Det brutna kontraktet : Om den missförstådda genren dokumentärroman och vad som sker när kontraktet mellan författare och läsare upphävs

Sammanfattning: Abstract   The topic of this essay is to show why I regard the non fiction novel as a problematic genre and to compare two popular and famous swedish non fiction novels; Legionärerna (1968) by Per Olov Enquist and Gömda (1995) by Maria Eriksson and Liza Marklund. I start with giving a short introduction to modern genre theory and to non fiction novels as a genre. I also discuss different definitions of non fiction novels by, for example, Rolf Yrlid and Lars-Olof Franzén. Then I discuss Enquist’s Legionärerna and the critics’ reception of it. I am also doing the same with Eriksson’s and Marklund’s Gömda before I compare these two novels with each other.   My conclusion is that Legionärerna and Gömda have a lot in common although there are some differences. One important difference is that the uncertainty between fact and fiction in Legionärerna seems to be an important part of the novel, in contrast to Gömda which has a political purpose but no discussion about objectivity and the limit between fact and fiction. The big problem with non fiction novels, as I see it, is that a lot of people regards the genre as fact but according to a number of scholars it is more convenient too see it as a mixture between fact and fiction where the author both interprets and manipulates the actual events. Though there are no established definition of what a non fiction novel is the author of a non fiction novel  has a responsibility to the reader to write in the beginning of the novel if the plot is true or not. We can compare this declaration by the author with a contract between the author and the reader which is cancelled if it turns out that the declaration is false.