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Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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Posted by rosefolly (My Page) on Wed, Aug 11, 10 at 12:13
| Having a curious mind, I do a lot of reading for information in addition to reading fiction, which is ultimately reading for stories. However, I rarely read the kind of nonfiction that tells a story, but a true one. I would say that Tracy Kidder's two books House and The Soul of a New Machine fit this description. I enjoyed them both, but not so much his later work. I've read others from time to time, but really not very often. Often I pick up such a book, skim the first chapter, but ultimately put it down. I'm bored.
A friend of my husband recommended that he read Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. It is a story of two divers back in the early days of scuba who did some dangerous diving on an old wreck. It is the story of their adventurous investigations. Now this did not appeal to me at all but my husband loved it. He and the friend who recommended the book were scuba divers themselves back in the 1960's, though they never did anything so risky as the diving described in the book. My husband was eager that I read it, but I was reluctant. His friend's wife had liked it, he told me. Finally I said that I would read the first chapter. If it caught my interest, I would read the book. If not, I'd given it a fair try.
Well, I'm hooked. Totally hooked. It's not going back to the library until I'm done.
So, those of you who read this genre, what have you come across that was absolutely compelling? What nonfiction have you read that really could stand up to a good novel? Clearly I'm missing out on some good books, if I could only find them amidst the flood of accurate-but-dull and the exciting-but-sensationalized.
Rosefolly
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| Before I even opened the thread I thought to myself, "well, I can recommend Shadow Divers anyway." I found it very compelling, and I am glad you are hooked! |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| I did the same thing! Shadow Divers is the standard by which certain books - nonfiction that reads like fiction - can be judged. I must put it on my reread list. The recent book by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks approaches this standard. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with this book, but several people whose judgment I trust loved it for that very reason. Also, the first part of Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes might be included. Unfortunately the book lost steam after that, IMHO, but it is quite a long book, so you might just read the first half! I will have to look in my archives, I remember a true story of a WWII escape that rivaled any novel I have ever read - a sole survivor from a failed mission who was hidden by locals and finally walked across mountains to freedom. |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| I, too, loved Shadow Divers. As far as non-fiction that can rival a novel, a few come to mind. I loved Devil In The White City, the story of the Chicago World's Fair and a serial killer who operated in Chicago at the same time. Born To Run was simply wonderful. A book about long distance running, but really much, much more. It told the story about the author's search for a timid Mexican tribe of Indians who are know to be the world's fastest runners. I dare you not to get a pair of Five Fingers after reading this. (I am not a runner, never will be!) And another top favorite is Into The Wild by John Krakauer, described by Publishers Weekly, "After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness." I thought about this true story long after I read the book. Lastly, a non-fiction book I could not put down was The Sociopath Next Door. Everyone I described it to had to get their own copy. Have fun and thanks for starting this thread. I also hope to get some good recommendations. |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| One I can recommend is Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, about Ernest Shackleton's failed polar expedition of 1914-17. It is one of those stories about incredible heroism in the face of incredible hardships, but most importantly: it's well-written and reads like a novel (a thriller, in fact). |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| Richard Preston's The Hot Zone reads like a thriller. All about the emergence of the Ebola and Marburg viruses and how they were tracked and identified. In addition to Eric Larson's Devil in the White City check out his Isaac's Storm about the deadliest hurricane in American history (still!) - Galveston in 1900. |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| I second both "Isaac's Storm" and "Into the Wild." I could not put either one down. |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| I finished Shadow Divers and am happy to report that it held its momentum until the end. Very satisfying. Next I'll try another of the books recommended here, depending on what is available at my local library. Do please keep the suggestions coming! R |
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| Great Thread! I have a long drive to work, and just started listening to Audio Books. I've been seeking out non-fiction books for my drive. Ava's Man by Rick Bragg is a non-fiction narrative I picked up at the library and enjoyed. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Reviews of Ava's Man
RE: Narrative nonfiction, as good as a novel?
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| The book I mentioned above is called We Die Alone by David Howarth. I can second many of the recommendations here and thank those who reminded me of them. Into the Wild and Devil in the White City were both terrific, and I would bet they are both readily available at libraries. One good thing about nonfiction books of this type is that they seem to escape culling. |
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