Memoirs & Lies
So, there's been some debate amongst people about so many memoirs. A lot of them turn out to be partly false, exaggerated, fabricated, embellished, whatever. And then there's a scandal. Oprah freaks out and wants a public apology from James Frey and everyone loses their cool.
Well now, the same thing is happened with Ishmael Beah, who wrote a memoir about his life in Sierra Leone as a child soldier. I haven't read the book, because time hasn't permitted, but I do want to eventually. People are slowly tearing apart the book to see if it's all accurate and true and some people are claiming that it is grossly exaggerated. There are three Australian reporters who have some doubts about the book. You can read more about that whole upset right here.
What I want to explore and ask is the following: If a memoir like Beah's - which exposes and details quite a horrid aspect of this world - turns out to be fabricated or exaggerated, is it rendered void? Should we stop listening to it because it's exaggerated? Could it simply be turned around into a work of fiction? Would that have the same impact on others?
Let me know what you think.
Personally, I think lying sucks, but I also think that a memoir is just that, it's a memoir. It's not a biography. Do you think there's a difference?
I think Beah's book, however accurate it is, should be looked at intensely regardless of its accuracy. It may not be Beah's story in the end, but it is someone's. The plight of child soldiers is not fabricated and people shouldn't stop caring just because of a book scandal.
Sound off with comments.
Well now, the same thing is happened with Ishmael Beah, who wrote a memoir about his life in Sierra Leone as a child soldier. I haven't read the book, because time hasn't permitted, but I do want to eventually. People are slowly tearing apart the book to see if it's all accurate and true and some people are claiming that it is grossly exaggerated. There are three Australian reporters who have some doubts about the book. You can read more about that whole upset right here.
What I want to explore and ask is the following: If a memoir like Beah's - which exposes and details quite a horrid aspect of this world - turns out to be fabricated or exaggerated, is it rendered void? Should we stop listening to it because it's exaggerated? Could it simply be turned around into a work of fiction? Would that have the same impact on others?
Let me know what you think.
Personally, I think lying sucks, but I also think that a memoir is just that, it's a memoir. It's not a biography. Do you think there's a difference?
I think Beah's book, however accurate it is, should be looked at intensely regardless of its accuracy. It may not be Beah's story in the end, but it is someone's. The plight of child soldiers is not fabricated and people shouldn't stop caring just because of a book scandal.
Sound off with comments.