What I didn't like about "Julie and Julia"
A friend tipped me off to this rather scathing characterization of memoirists in a 鈥�Time鈥� magazine review of the based-on-the-book movie 鈥�Julie and Julia鈥�:
There are memoirists like [Julia] Child who write about what made them famous, or infamous. There are unremarkable people who write about a remarkable thing that happened to them. And there is the 21st century memoirist, who makes him- or herself interesting in order to write about it, usually through a time-centric gimmick, like spending a few months at, say, an ashram.
The quote hit a nerve. I often write in the first person, using myself as a character and my experience as plot in service of larger themes.
Yet, the reviewer seemed to be putting most first-person writing into the category of memoir鈥攁 category not much esteemed by anyone except those pesky book buyers, who keep putting true-life stories on the best seller list, 鈥淛ulie and Julia鈥� included.
My sense is that the underlying complaint is that those who write in the first person a) lack journalistic rigor; b) are self-indulgent.
I have some evidence to the contrary. For instance, during two long train trips this past week I read Matthew Green鈥檚 鈥淭he Wizard of the Nile,鈥� a first-person account of a journalist鈥檚 quest to find an African warlord; and Chang-Rae Lee鈥檚 鈥淎loft,鈥� a first-person novel about the travails of a retired landscaper in Long Island.
In the first, the narrator served as a literal tour guide. By describing racing through the airport, piling into a van, and sitting for days in the sun in the bush, Green introduces the reader to the geography, people, and history of Eastern Africa. The story is not about him, but he makes a personable and intelligent companion.
More importantly, the fact that the information is filtered through a human and specific lens makes it more accessible. The reader learns along with Green, and as a result I am both engaged in what I鈥檓 reading and trust the author鈥檚 conclusions. The bibliography at the end only confirms what I鈥檝e already intuited: the book is well-researched, as well as well-reported.
In the second example, 鈥淎loft,鈥� the character of Jerry Battle muses for a few hundred pages on his wife鈥檚 suicide, his daughter鈥檚 terminal illness, his son鈥檚 failed business, and his father鈥檚 escape from the nursing home. As a work of fiction it鈥檚 fantastic, so why would it be considered anything less in nonfiction, an example of 鈥渁n unremarkable person鈥� who had some 鈥渞emarkable things鈥� happen to him?
My guess is that the difference turns on the word 鈥渦nremarkable.鈥� By considering them in close and loving detail, fiction often exalts the lowly. To turn that fond gaze on oneself, especially without the clamoring of fans, risks seeming self-aggrandizing. But, as a reader I will confess that I鈥檓 in it for the voyeurism. I want to look at people鈥檚 lives close up, and I believe that everyone is both remarkable and has a remarkable story, if it is told thoughtfully and well.
Which is a pretty big if.
And herein lies my own somewhat ungenerous characterization of nonfiction first-person writing. If the craft is good, then the most plain lives can sparkle: 鈥淭his Boy鈥檚 Life鈥�; 鈥淎n American Childhood鈥�; all of David Sedaris.
If the information is compelling, then a first-person narrator can bring it to life: 鈥淪louching Toward Bethlehem鈥�; 鈥�Three Cups of Tea鈥�; 鈥淗omage to Catalonia.鈥�
If the experience can teach us something, then the gimmick is worthy: 鈥淣ickel and Dimed鈥�; 鈥淧aper Lion鈥�; 鈥�Supersize Me.鈥�
The trouble comes when the form seems contrived, the character unappealing, or the writing uninspiring鈥攚hich, I confess, was my reaction to the book 鈥淛ulie and Julia.鈥� But these are criticisms that would stand for any work of literature. First-person writing doesn鈥檛 warrant any special criteria or disdain simply because it uses the self as a vehicle for narration or reflection. Especially in this era of blogs, self-publishing, and true-life best sellers, the more we can hold all writing to an expectation of excellence the better rewarded we the audience is likely to be.
Kelly Nuxoll is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.
