Early in his writing career, Wideman was cautious about explicitly using names, people, or events from his own experience. After The Lynchers Wideman became more forthright about the origins of his fiction, admitting and then fully exploring autobiographical elements. But in this novel Wideman is still operating with what he calls "a very conservative idea" about what is appropriate to reveal. He may be using places from Pittsburgh or characters from his life as a student or his travels in Europe; in some passages he clearly utilizes his knowledge of basketball.

But the novel is not grounded in a particular place with recurrent characters the way his later books are.

One aspect of the book which runs throughout much of Wideman's work is the link between fact and fiction. In The Lynchers this link occurs early in the book, where the "Matter Prefatory" gives excerpts from...