November 2026 Meeting, "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" by Ted Chiang

 The Story

goodreads

"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" is a science fiction story by American writer Ted Chiang. It was first published in 2013 in Subterranean Press and later included in Exhalation, a collection of short stories published in 2019.

The story is written as an article by an unnamed journalist in the near future, who tells his experience with a device that endows its users with photographic memory, interspersed with a fictionalized account of an incident in which writing was introduced to an African tribe. The story serves as a reflection of how improving human memory affects people's personal lives.

The Author

Wikipedia

Ted Chiang is an acclaimed American science fiction writer celebrated for his short stories. Both of his parents were Chinese and fled the communist revolution in 1949. Over the course of thirty-five years, Chiang has written two short story collections (Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation), along with countless other short stories and op-eds for publications such as The New York Times and The New Yorker.

His stories often blend science fiction with thought-provoking themes. Examples include "Tower of Babylon," a retelling of the Tower of Babel story, and "Story of Your Life," which explores time perception through a linguist deciphering an alien language. This latter was made into a film, Arrival (2016).

Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica, Penguin website.

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT

We are going to use the following questions to spark our conversation during our next meeting. Think how you would answer them.

1. Is remembering something accurately always better than remembering it imperfectly?

The story contrasts factual accuracy with the way our memories and feelings shape our understanding of the past. Can an inaccurate memory sometimes be more valuable—or even kinder—than a perfectly accurate one?

2. Would you want a device that could record everything you experience and allow you to replay it exactly as it happened? Why or why not?

Think about both the advantages and the possible consequences for relationships, personal identity and privacy.

3. The story suggests that there can be a difference between “the truth of fact” and “the truth of feeling”. Can both be true at the same time?

Can you think of situations in real life where the objective facts of an event and someone's emotional version of it might both be legitimate?

4. How much of who we are depends on our memories?

If technology could change the way we remember our past, could it also change our personality or our sense of identity? Where would you draw the line between remembering the past and reconstructing it?

5. Do you think technology generally helps us understand the past—or makes it harder to let go of it?

Consider not only the technology in the story but also things we already use, such as photographs, messages, social media, videos and digital records. Could having a permanent record of our lives change the way we live in the present?

What are you reading? "Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan"

Noelia's contribution 

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Amazon

I would definitely recommend Mad Honey. It begins as a teenage love story between Lily and Asher, but it becomes much darker when Lily suddenly dies in what seems like an accident. Asher is quickly blamed for her death; at this point, the story explores important topics like motherhood, domestic abuse, friendship, sexuality, and identity.

What I liked most about the book is the way the story is told. It’s written in the first person from two points of view: Lily’s and Olivia’s, Asher’s mother. Each shares a version of events, slowly revealing new details and showing how the same moments can look very different. I thought this dual perspective worked really well because it kept me questioning what I believed.

The trial is one of the most interesting parts of the novel. It is really well written, feels perfectly researched, and it adds a lot of tension to the story. Through the trial, the author explores some of the most complex issues, such as nurture, identity and family violence.

However, the book is not perfect. There are some parts which are boring and, at times, unnecessary, as I see it. For example, there are long passages about Olivia’s work as a beekeeper. Personally, I don’t find this information particularly interesting, and I felt that it sometimes slowed the story down without adding much to the main plot.

Although some parts of the story are quite predictable, the novel still manages to surprise you. Some astute plot twists completely caught me off guard. I genuinely didn’t see them coming, and they were definitely some of my favourite reading junctures.

Overall, Mad Honey is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. Despite some slow and predictable points, its strong characters, multiple perspectives, and all the topics I mentioned at the beginning of the review make it well worth reading.

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Amazon

Jodi Picoult is an American bestselling author known for her thought-provoking novels, which often explore complex moral, social, and ethical issues. Born in 1966 in Long Island, New York, she studied creative writing at Princeton University before beginning her writing career. She has published more than twenty novels, many of which have become international bestsellers and have been adapted for film and television. Her works frequently focus on family relationships, justice, identity, and difficult moral dilemmas.

Wikipedia

Jennifer Finney Boylan is an American author, professor, and LGBTQ+ activist. Born in 1958 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, she is best known for her memoir She's Not There, which explores her experience of gender transition and became one of the first books by a transgender American author to reach a wide mainstream audience. She has also written several novels and nonfiction works and has been an active advocate for transgender rights and equality.