According to Barry Trott, Editor of Reference & User Services Quarterly,
and Abby Albert, Readers’ Services and Children’s Services staff member at the
Evanston Public Library, in their article, “Incorporating Nonfiction into
Readers’ Advisory Services,” “Librarians are realizing that they can increase
their readers’ advisory services and expand their community of readers by
applying the same techniques that they have used to find new titles and authors
for fiction readers to working with readers of nonfiction” (25). Narrative nonfiction is not a genre, rather a
style of nonfiction that has a focus on the story, rather than just the facts (26). The story HAS to be true, but it is written
in a more novelistic style than a textbook-style nonfiction piece. Due to the way that a narrative nonfiction
piece is written, a book may attract an expert in that field or a casual reader
who does not necessarily know a lot on that particular topic. Trott and Albert have found that annotations
and reviews are the key element to classifying a nonfiction piece as a
narrative nonfiction or a traditionally written piece as these can be key in
identifying characteristics of pace, point of view, tone, and engrossing manner
(26). Narrative nonfiction is available
in several genres such as biography and memoir, travelogues, humor, medicine
and psychology, religion, history, sports, and true crime.
Narrative nonfiction is considered a relatively new literary genre in
the overall medium, but nonfiction has played an influential role on authors
for hundreds of years. Trott and Albert
found that many classic authors, such as Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and
Daniel Defoe, all used nonfiction occurrences in their life to create a
fictional telling (27). The nonfiction
bestseller list, started in 1912, featured books about the family, self-help,
cookbooks, and etiquette through the 1950s (Trott and Albert 27). The 1960s featured authors such as Hunter S.
Thompson and Tom Wolfe who used their journalism background to write articles
that had “drama with emotional impact” (Trott and Albert 27). The modern true crime is often defined by the
release of Truman Capote’s 1966 nonfiction novel In Cold Blood, the story of a Kansas family brutally murdered by
two strangers. Capote not only presented
the facts of the crime itself, but met with Dick Hickock and Perry Smith who
were charged with the crime giving an insider’s look into why two men would commit
such a crime. According to Jordan
Foster, author of the article, “The Truth is in the Crime,” Capote referred to
his book as a “nonfiction novel” (24). In
an interview, Capote said that he, “got this idea of doing a really serious big
work—it would be precisely like a novel, with a single difference every word of
it would be true from beginning to end” (Trott and Albert 27). According to J. Madison Day in her article
“Recognizing the Art of Nonfiction: Literary Excellence in True Crime,” it is
Capote’s portrayals of the killers that made the successful. Day writes, “the insights into the character
of the killers allow a reader to understand them as deeply damaged human
beings, creating the profoundly unsettling feeling that real crime elicits”
(11). Narrative nonfiction has continued
to be popular into the 1990s and 2000s with
Bestsellers including Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil, Longitude,
Angela’s Ashes, Fast Food Nation, and Devil
in the White City (Trott and Albert 28). By understanding the history of
narrative nonfiction, one can see how it has become a more social/enjoyable
read for patrons today comparable to stories of fiction.
Although no real readers’ advisory
sources such as the fiction source Novelist exist in the realm of nonfiction,
many of the characteristics desired in fiction are true in nonfiction. Trott and Albert identify five
characteristics of nonfiction appeal, three of which can be applicable to
fiction, although may not be the most important characteristic of a piece. The scene relies on technique used in fiction
such as dialogue, point-of-view, and the building of climax to establish the
actual narrative of the story although all of the traits must be built around a
factual occurrence (Trott and Albert 29).
Style presents the tone and voice of the author allowing the writing to
transform from just a series of facts (29).
The last fiction-like characteristic is theme as nonfiction books
examine specific societal issues and events (29). The two primary characteristics that divide
fiction and narrative nonfiction is documentable subject matter and exhaustive
research, both of which could be included in a work of fiction but are not
necessarily required (29). It is these
fiction-like qualities that separate narrative nonfiction from classical
nonfiction. These characteristics also
provide basis for readers’ advisory suggestions.
According to Joyce Saricks in her
book Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre
Fiction, while doing studies on readers’ advisory writes, “Pacing,
characterization, story line, frame (physical setting and atmosphere), tone and
mood, and style and language played important roles in what readers enjoyed
about one book over another and helped us recognize others we might suggest”
(2). In terms of comparing narrative nonfiction
and the fiction in which Saricks describes her in book, true crime is mostly
connected with the genres of mystery and suspense and readers who enjoy these
two genres may also enjoy true crime. In
terms of suspense, the reader may know who is committing the crimes or how the
crimes are being committed but not knowing the why or the ultimate goal can
create a suspenseful, page turning desire just as a fiction story
provides. According to Saricks, the
author will create (or recreate in the case of nonfiction) elaborate
backgrounds and a “strong sense of place” while also presenting a “dark,
menacing atmosphere” (53). The idea of
suspense remains the same whether or not the story is an actuality or not. Mystery
is also closely related as they are, “constructed around a puzzle; the author
provides clues to the solution but attempts to obscure some information so that
they mystery cannot be solved too easily” (196). In this case, the reader may not know who
committed a crime or why it was committed but reads a certain book to gain more
knowledge on a certain subject or story.
