating. This new genre blends fiction and memoir together in a fresh way that feels very original and timely. Autofiction, as a form, just seems to better communicate the subtleties and strangeness of contemporary experience, for example, in Rachel Cusk's Outline Trilogy or the books of Sigrid Nunez and of Sheila Heti. As I read their books, it feels like I'm having an intimate conversation with a smart, funny friend who just might be a little deranged. One of the most exciting things about autofiction is when it throws the reader for a loop as it veers more toward fiction suddenly, which can create some very interesting effects. I might be reading along, unsuspecting, pleasantly lulled into thinking I'm absorbing only the author's direct experiences, when the narrator up and commits a serious crime or is killed off! I won't spoil the surprise by telling you which books on this display do that. Another kind of experience, again, is provided by the books of the amazing César Aira, whose work will seem to adhere to realism and be merely descriptive of his and his friends' experiences, but then turn surreal on a dime and open up bizarre and fabulous infinities. Who knew that something so wise and warm, yet full of possible hijinks, lurks between fiction and autobiography?." — Bookseller Jennifer K.
Duration: 80 ms, Number of Items: 43