Just came across this fascinating, and very well written op-ed piece in the New York Times about the surge in popularity of memoirs. In many ways it’s a response to the controversy stirred up by James Frey and his ‘autobiography’ that The Smoking Gun discovered was mostly made up.
I’ve also recently had the joy of a number of intelligent discussions about this topic, and I think the New York Times piece does an exceptional job of cutting through the circus surrounding this instance of someone masquerading fiction as fact.
Truer Than Fact - New York Times
Fiction writers work tremendously hard to make things that are patently untrue seem as true as possible. “Let me tell you a story that isn’t true,” beckons the fiction writer, “and I will show you some of the truest things you’ll ever know.” A good novel is an out-of-self experience. It lifts you off the ground so that you have the sensation of flying. It says, Look at the world around you; learn from the people in these pages, neither quite me nor quite you, how life is lived in so many different ways. A memoir says, Look at me; learn from me how one life has been lived. That solipsistic focus has its place; it, too, can move and inspire, but only fiction can give us faith that we all have the imaginative capability to understand any number of stories not our own, especially the stories of people who never would or could write a memoir.
My take is that it’s terribly disheartening to see the written word being devalued to the point that it is (and I really don’t think I need to point to literacy rates to back-up or explain that). With that in mind I look at the actions of James Frey and feel like the concept of ‘fiction’ is taking another hit by being compared so negatively to ‘reality’ especially as these concepts relate to the form of a book.
By causing a scandal like this, attention is being drawn to the world of publishing that it quite frankly doesn’t need. Unless of course there is any hope of a ‘backlash’ from this incident compelling people to seek out fiction again.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:13 pm
I recently spoke with an individual who read this book, then purchased another copy for her daughter and son-in-law (twenty sometime year olds) to point out the ramifications of taking this type of road.
Current revelations of fact turning into fiction soured her vision and purpose.
It is sad when someone makes life much more than it really is! Actually, real life is much more fascinating than fiction as long as it is told with an honest heart.