First published 2017
Francis Spufford's essay collection confronts the razor's edge between fact and fiction, weaving personal encounters with intellectual curiosity. Drawing from medieval folklore, religious philosophy, and global encounters, he interrogates how writers transform raw information into compelling narratives. Each essay becomes a laboratory for understanding: What makes a story ring true? How do we construct meaning from disparate experiences? Spufford moves between cultural landscapes—from C.S. Lewis's theological writings to Ayatollah Khomeini's tomb—revealing the intricate machinery of storytelling. These are not mere academic exercises, but passionate investigations into how humans make sense of complex realities. At its heart, this collection is a meditation on imagination's power to illuminate truth.
Genres: essays, philosophy, literary-fiction, non-fiction, biography-memoir, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: C.S. Lewis's Theological Writings, Ayatollah Khomeini's Tomb
Period: Medieval Folklore, Global Encounters
360 pages · Hardcover · Yale University Press