Fiction versus Reality

The novel explores the disparities between fiction and reality via Jane Gibson’s burgeoning career as a novelist.

Jane has studied, taught, and written fiction for years. Her passion for the genre has fueled her as an artist. However, 10 years into her work on her second novel, Jane finds that fiction is harder to bring to life than she originally thought. She not only struggles to complete and publish the novel, but meanwhile agonizes over how to make her personal dreams a reality.

The author uses imagery to convey Jane’s longing to reify her dreams. In particular, the recurring images of Brett’s house and Los Angeles convey Jane’s desperation to live out her fantasies. Set on the top of a mountain overlooking the city, Brett’s house makes Jane’s family “seem like lucky, special Negroes” (57). Its physical location, sprawling grounds...