Looking at the characteristics that Saricks provides, a true crime
nonfiction narrative can involve the solving of a crime through a series of
clues, a focus on the investigator or the team with secondary characters of
suspects, a crucial setting and physical location, and a broad look at other
cultures, characters, historical time periods, and narrative styles (198). True crime novels are not necessarily about the
crime itself but incorporate several other topics of interest. According to Foster, true crime novels
encompass, “cultural studies, sociology, law and legal theory, politics,
history, and biography” (24). Jordan
goes on to classify a true crime book as a story in which a crime has occurred
but is not entirely the focus (24). One
may read a true crime novel in order to better understand a particular time
period or how the legal system worked in a specific time or in a specific country. He or she may want to understand the
background from which a serial killer came or has an interest in knowing the
science behind forgeries. By honing on a
reader’s primary interest, the act of the crime itself may fall in the
wayside.
Readers’ advisory for true crime
nonfiction can be incorporated into suggestion lists or recommendations by
looking at the various subgenres of the genre.
Creating lists for a library allows librarians to pinpoint a reader’s
specific interest in a sect of true crime while not generalizing the entire
theme. The following are examples of
lists that could be created by a library for their readers:
Serial
Killers
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin
Boyle – Tells the story of the
Jungers’ family that employed the famous Boston Strangler during the time that
he was arrested for the crime. (Suggested by Chicago Public Library)
Helter Skelter
by Vincent Bugliosi – Written by the prosecutor in the Charles Manson case,
this book give an insider’s look into the case and murders. (Suggested by
Chicago Public Library)
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule – Rule worked with Ted Bundy at a crisis
center. She discusses his crimes in comparison
to the man that she thought she knew. (Suggested
by Chicago Public Library)
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson – The story of the Chicago’s World Fair juxtaposed
with the serial killer H.H. Holmes, one of America’s first serial killers
(suggested by Foster)
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A
True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science by Douglas Starr – A look into the
investigation of Joseph Vacher, a murderer in the French countryside, by Emile
Forquet and criminologist Alexandre Lacassagne (Suggested by Cords)
White
Collar Crime
Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series by Eliot Asinof – A look
at the
fixing of the 1919 World Series (Suggested by the Chicago Public Library)
Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale – A memoir about a
teenage dropout
who became
a con artist that eluded the FBI for 20 years (Suggested by Chicago
Public
Library)
Murder/Assasinations
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt – A
group of eccentrics in Savannah and a
murder trial of one of their own (Suggested by Chicago Public Library)
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote – Narrative nonfiction class that tells of the brutal killings
of a rural Kansas family (Suggested by Chicago Public Library)
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer – This book tells the
story of two fundamentalist Mormon brothers who claim that God told them to
kill their brother’s wife and child ((Suggested by Chicago Public Library)
Manhunt: The Twelve Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson – The author tells
the story of the manhunt in pursuit of John Wilkes Booth (Suggested by Chicago
Public Library)
People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry – Follows the investigation of an
English woman’s disappearance in Tokyo and the trial of Joji Obara, the man
accused of murdering her (Suggested by Foster)
Gangs/Mafia
Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and
Resurgence of America’s Most Power Mafia
Empires by
Selwyn Raab – A former New York Times
reporter tells the story of New York’s five biggest mafia families (Suggested
by Chicago Public Library)
Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S. Thompson – A journalistic
look into the American motorcycle gang Hell’s Angels. (Suggested by Chicago Public Library)
Blood Feud: The Hatfield and the
McCoys: The Epic Story of Murder and Vengeance by Lisa Alther – Discusses the
famous feud between the two infamous clans and their bloody family conflict
(Suggested by Cords)
Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster by Jonathan Eig – A biography of mob
boss Al Capone with a look at his career and person life (Suggested by Cords)
Kidnapping
Cemetery John by Robert Zorn – This book focuses
on the Lindbergh baby
kidnapping and murder. Zorn’s father witnessed a conversation
between a neighbor and the man accused of taking the child about the kidnapping. Zorn presents evidence that accuses the
neighbor as being the mastermind behind the kidnapping (Suggested by Foster)
A Case for Solomon by Tal McThenia and Margaret Dunbar Cutwright – Discusses the 1912
disappearance of Bobby Dunbar and the search for him. After a boy was identified and taken back to
the Dunbar’s, it was discovered much later that the boy was actually Bruce
Anderson, the missing child of a poor mother Julia Anderson (Suggested by
Foster).
Building a
comprehensive book list of narrative nonfiction will only build the strength of
a library’s reader advisory services.
True crime nonfiction does not only represent the crime itself but shows
multiples facets of society life. As
narrative nonfiction becomes more and more popular on the New York Times Bestseller lists and other sources, it is essential
for libraries to build booklists that encompasses the different interest of
readers. In order to truly include narrative
nonfiction in a library’s collection, readers’ advisory librarians must look
for links between fiction categories, such as mystery and suspense in the case
of true crime, to create appeal between patrons and nonfiction selections.
Works Cited
Cords,
Sarah Statz. “Prior Misconduct: Collection Development: Historical True Crime.” Library
Journal 137.14
(2012): 36-38. Library Literature & Information Science. Web.
19 February 2013.
Day,
J. Madison. “Recognizing the Art of Nonfiction:
Literary Excellence in True Crime.”
World
Literature Today 86.5 (2012): 10-12. Academic Search Premier. Web.
22 February 2013.
Foster,
Jordan. “The Truth is in the
Crime.” Publishers Weekly 259.14 (2012): 24-26. Library
Literature & Information Science.
Web. 19 February 2013.
Saricks,
Joyce. Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago: American Library Association
Editions, 2009.
Print.
Trott, Barry and Abby
Albert, “Incorporating Nonfiction into Readers’ Advisory Services.”
Reference & User
Services Quarterly 46.1
(2006): 25-32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 February 2013.
“True Crime.” Chicago
Public Library. N.d. Web. 20 February 2013.
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