Radical Realism, Autofictional Narratives and the Reinvention of the Novel

Fiona J. Doloughan's timely and engaging book excites for its unique examination of the radical realism practiced by contemporary auto fictional writers. Doloughan's detailed and sharp exploration into the practice and nature of this post-truth literary realism bears on questions of reality and self-representation, fact and fiction, and the novel form and its social value. A must-read for scholars of autofiction, fictionality, realism or the history of the novel -Nancy Pedri, Professor and Head of English, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. What is the autobiographical 'real'? Doloughan's illuminating studies on autofiction and the auto fictional demonstrate that borders between life and art are permanently shifting, as are our ideas about what is reality and realism. What remains constant is our search for meaning and the worldmaking power of literature language. -Jens Brockmeier, Professor of Psychology, The American University of Paris. Author of Beyond the Archive: Memory, Narrative, and the Autobiographical Process (Oxford University Press 2015). Fiction and nonfiction, objectivity and subjectivity appear mutually exclusive, but autobiography as a literary genre challenges this notion. Reflecting on self, author and narrator, Mikhail Bakhtin used the metaphor of the mirror: in it, we can see the reflection, but not ourselves. What is this reflection like? Fiona J. Doloughan's new monograph examines a few controversial literary cases of this 'transgredience' - the fluid genre of 'autofiction' bending linear dimensions. -Natasha Lvovich, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Literary Multilingualism, Professor Emerita of English, City University of New York.