[ilds] The real behind the fictional people and situations

[Marc Piel]

Very interesting. I like Gunter Grass very much 
also; I have always felt that a writer must have 
lived at least a part of what he wrote in order to 
write well!
Marc Piel

Smithchamberlin at aol.com wrote:

> For those interested in such things I suggest a thorough reading of 
> Guenter Grass's memoir "Beim Haeuten der Zwiebel" in which he notes 
> dozens of examples of people and events he experienced that he used in 
> his various fictions.
>         Brewster
>  
> In a message dated 5/20/2007 3:00:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> ilds-request at lists.uvic.ca writes:
> 
>     Message: 39
>     Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 18:40:12 +0100
>     From: Michael Haag <michaelhaag at btinternet.com>
>     Subject: Re: [ilds] Arnauti as real
>     To: Bruce Redwine <bredwine1968 at earthlink.net>, ilds at lists.uvic.ca
>     Message-ID: <2918C3D7-06F9-11DC-9409-000393B1149C at btinternet.com>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
> 
>     My answer is that when I first Durrell, which was in the form of The
>     Alexandria Quartet, I felt that behind many of the characters there
>     were real people.  That was probably just the effect of Durrell writing
>     in the first person.  Nevertheless that sense stayed with me.  In time
>     I discovered that a great deal of Durrell's creations in the Quartet --
>     characters, settings, events -- were based on or in some way owed their
>     origin to real characters, settings and events.  There is nothing
>     surprising about this.  Writers do it all the time.  And of course what
>     writers also do is base creations on themselves.  I do have the feeling
>     that Durrell is always writing about his world and himself, and that he
>     is desperately trying to escape both.  And failing.
> 
>     :Michael
> 
> 
> 
>     On Sunday, May 20, 2007, at 05:11  pm, Bruce Redwine wrote:
> 
>      > On 5/20/07, Charles Sligh asks,
>      >>
>      >> But I have a question for you, Sumantra:  How did you first realize
>      >> that
>      >> Arnauti and Purswarden were not "real"?  That question is
>     serious, and
>      >> the answer could get to the bottom of the "tricks" that Durrell
>     is "up
>      >> to" in his books.
>      >
>      >                                              * * * * *
>      >
>      > My answer.  At the time of my primal event with M. Durrell (not Dr.
>      > Durrell), age sixteen of my youth, I never thought any "person"
>     in his
>      > book was real.  They were all fictional characters.  I naively
>     assumed
>      > then that fiction was by definition unreal.  Now, of course, after
>      > discussions on the List, I know that none of us is real.
>      >
>      > Bruce
>      >
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>      >
> 
> 
> 
>     ------------------------------
> 
>     Message: 40
>     Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 11:15:20 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
>     From: Bruce Redwine <bredwine1968 at earthlink.net>
>     Subject: Re: [ilds] Arnauti as real as Durrell
>     To: Durrell list <ilds at lists.uvic.ca>
>     Message-ID:
>        
>     <31228166.1179684920729.JavaMail.root at elwamui-royal.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
>        
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> 
>     On 5/20/07, William Godshalk writes:
>      >
>      >Only the City is real. But the distinction between a fictive
>      >character and a dead person is interesting to consider over a glass
>      >of choice wine. Neither is around to define himself or herself. The
>      >fictive character exists on paper, and the dead person now only
>      >exists on paper (give or take some ashes). Well, paper or some other
>      >recording material. Their parts can however be acted by actors.
>      >
>      >So Durrell and Arnauti are equally nonexistent.
>      >
>      >Bill (lookin for a fight)
> 
>                                 * * * * *
> 
>     I'll just swing a couple of wild punches and jump out of the ring
>     (today is afternoon High Tea with a bunch of lawyers, ugh).  This
>     talk about real and not real is very deep water, and we probably
>     need Dr. Durrell to throw out a life preserver.  The "many fictions
>     of ourselves," or some such (Jamie can provide the proper quotation
>     and citation to the poetry) -- that's my starting point.  And since
>     we're playing in Durrell's Universe, solipsistic or otherwise, we
>     might as well play his game and live in the "kingdom of your
>     imagination" (Clea, end of "novel").  It's utterly futile, in my
>     opinion, to argue, with Scholastic seriousness, about what is real
>     and not with respect to LD's fiction and his life.  Even as a pimply
>     sixteen year old I knew that Durrell's "Alexandria" only truly
>     existed in his head.  I willingly entered that world and welcomed
>     the seduction.  Moreover, through our discussions, we are adding to
>     the Master's fictive world.  He always knew that.  This is not !
>     to say that a biographer, like Michael Haag, can't do the great
>     research involved, point out the many connections between fact and
>     fiction, show all the ramifications and permutations thereof, and
>     then provide an explanation for all those interconnections.  Yes, he
>     can.  That's fascinating and enjoyable -- an art in itself, a genre
>     unto itself.  But it's always going to be some kind of fiction.  M.
>     Durrell will always remain elusive and keep some part of himself to
>     himself.  He will surely triumph in the end.  End of story.
> 
>     Bruce
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
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