If you read nothing else....

[campbellconey]

You must read Tim Carver's editorial in today's New York Times, written in response to the fraudulent memoirs of yore.

Just to whet your appetite:

"IT is with great sorrow, and no small amount of embarrassment, that I must confess to some inadvertent errors, omissions and elisions in my best-selling memoir, "A Brief History of Tim." In the wake

Comments

[tigerlixalot]

Steve and I actually watch the Oprah when Frey was the guest, and his mother was in the audiance. After watching the show, we both wanted to read the book.

Honestly, whith all the hype...does it really matter? I asked Steve yesterday, "so what? does it make his book any less of a great read"? I mean, are all memoirs 100%, ever? Maybe I'm ignorant on this, but I still want to read the book...

This post, just made me laugh. Thanks.

[campbellconey]

I know. In many ways I don't think it matters, especially since much of the work is still true. I saw that same episode with Oprah and it is that episode that in fact makes me feel that it DOES matter...because all of those people were confessing things about their lives and telling how his honesty and candor helped them to face their own life situation, when in fact he was quite dishonest, and it was not candor but fiction.

I almost bought the book last night, but instead got ACTUAL fictional memoirs, this time, of a geisha.

[tigerlixalot]

I completely see your point. Did he ever admit to the "facts" being wrong?

[campbellconey]

I don't think he has yet, but they've pretty much proven that he was never charged with any felonies, and spent no time in prison.

[campbellconey]

YES.

And I was thinking too, it's like, if he was lying about that, what else was he lying about.

I don't think it was done with ill intent (like the JT Leroy thing) but I think honestly his real life on its own with out fabrication probalby would have been just as gripping.

Many writers base their fiction on themselves and we call it fiction. He should go with that.