It’s so funny sometimes how Americans will take anything at face value and never question the sources or the facts behind it… We’re so gullible! But when it comes to reading pieces of fiction, we need to be careful to distinguish between actual fact and convenient fiction.
Remember James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces? I have this book and I love it. The story is so telling and the characters are so vibrant. I find myself rooting for some and hoping that others end up in the gutter for treating the antagonist, James, so poorly. The problem is, it’s highly exaggerated and at some points completely fictional.
Even Oprah couldn’t help but be inspired by this story of a young man, at his rock bottom, who goes to rehab and befriends a bunch of misfits such as himself on his journey to sobriety.
James’ first book may be a bad example, because most believe that he purposely changed the story in ways to over-dramatize what really happened before, during and after his time in rehab. But there’s another great example, that doesn’t try to hide the fact that it is truly a fictional piece of work.
How may of you read The Di Vinci Code by Dan Brown? I did. Again, there was this thrilling story of a Harvard professor who gets sucked into this murder investigation that allows him to complete his life’s work – find the Holy Grail.
We knew this story was fiction so what is the problem? Well, it seems that actual facts related to the history of Christianity, the Catholic Church and even details described related to European architecture and art were fabricated in order to fit into the story better. But in the book, they are passed as fact, and us unassuming Americans, who know so little about this histories and art pieces, believed what was being handed to us.
There was this whole movement where people were losing their faith in the church and others were looking to justify the claims that Jesus was married and had a child. The whole world went crazy!
What do these two books have in common? Both authors, whether intentionally deceiving or not, are good story tellers and have a gift to keep their audience on the edge of their seat through the use of words. That’s excellent!
What does this mean for us? If ever read anything that makes you questions your belief system or opens your eyes to a new perspective, take some time to validate that perspective with actual non-fiction works and sources before you go crazy with your new knowledge. After all, as thrilling as the Twilight Series is, I’m not inclined to believe that there are Native Americans out there who morph into a wolf every time a vampire shows up near their town.
Have you ever read anything that made you question what you knew about a historical event or religious belief system? If so, comment below and share your experience.
Look, just like the claim that Lay’s potato chips are so good you can’t eat just one, I say there are so many good thllriers and thriller writers out there that you can’t just choose one. At least I can’t.However, I do have favorites I turn to depending on what I’m working on. For example, if I want to work on an opening page or chapter, I always flip through my stash of James Rollins novels. Why? Because what’s going on there is so crazy that I have to keep reading to find out what happens, and apparently quite a few other people do, too. The same goes for books by David Morrell and Steve Berry. These guys can write about something or someone from hundreds of years ago and make me anticipate the connection to whatever is coming next. It never comes across as a boring or unnecessary prologue or backstory. There is always enough suspense to keep me reading and to suspend my disbelief when I have my I don’t know about that moments.For an all around good, fast-paced action story through and through, with interesting characters, international intrigue, and poetic justice, none are better than Jack Higgins. I have repeatedly read and marked up his stories to study how he handles transitions, pacing, and plot. Higgins is one of those guys (Morrell being another) I feel a personal connection to because he was writing, and I was reading him, in my formative years. A writer I’ve turned to in the last couple of years for motivation is Robert Crais. Why? Because I discovered and liked Crais’s characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. And, just as importantly, from the beginning I have faith that Cole and/or Pike will deliver justice to the bad guys, so I go along for the ride to see how, when, and where they make their delivery. Sometimes for motivation I read or reread stories by authors who, to me, are so good with language that they can spend a page describing something and I keep reading because it’s interesting and it just feels good to read it. James Lee Burke does that for me, with setting AND characters. For the same effect, and to see how a successful author teaches his readers something about a place or an historical event without lecturing, I turn to Alan Furst. I love the way Alan weaves in threads of the rise of Nazi Germany, the encroachment into Eastern Europe of the Soviets and communism, the politics of smaller, less powerful countries caught in the middle, and the actions of some of the individuals forced to deal with the consequences. I’ve learned a lot about 1930s Eastern Europe from Alan Furst, and when I’m trying to put things into historical context in my stories, I think of him and his techniques. Now, since I’ve already veered from the topic of one thriller, let me throw in a plug for a book I think will be a great reference for any thriller writer: THRILLERS: 100 MUST-READS. Usually when I see a title like that I think, I’ll form my own opinion of what I must read, thank you. However, I have to say that the people who put this book together did all thriller writers a great service. It’s motivational because it shows that we are continuing a long line of powerful stories written by authors we may not have previously thought of as thriller writers. It seems that we have quite a heritage to be proud of and to live up to. It’s humbling because the entries illustrate how much impact a story even by an author who is not well-known at the time can have on society. It’s entertaining because it retells stories we may have slept through in high school or college, and actually makes them relevant and interesting. All of the authors above, and others, motivate me in various ways at different stages of my stories. Time is short for this thread, but if anyone has time, jump in and add to it. One of the greatest benefits of these Roundtable discussions for me is that I continue to learn of authors and stories that I somehow missed, and am happy to find.
Now I feel stuipd. That’s cleared it up for me
Honestly, Dan Brown had me totally fooled with his art history.