An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using

autofiction In literary criticism, autofiction is a form of fictionalized autobiography. Autofiction combines two mutually inconsistent narrative forms, namely autobiography and fiction. An author may decide to recount their life in the third person, to modi ...

techniques, or the merging of

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

by the stipulation of being fiction. Because an autobiographical novel is partially fiction, the author does not ask the reader to expect the text to fulfill the "autobiographical pact".Philippe Lejeune"Autobiographical Pact," pg. 19 Names and locations are often changed and events are recreated to make them more dramatic but the story still bears a close resemblance to that of the author's life. While the events of the author's life are recounted, there is no pretense of exact truth. Events may be exaggerated or altered for artistic or thematic purposes. Novels that portray settings and/or situations with which the author is familiar are not necessarily autobiographical. Neither are novels that include aspects drawn from the author's life as minor plot details. To be considered an autobiographical novel by most standards, there must be a

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

modeled after the author and a central plotline that mirrors events in his or her life. Novels that do not fully meet these requirements or are further distanced from true events are sometimes called semi-autobiographical novels. Many novels about intense, private experiences such as war, family conflict or

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, ...

, are written as autobiographical novels. Some works openly refer to themselves as " non-fiction novels". The definition of such works remains vague. The term was first widely used in reference to the non-autobiographical '' In Cold Blood'' by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

but has since become associated with a range of works drawing openly from autobiography. The emphasis is on the creation of a work that is essentially true, often in the context of an investigation into values or some other aspect of reality. The books '' Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'' by

Robert M. Pirsig Robert Maynard Pirsig (; September 6, 1928 – April 24, 2017) was an American writer and philosopher. He was the author of the philosophical novels '' Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values'' (1974) and '' Lila: ...

and '' The Tao of Muhammad Ali'' by Davis Miller open with statements admitting to some fictionalising of events but state they are true "in essence".

Notable autobiographical novels

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autobiographical Novel Literary genres Novels about writers

Notable autobiographical novels

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See also

References