'Based On A True Story' May Not Be True — But It's Still Scary
French novelist Delphine De Vigan follows up her tell-all 2012 memoir with a creepy tale of a blocked novelist — also named Delphine — who falls under the sway of an elegant, menacing ghostwriter.
Two things, first: One, Delphine de Vigan's Based on a True Story is a powerful novel of suspense. Two, Based on a True Story may or may not be based on truth.
You'll read many reviews this season about de Vigan's book that mention those things and discuss one or both at length. Critics (and readers) are always eager for the story behind the story, and in this case the author presents the tease immediately, titularly. She continues in this vein, in which she attempted to reconstruct her mother's mental illness.
