Abstract

Autofiction, as a literary mode that blends the autobiographical and fictional, has gained prominence in contemporary literature. This article examines its application in V. S. Naipaul’s The Enigma of Arrival, drawing on Alastair Fowler’s conceptualization of mode as a flexible concept. Additionally, it references Arnaud Schmitt’s Pragmatics of Autofiction, which outlines primary and secondary characteristics for identifying an “autofictional” text. By analyzing Naipaul’s text through this lens, this study demonstrates how the use of autofictional strategies such as self-fictionalization, metafictional self-reflexivity, and ambiguity serves to interrogate and reconfigure notions of identity and selfhood. The self-construction in the text is seen as an oscillation between factual recollection and fictional reinvention. The study also emphasizes the significant role of reception in autofiction, arguing that its effectiveness relies heavily on the reader’s ability to navigate through its ambiguities. Finally, this article contends that autofiction is not merely a hybrid genre but a dynamic mode of storytelling that reimagines the relationship between the self and narrative form. This analysis contributes to broader discussions on contemporary literature, identity formation, and the evolving nature of autobiographical writing.