Cane River is an example of historical metafiction. In general, the broader genre of historical fiction uses the tools of storytelling to bring a time period to life. More specifically, while writers of historical metafiction still aim to tell a story rooted in a particular historical period, they also include elements that call attention to the constructed nature of that story and, by extension, of all historical narratives. Prime examples of historical metafiction can be seen in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and A.S. Byatt’s Possession, as both of these novels tell a richer story of a specific time frame by highlighting key events and filling in the gaps in the official record.

Lalita Tademy also follows this tradition, incorporating historical documents and photos in her fictionalized narrative of the lives of enslaved women and of Black women who lived during the Post-Reconstruction era. Tademy’s focus on historical metafiction is also made explicit in her author’s note, where she closes with the hope that she has “captured the essence of truth, if not always the progression of fact” (xv). By foregrounding the arduous research process that helped her to produce the narrative, Tademy deliberately reveals the constructed nature of the novel, and this effect is heightened by her choice to feature key documents alongside the fictional narrative in order to tell a fuller story than mere history can provide.

In the record of Philomene’s baptism (71), for example, there are three documents—the two-page letter from Gurtie Fredieu, Tademy’s cousin, with one spelling of Philomene’s name; the baptism record with another spelling; and a note that the record itself includes an error in the mother’s name. These contradictory documents are placed in the midst of a constructed narrative that never represents the baptism but does represent what came before and after in some detail. In moments like these, Tademy demonstrates that the only way to do justice to the lived reality of the women in her family line is to blend historical records with an imaginative story structure.