This week’s Nonfiction November topic is Book Pairing (hosted by Julz of Julz Reads): This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story.
The obvious combo that springs to mind from this year’s reading is one I’ve mentioned elsewhere: The House of the Spirits and My Invented Country by Isabel Allende. Allende’s debut novel was a magical and sometimes brutal evocation of Chilean history through a family saga that was based on her own. After reading it I was curious to know more about the real story, and so I read one of the author’s several memoirs, a book in which she particularly considers what it means to her to be a writer in exile from her homeland. I enjoyed it even more than the novel; Allende’s sense of humor particularly comes to the fore as she writes about her own thoughts and experiences.
In another pairing, as I was reading Home by Julie Andrews, I thought, “This is like a real-life Noel Streatfeild novel” — for example, Dancing Shoes, which I reread this year. Young Julie’s talent brought her to the stage at an early age, just like Streatfeild’s performing children; and like them, she struggled with poverty and family problems. Her story has a bit more grit and realism but also a hopeful trajectory as she becomes a rising star.
Another reread was Chime by Franny Billingsley, a dark but beautifully written and moving fantasy that circles around themes of abuse and how it alters our perception of reality. I’d pair this with the new release Inferno by Catherine Cho, which comes out of the author’s experience of postpartum depression and psychosis. It’s also emotionally devastating and beautifully written.
Have you read any other novels that you would pair with a memoir or biography that gets into the reality behind the fiction? Or what other combinations have you discovered?
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I own that exact copy of House of the Spirits but haven’t read it yet. I like the Allende novels that I’ve read but I haven’t loved them. I should try her nonfiction.
Noel Streatfeild and Home is an excellent pairing, as is your last choice, difficult though the subject is.
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I tried one other novel but didn’t finish it (A Long Petal of the Sea). I’d read another memoir though.
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I haven’t read any of these but your pairings have me curious about all of them, especially Allende’s memoirs. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad to have piqued your interest!
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I’m not familiar with any of these books, so thanks for introducing them
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It’s a pleasure.
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well done on doing a book pairing with the same author, I haven’t seen that anywhere else. I have yet to read something by Allende. Which one do you think I should start with?
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I’ve only completed these two books, and I think they are a good place to start — House of the Spirits was her breakout book, and the memoir reflects on that experience.
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I first read Chime when The Book Smugglers recommended it some back (https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2011/04/joint-review-chime-by-franny-billingsley.html). And I loved it so much that I bought the audiobook version too (and that’s awesome too). Okay, I will stop here. But seriously, happy meeting another Chime fan.
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Yes, it is an amazing book!
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I love the idea of Julie Andrews’ Home with Dancing Shoes. Lovely.
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Yes, it was a lovely kind of serendipity to read them so close together.
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Ooh, what interesting pairings! I’ve not read any of the books in them. I really like your idea of pairing nonfiction and fiction by the same author. That’s a way of pairing books I’ve not really explored and I think there are a few pairs like that I could include in my list next year 🙂
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Oh, I love those kinds of pairings! Another one I can recommend is East of Eden and Journal of a Novel by John Steinbeck.
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Lory, you have some lovely sounding fiction and memoir pairings here. I particularly like the sound of the Chilean pair by the same author. Here are my own pairings: https://thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com/2020/11/09/%f0%9f%93%9a-nonfiction-november-2020-week-2-my-book-pairings/ 🙂
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That was an interesting pair indeed. The others were unintentional but that was one where I wanted to know more about the author.
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I read a few articles based on Julie Andrews memoir. The thing that stayed with me most was that she said you should practice (whatever skill you want, hers was singing) until you absolutely could not fail. Hence her pitch perfect voice
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She was an incredibly hard worker, not just a natural talent. At times it was mind-boggling how much she managed to do.
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That’s the impression I gained too; the consummate professional
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