The Prism Between Two Worlds Ben Lerner and Autofiction

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the recent literary trend known as autofiction, which occupies a liminal space between fiction and nonfiction. Frequently, this phenomenon is characterized by the shared name of the protagonist and the author of the text. This work investigates that connection through the works of Ben Lerner and his three novels — Leaving the Atocha Station, 10:04, and The Topeka School — which together share the essential elements of autofiction and thus provide a particular way of reading and interpreting the text. The first part of this thesis provides a history of autofiction and explains how contemporary autofiction operates as an instantiation of postmodern fiction. It then studies the realignment from the postmodernist ‘cool detachment’ towards a renewed desire to recognize the personal feelings and emotions of the subject. Next, this exploration is illustrated through a deeper analysis of Lerner’s novels. This work argues that in exposing larger cultural anxieties, Lerner embraces this metamodern sentiment by combining facts with fiction in his novels. Moreover, it posits that by exploring the ontological reality of the extratextual and narrative world, Lerner engages earnestly with real-world problems and shows the connectedness and importance of fiction within our lives. His three novels thus build on the honest value that fiction has in our contemporary society. Finally, the work argues that Lerner’s prose shows us how today's reality consists of a constant shifting between the true and the invented.