Contents May Have Shifted

Contents May Have Shifted by Pam Houston is an autobiographical novel about a woman named Pam. Pam the character and Pam the writer are not the same. You can read about Pam Houston's take on writing fiction/nonfiction/stories/truth/etc. and the overlap of all of these things in the companion essay to Contents here.

My friend suggested I read this novel because I like to write nonfiction, and the space where nonfiction exists is puzzling. How does one tell a story about oneself that is honest AND accurate? Is that possible really? I don't know. And I don't think Pam Houston knows, but my friend thought I would enjoy this novel. I trust this friend's judgement. She's smart and has good taste. And she was right: Pam Houston writes beautifully.  The story gets at some important aspects of humanity. It makes me want to travel so bad my feet are tingly.

But I couldn't relate to Pam the character. She kept reminding me of a well-off, privileged person who complains about things while having experiences for which the hoi polloi would trade their dominant arm. The book is written in vignettes, which are set in different cities around the world--12 of the vignettes are set on airplanes--and the vignettes in Asia kept reminding me of Eat, Pray, Love. Which isn't really fair because Pam Houston is a good writer. And what's her face isn't. At one point in my reading though, I asked myself if Contents was just a better written, literary Eat, Pray, Love. And I can say this now with confidence: No, it isn't. It's a mostly unfair comparison, but I bring it up because it does illustrate my biggest complaint about this book: Spirituality. From an enjoyment perspective, I don't enjoy spirituality in a book. Or I don't enjoy the Western, contemporary's search for spirituality, and this book has a lot of that.

This book also has a lot going for it. Like really well phrased wisdom. It portrays love and all the struggles surrounding love in a way that might not be accurate to Pam Houston's real-life experiences but is 100% true in the more wide definition of human truths. This novel is an important part of the dialogue about writing creative nonfiction and what that term means. Not to mention Houston writes female solidarity and friendship better than I have seen it in a while...maybe ever.  Her characters pop off the page. I feel like they are walking and talking in the world somewhere, and it's not because I know some of them are.

This book is hard for me to review. I didn't enjoy all of it if we are talking about entertainment value, but I learned a lot from reading this book--ideas and tips about the craft I am honing. Also I want to read more by Pam Houston, which is probably the best review an author can receive.

Have you ever read anything by Pam Houston? Did you enjoy it? What are your thoughts on creative nonfiction? Or autobiographical fiction? Is there a difference?