In terms of all of the material that we have read so far this semester, Moon and the Mars has, without a doubt, been the best and the most palatable. Through the lens of a young child slowly growing up in mid-1800s Manhattan, I was given the opportunity to experience a perspective so different from that which I lived and experienced in my own childhood.
The historical fiction genre has always been one of my favorites ever since my childhood. When I finished reading my first historical fiction book (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak), I was not only shocked by how much I enjoyed it, but how much I was able to learn in the midst of my reading. Without even realizing it, I was subconsciously learning so much about what life was like for a German girl at the start of World War II.
Besides its enjoyability, the historical fiction genre is also extremely important to how we learn and gain perspective about historical events. While we may each have our own perspectives and opinions about history, it is important to make a detailed attempt to learn and gather a variety of perspectives from different people coming from all walks of life, especially those different from our own, during that historical period. Due to the fact that many of these people are dead now, this is exactly what historical fiction helps us to do.
The amount of research that goes into publishing within the historical fiction genre became extremely apparent to me as I read Kia Corthron’s postscript detailing the factual and fictional elements of the novel. The amount of detail that goes into this research in order to create a realistic world with realistic characters that we are able to learn from is both impressive and awe-inspiring. If anything, it only adds to the impressiveness as well as the validity of this genre as a whole.
Moon and the Mars has opened my eyes to a life lived that I had never considered before, and I feel myself to be all the more full by reading it.
One response to “The Convergence of Fact and Fiction: The Beauty and Importance of Historical Fiction”
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This is really well said, and I definitely agree with your take on the importance of realistic fiction. I also read The Book Thief while I was young, and it introduced me to a world of literature that both transported me and educated me about important periods in history. I am very grateful that Corthron wrote this novel, because it brings light to a history that has been erased and forgotten in many ways— the history of the neighborhoods Five Points and Seneca Village, and the interaction between Black and Irish communities in these neighborhoods. And by choosing historical fiction as the genre and presenting it as a coming of age story, the novel is fast paced and incredibly enrapturing to read. I definitely agree that I am all the more full by reading it as well.
This is really well said, and I definitely agree with your take on the importance of realistic fiction. I also read The Book Thief while I was young, and it introduced me to a world of literature that both transported me and educated me about important periods in history. I am very grateful that Corthron wrote this novel, because it brings light to a history that has been erased and forgotten in many ways— the history of the neighborhoods Five Points and Seneca Village, and the interaction between Black and Irish communities in these neighborhoods. And by choosing historical fiction as the genre and presenting it as a coming of age story, the novel is fast paced and incredibly enrapturing to read. I definitely agree that I am all the more full by reading it as well.