Name for LIterary Fiction Genre?
June 19, 2016 9:45 AM Subscribe
Is there a name for the kind of novel that's basically a biography and (often quirky/odd) family history?
This is the sort of book where you get the story of a life, starting with parents or grandparents, more or less chronologically (though it may be framed around flashbacks.) Supporting characters (family and family friends) tend to have strong personalities, are larger than life or are just plain weird. There may or may not be a primary present day plot but the family history and community are central.
I'm thinking things like Robertson Davies' Deptford trilogy, The Tin Drum or Geek Love. This is incredibly common but I don't think I've seen a name attached. "Fictional biography" seems a bit broader than I'm talking about.
This is the sort of book where you get the story of a life, starting with parents or grandparents, more or less chronologically (though it may be framed around flashbacks.) Supporting characters (family and family friends) tend to have strong personalities, are larger than life or are just plain weird. There may or may not be a primary present day plot but the family history and community are central.
I'm thinking things like Robertson Davies' Deptford trilogy, The Tin Drum or Geek Love. This is incredibly common but I don't think I've seen a name attached. "Fictional biography" seems a bit broader than I'm talking about.
Multi-generation or generational novel?
posted by Cold Lurkey at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Cold Lurkey at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you're talking more generally about a novel which is more or less the author's real life, but fictionalized/embellished, the term is roman à clef.
posted by kapers at 10:09 AM on June 20, 2016
posted by kapers at 10:09 AM on June 20, 2016
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posted by jacquilynne at 10:04 AM on June 19, 2016 [4 favorites]