# The Nature of Truth and Narrative in Such Is Life

> Theme guide for Such Is Life by Joseph Furphy.

Collins insists on being a 'chronicler' rather than a 'romancer,' claiming 'limpid veracity' and a memory that stereotypes impressions, while self-consciously breaking narrative conventions and mocking literary propriety.

## Where it surfaces

- [Such Is Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/chapters/such-is-life): Collins reflects on the reliability of memory and storytelling, questioning how events are recorded and interpreted.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/chapters/ii): Tom explains his method of sampling one day per month to avoid plot and denouement, emphasizing a faithful analysis of life.
- [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/chapters/vi): The narrator emphasizes his fidelity to fact and veracity, even as he confesses to losing individuality, highlighting the tension between truthful confession and personal dignity.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/chapters/vii): The narrator explicitly controls the selection of events, skipping March 9 to avoid clichéd depictions of drinking and fighting, and later discusses how gossip and eavesdropping shape perceptions of truth.
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/chapters/endnotes): The note highlights the author's concern for factual accuracy and the tension between truth and stylistic effect.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/themes/the_nature_of_truth_and_narrative
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/such_is_life_se/themes