'If It Ain't True, Then It's Just a Book!' The Reading and Teaching of Faction Literature

This article examines issues related to the reading and teaching of faction literature in school. Faction is defined not only as a literary genre but also as a form of reading applied to the reader. The article discusses young people's encounters with novels "based on a true story" as well as the challenges this means for literature instruction. We also analyse the relationship between teachers' approach to faction literature in the classroom and syllabus formulations regarding appreciative forms of reading. The empirical material mainly consists of instances of teaching in the subject of Swedish from three upper secondary school classrooms. Our analysis suggests three areas in which the students' reading of faction becomes complicated in the way that the text's factual accuracy is often taken for granted. To meet these challenges a reflective literature instruction is required. We also demonstrate that the idea of literature mainly as a source of knowledge of life is strongly advocated in the syllabus. (Contains 2 notes.)