Many writers of fiction who have shared so much as a short story have heard the old question, ¡°Is this autobiographical?¡± No literary genre, however, plays with the possibility of ¡°what actually happened¡± as liberally as the Japanese ²õ³ó¾±²õ³ó§à?²õ±ð³Ù²õ³Ü, known to Western readers as the confessional I-novel. Originating in the early 20th century, the style is marked by an intimate first-person narrative drawing from personal experience, leaving readers guessing as to what is truthful and what is embellished.
An exciting addition to the genre for English readers is Minae Mizumura¡¯s ¡°An I-Novel,¡± which was published in Japanese in 1995 and comes out in English early March. The story centers on a character named Minae Mizumura, who, at the age of 12, moves with her family to the United States and is plunged into struggles of belonging.
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