By classifying the book a novel, Eggers says, he freed himself to re-create conversations, streamline complex relationships, add relevant detail and manipulate time and space in helpful ways—all while maintaining the essential truthfulness of the storytelling.
By classifying the book as a novel, Eggers enabled himself to re-create dialogue, simplify relationships, incorporate details, and manipulate chronology and geography in a manner that remained faithful to the story's essential accuracy.