True Fiction

True Fiction lives up to its name in subject and style. From the poignant first story, “Open Mic,” a sort of realistic coming-of-age story, to the engagingly rich reinterpretation of the heartbreaking legend of Sohrab and Rostam found in the tenth-century Persian epic poem Shahnameh, told from an intriguing first-person point of view, the eight stories in this collection challenge established ideas by blurring lines between truth and fiction and by engaging the reader through its clever use of fairy tales, biological strangeness, literary structures, and unreliable narrators. Those who’ve read Fracis’s other works will be pleased to know his clarity of language, diction, and metaphor retain their usual high quality. Although there’s intelligent fun in the play of language and ideas about truth and fiction, one closes the book with a robust sense that at its core these are stories about what it means to be human.

True Fiction is like a bag of tricks, eight of them. The title story should be anthologized for its remarkable craftsmanship. Another story is built around memorable, offbeat characters. Gender questions are raised in the third story. There’s a story that plays with words, an adult fairy tale, a poem-like story and even a legend. Sohrab Fracis is a real talent. I loved reading this book.

The stories in this book stayed with me for a long time after I read them. Many passages led me into other places within myself and it was a wonderful journey. If you haven't read it you should!