A Million Little Pieces Of Crap
Would you believe I still want to read the book? In spite of all the controversy this guy wrote something that really struck a nerve with people. That being said, what upsets me is it's hard enough to have credibility as a writer as it is without having people "embellish" the truth. I keep hearing how there needs to be a higher standard in publishing. My understanding of memoir was that it wasn't a genre meant to be taken as biography, but with a little more poetic license.
UPDATE: Read the article that got the fire started from The Smoking Gun.
posted by Out Of Jersey | 10:44 AM
9 Comments:
I've heard of it: but I haven't heard MUCH.
What's it about?
Sticky situation there with the liscense that an author can take when writing a story. Where is the line between fiction and biography? Does memoir mean that the entire work is truth or the author's version of truth in the overall scheme of the story?
Those are the thoughts of literary minded people.
The masses are a bit harder to understand, they flocked to this book because Oprah recommended it (she has become quite a literary giant in her own right it seems)and purchased it in droves, pushing it to the top of the best seller list. Then when it came out that not all the "facts" were factual they still bought it but at the same time complained about the fine line of truth and storytelling. Oprah got in on the waffling herself, at once supporting then taking him to task. So the question remains, is this book a good product? Does it tell a good story? Are you willing to give some in the area of factual truth so that a story can be told?
I guess it depends on what the reader wants to get out of the book. If you are reading for enjoyment of a story, then I guess there is no problem. But if you want to study the actual experiences and actions of a person who went through this, the the "embellishments" are going to totally thwart that study.
If you wanta real book on addiction....
hee hee (mindless self promotion of my own book)
but steve will possibly be one of the writers hurt by this incident. If his book is published, people with question the accuracy, the plot points, especially because it is similar in the story that it tells.
I haven't heard of it. I must get out of this box once in a while!
Steph,
IT was a book that was supposed be about a guys drug addiction, arrest, and redemption. He said it was true and really happened to him. Obviously it's a lie.
Krist,
We can venture to guess until the cows come home why he did it. What I do know is he got caught in a lie and just kept running with it.
Katie
You are absolutely right. Memoirs tend to take a lot more licenses than say a biography or other non fiction. But he came out saying it is entirely true, which is where it hurt him.
Steve,
How do we know it's the truth? hmm?
Kristi
Embellishing is one thing, he out right lied on many points. In fact he was trying to first sell the book as a novel before he went with calling it a memoir.
I had just started reading this when the controversy arose, so I've been following the story closely. It's so ridiculous overall. Why would he do that? I don't feel betrayed or anything, the way some people do, but it just seems unnecessary. Was it really worth risking his reputation, and the reputation of all memoirs, to have his story be a little more exciting?? And if so, why not then just write a book loosely based on your experiences and call it fiction? It just seems like such a waste...
Frankie,
I actually want to read it more now that it's proven to be bogus than I did when I thought it was true. Because this guy had to write something pretty well to get people so riled up. Fame can make people do wierd things. I saw a report on ghost writers that there are a lot of famous authors who don't really write the books themselves, but hire ghost writers to do most of the work.
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