Endless reviewed The story is true by Jackson, Bruce
Review of 'The story is true' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
My area of research is cognitive narrative – that is, the stories we live by. This book was a pleasant surprise for me as Jackson looks precisely at that. Were I to rename it, I'd call it "The Story Isn't True," as Jackson looks at that which is constantly true about stories and, reflexively, that which is constantly false – using examples from his considerable experience, from films to literature to oral stories, to elaborate on the dynamics that make stories meaningful, memorable, and always changing. Of particular interest to me were those chapters that examine the ways we use stories to help us negotiate reality - to decide when it's just to execute a life, when people permit lies through story, when people find beauty and fulfillment.
This isn't an academic work; it is consummately accessible, and both entertaining and thought-provoking. Unlike other favorites, like [b:Living Narrative: Creating Lives …
My area of research is cognitive narrative – that is, the stories we live by. This book was a pleasant surprise for me as Jackson looks precisely at that. Were I to rename it, I'd call it "The Story Isn't True," as Jackson looks at that which is constantly true about stories and, reflexively, that which is constantly false – using examples from his considerable experience, from films to literature to oral stories, to elaborate on the dynamics that make stories meaningful, memorable, and always changing. Of particular interest to me were those chapters that examine the ways we use stories to help us negotiate reality - to decide when it's just to execute a life, when people permit lies through story, when people find beauty and fulfillment.
This isn't an academic work; it is consummately accessible, and both entertaining and thought-provoking. Unlike other favorites, like [b:Living Narrative: Creating Lives in Everyday Storytelling|1509279|Living Narrative Creating Lives in Everyday Storytelling|Elinor Ochs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347247542s/1509279.jpg|1500860], which focus on the personal cognitive functions of narrative, The Story is True centers on the social and situated roles of story-telling and story-believing. Much of it comes down to what is described in the books' chapter 14 preamble quote, by Walter Benjamin: "The Storyteller takes what he tells from experience–his own or that reported by others. And he in turn makes it the experience of those who are listening to his tale."