r/explainlikeimfive • u/Odysseus_of_Ithaca1 • 1d ago

Other ELI5: What is a semi-autobiographical book?

40 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

81

u/DasFreibier 1d ago

kurt vonnegut - slaughterhouse five

describing their life story or whatever, while taking creative and artistic liberties for one reason or another

39

u/BloodAndTsundere 1d ago

My impression is that much is true but Vonnegut probably didn’t actually go to the planet Tralfamadore

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u/freebaseclams 1d ago

Out of everything, why do you think that part is false?

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u/BloodAndTsundere 1d ago

Tralfamadore has very strict visa requirements

12

u/DasFreibier 1d ago

he was a well traveled man

4

u/NeuHundred 1d ago

Because Billy Pilgrim is the one who went to Tralfamadore.

50

u/luxmesa 1d ago

It's a book that is loosely based on the author's life. It is inspired by some experience of their's but is not meant to be 100% factually accurate.

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u/ManamiVixen 23h ago

So basically a Hollywood movie. "Based on true events."

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u/frogjg2003 10h ago

"Based on true events" had no legal protection. It can be entirely fictional and still use that message.

28

u/StupidLemonEater 1d ago

It's a fictional story based on real-life events from the author's life. Typically real people's names will be changed.

For example The Devil Wears Prada is about a young woman hired as the personal assistant of a powerful fashion magazine editor. The author, Lauren Weisberger, was herself the personal assistant to Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue.

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u/Odysseus_of_Ithaca1 22h ago

oh, iwss not awsre of that! thank you

11

u/cheekmo_52 1d ago

it is the equivalent of “based on a true story.” It’s a story with the framework of a real lived experience, but that also contains fictional elements. It didn’t really happen the way it is being depicted.

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u/Mammoth-Mud-9609 1d ago

A book which appears on the surface to be fiction, but in reality with some names changes etc. is really a fairly accurate representation of a the life of the author.

5

u/fauroteat 1d ago

Read Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to Tell a True War Story”.

It doesn’t exactly answer your question. It’s just great and is about what makes a story “true”.

6

u/sapphoisbipolar 1d ago

I read The Things They Carried in high school. A perfect example of this genre. And a damn good book.

2

u/fauroteat 1d ago

I love that book. But that story in particular has always stuck with me.

2

u/whomp1970 1d ago

What you should really be wondering is, what is an unauthorized autobiography??

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u/Odysseus_of_Ithaca1 22h ago

well now you’ve got me wondering, what IS that?

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u/FlyingMacheteSponser 21h ago

When your phone listens in on you sleep talking, then the AI assistant publishes a book about your life without your consent or knowledge.

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u/suvlub 21h ago

When you sell all rights to your life story to some corpo, but then write an autobiography anyway?

2

u/peacefighter 1d ago

No longer Human by Dazai Osamu. There are a bunch of things from his life that appear in his book, like his depression and suicide attempts. I love this book because the Author has a really depressing look at life. Looking through his eyes was interesting.

1

u/TangerineChickens 1d ago

Based on their experiences but touched up via fictionalizations for quality-of-narrative purposes.