Misery Lit: Background information when reading The Sound of Gravel

Misery Lit

This article relates to The Sound of Gravel

The Sound of Gravel, a personal account of the author's traumatic childhood, is part of a surprisingly popular genre commonly called, somewhat derisively we might add, the misery memoir.

In a 2006 Guardian article, a publishing industry official pointed out that "readers of these books would previously have looked to fiction for their emotional engagement but now they respond to the extra 'integrity' of fact." Since then, publishers have struggled with nonfiction accounts that are not entirely so (James Frey's A Million Little Pieces comes readily to mind). Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone ran into similar troubles as well, with reporters faulting the accuracy of some of the claims made.

Over the last few years, the genre has seen saturation, especially with some readers looking for escapist fiction to move away from their problems. Nevertheless it's clear that many like to read about the struggles of their fellow humans and more important, about how these challenges are overcome.

Here are five popular examples of such memoirs:

Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt

Paperback May 1999. 255 pages. Published by Simon & Schuster.

Imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion. This is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.
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This "beyond the book article" relates to The Sound of Gravel. It originally ran in January 2016 and has been updated for the April 2017 paperback edition. Go to magazine.