There's no relationship to the narrative anymore. People want their own interpretation of history. We're compartmentalizing, forgetting what came directly before, like it's not a big deal. That, to me, is a crime.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
History is what we bring to it, not just the events themselves, but how we interpret those events.
History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.
First and foremost, telling historical stories is very tricky because it is something that is known. It is not like you can tell a lie or change something that is written in black and white.
We've all faced the charge that our novels are history lite, and to some extent, that's true. Yet for some, historical fiction is a way into reading history proper.
Of course history is easily manipulated - though that makes it even more important for us to know what actually happened.
History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.
History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.
I feel like history is about going and discovering the great human stories that just are every bit as relevant as anything that's going on today.
If people really want to know and learn from history, why do they want bad history? Why don't they want good history? Wouldn't you rather know the truth, rather than the legend?
I have always felt that this story is universal. When I began to understand the details of the history, I felt that the most compelling aspect was not what happened, but what continues to happen and how it is denied.