Based on a True Story by Delphine De Vigan

My name is Celine and today I will be reviewing the book “Based on a True Story” by award winning French author Delphine De Vigan.

Interestingly, the author has chosen a narrator that shares a lot of resemblances with her own life. They are both called Delphine, have two teenage children, live in Paris and are writers. The character Delphine’s previous book, an autobiographical novel about her mother’s suicide was very successful. (This was also the subject of Delphine de Vigan’s previous novel, Nothing Holds Back the Night). Instead of enjoying the success of her latest book, Delphine feels overwhelmed and unable to start writing the next one. At the same time, Delphine is receiving anonymous and hateful letters which seems to be from a relative, who resents her for exposing her life and her family’s life to achieve fame.

It is in a state of vulnerability and insecurity that Delphine meets a woman known to us only by her first initial L. (the word “elle” in French also pronounced “L” means her/she) at a friend’s party. L. is a glamourous, well-groomed and confident woman, the type Delphine has always admired and envied. The two women become close, but it appears that the friendship is strangely one-sided. Whereas Delphine confides in L., we learn very little about her enigmatic friend. It also appears that L. knows a lot about Delphine’s life. She has read everything (books, articles) the author has published. L. becomes quickly an integral part of Delphine’s life and when L. finds herself without a place to live, Delphine offers her to move in.

Not only does L. takes full control over Delphine’s life, she also begins to behave very oddly. L. starts dressing and modelling herself after her friend. At the same time, L. becomes increasingly obsessed about what Delphine should write next. While Delphine is thinking of writing a fiction about a contestant in a TV reality show, L. wants her write about her own life. Here is what L. says about fiction “People couldn’t care less. They get plenty of fables and characters, they’ve got adventures and plot twists coming out of their ears. Take it from me, readers expect something different and they are right: they expect the real, the authentic. They want to be told about life; don’t you see?”

Based on a True Story is a fascinating and unsettling novel with lots of different layers. De Vigan cleverly blurs the line between fiction and memoir. As mentioned before the protagonist bears many resemblances with the author herself. As a reader, you can’t help wondering if De Vigan’s own experience has inspired this book or if it is an act of pure imagination. 

Overall, Based on a True Story is a very clever and thought-provoking book. The slow build-up of tension is extremely well done and the 3 epigraphs by Stephen King set the mood for each part of the novel. I love the fact that this book left me thinking long after I finished it. I look forward to my next book club as we will discuss the book and I am sure there will be lots of differing opinions about what happened at the end and who L. really was.

The book is available as a print copy and an eBook at City of Greater Dandenong Libraries. 

Celine