Representations of Forgetting in Life Writing and Fiction

Gunnthorunn Gudmundsdottir is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Iceland and holds a PhD from the University of London, UK. Her research interests include life writing, memory studies, photography and writers’ autobiographies. Among her publications on life writing is the book Borderlines: Autobiography and Fiction in Postmodern Life Writing. 

Introduction: Writing the Forgotten.- Part I.Scenes of Forgetting in Life Writing.- 1.Forewords and Forgettings: Introductions and Preambles in Autobiography.- 2.Forgetting and the Writing Moment: Corrections and Family Archives.- 3.Forgetting Online: Self-Representation on Social Network Sites.- Part II.The Past Recovered.- 4.Excavating a Troubled Past: Spanish Memory Texts.- 5.

“It is theoretically sophisticated, invoking most important thinkers on the complications of forgetting. It is a useful book for anyone researching this topic. It introduces readers to texts with national but not international prominence, including works from Iceland, Norway, and Spain. … Nevertheless, this is a big book on forgetting, and it will draw the attention of anyone doing work in the field.” (Ellen G. Friedman, Biography, Vol. 41 (2), 2018)