Fabricating and embellishing

[Libra]

Is it ok because "part" of the story is true?
Just like James Frey's A Million Little pieces among others as stated in the article,another fabricated story,well part of it.

Read

The publisher of a disputed Holocaust memoir has canceled the book, adding the name Herman Rosenblat to an increasingly long line of literary fakers and bringing down with a crash his story — embraced by Oprah Winfrey among others — of meeting his future wife at a Nazi concentration camp.
Rosenblat's Angel at the Fence had been scheduled to come out in February, but Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), withdrew the memoir Saturday following allegations by scholars, friends and family members that his tale was untrue.

"Berkley Books is canceling publication of Angel at the Fence after receiving new information from Herman Rosenblat's agent, Andrea Hurst," the publisher said in a statement. "Berkley will demand that the author and the agent return all money that they have received for this work."

A couple of days earlier, Berkley had offered a qualified defense of the book, saying it was a work of memory, a story whose truth was known only to the author.

Rosenblat, 79, a resident of the Miami area, was virtually unknown to the general public until the 1990s when he began speaking of how he came to know his wife, Roma Radzicky. According to Rosenblat and his wife, he was a prisoner at a sub-camp of Buchenwald in Nazi Germany and she a young Jewish girl whose family was pretending to be Christian and lived nearby.


For months, they would meet on opposite sides of a barbed-wire fence, where she would sneak him apples and bread. Rosenblat was then transferred to another camp and the two lost touch, until the 1950s, when they were reunited by accident — on a blind date — in New York. They soon married and earlier this year celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

The Rosenblats were interviewed twice over the years by Winfrey, who has called their romance "the single greatest love story ... we've ever told on the air." They have inspired a children's book and a feature film adaptation is scheduled to begin next year.

Unlike such fake Holocaust memoirists as Misha Defonseca (Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years ) and Benjamin Wilkomirski (Fragments ), Rosenblat is indeed a survivor and records prove that he was at the Buchenwald camp.

But scholars doubted his story, noting that the layout of the sub-camp made such an encounter at the fence virtually unthinkable (They would have met right by an SS barracks). A recent article in The New Republic quoted friends and family members who were outraged by Rosenblat, so much so that one of his brothers stopped speaking to him.

The cancellation is sure to outrage survivors and scholars, who have worried that Rosenblat would encourage Holocaust deniers, and likely revive the debate over why publishers don't fact check books. Even after such fabrications as James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.

Penguin has already had to break ties with two authors this year.

In March, the publisher pulled Margaret B. Jones' Love and Consequences after the author acknowledged she had invented her story of befriending gang members in South-Central Los Angeles. One month later, Penguin parted with romance writer Cassie Edwards over allegations that she had lifted numerous passages from other sources."

 

[Disenthral]

HEH this makes me think, i wen through a period where i was obsessed with all things Jack London. Read all his books and his bio then bios people wrote on him. Apparently he made a lot of stuff up about his trips and journeys. And even claimed once when a storm came into a bay to personally pilot every ship in the harbor out of danger. :lol: made me laugh outloud reading it. But he was an alcoholic no one ever mentions him writing while drunk, but i assume he did. Made me laugh but made me kinda annoyed at the same time that a writer i liked sooo much was kind of a fake.

Its to be assumed most non fiction books will be less exciting.. Guess sometimes people feel the need to add more, but to me it makes me turned off onto there nonfiction writing.

ALSO
im drunk
rambling...

 

[beer good]

Personally, I think there must be a space for mixing truth and fiction in the same work. It's what writers have been doing since the dawn of time (or did you think The Iliad was a historically correct representation of the battle of Troy?)

The problem comes when the reading public become so incredibly horny for True Stories that The Truth becomes the single most important aspect of a book; when a badly-written true story is considered superior to a well-written novel. Obviously, then, writers and publishers will be looking to fill that demand, they'll market their books accordingly, and like good consumers the readers will buy them as advertised; cue vicious circle. Then if it turns out that the True Story!!! is actually not 100.0% true - as in the case of Frey - they'll howl for his blood. The important part, after all, isn't whether a book is good or not; it's whether this exact thing actually happened in this exact way to some guy I'd never heard about before, even if it has no impact on me personally at all.

 

[Landslide]

I think this would all be avoided if the authors just said "this book was inspired by actual events that happened to me but it also has fiction in it". They wouldn't be lying and their books would most likely still be published.

 

[Isabell]

The Expected One is a fiction book, but the author, Kathleen McGowen, was only able to publish it because she agreed to have it publishes as such. However, after is was released, she went on a media blitz to tell the story of how it was a true story and it's about her family lineage. She claims to be the descendent of Christ. HAHA

abc7chicago.com: The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan 9/26/06

 

[sparkchaser]

The Expected One is a fiction book, but the author, Kathleen McGowen, was only able to publish it because she agreed to have it publishes as such. However, after is was released, she went on a media blitz to tell the story of how it was a true story and it's about her family lineage. She claims to be the descendent of Christ. HAHA

abc7chicago.com: The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan 9/26/06

Did you read it? :whistling:

 

[Isabell]

Did you read it? :whistling:

Sadly, I did and it was terrible. I sat on vacation in Wisconsin on the back porch of our camper and read it.

Sooo sad

 

[sparkchaser]

Sadly, I did and it was terrible. I sat on vacation in Wisconsin on the back porch of our camper and read it.

Sooo sad

I expect to see your review on my desk by Friday.

 

[beer good]

The Expected One is a fiction book, but the author, Kathleen McGowen, was only able to publish it because she agreed to have it publishes as such. However, after is was released, she went on a media blitz to tell the story of how it was a true story and it's about her family lineage. She claims to be the descendent of Christ. HAHA

abc7chicago.com: The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan 9/26/06

I believe the proper response to that claim is "walk across my swimming pool."

 

[Isabell]

I expect to see your review on my desk by Friday.

Bite me! I'm not wasting my time writing about it

 

[sparkchaser]

Bite me!

OK :whistling:

 

[Libra]

Personally, I think there must be a space for mixing truth and fiction in the same work. It's what writers have been doing since the dawn of time (or did you think The Iliad was a historically correct representation of the battle of Troy?)

I agree that there must be space for mixing truth and fiction,what I get upset about is the fact that they lie to get sympathy.They take advantage of people's sympathies to get their story out. What would have been so wrong like Landslide stated, to say it was inspired by actual events?

My opinion is that even ,James Frey,(yes,he could be a great writer...)if he had done this,it would give others in his shoes to be encouraged to get clean.Be a model to others who are going through hard times.Instead he played the sympathy card ,for money.

As for the Iliad,very cute,at least you wrote something I know a little bit about (and I appreciate it),to get your point through but The Iliad is under Literature/Fiction and Homer didn't come and claim otherwise.

The problem comes when the reading public become so incredibly horny for True Stories that The Truth becomes the single most important aspect of a book; when a badly-written true story is considered superior to a well-written novel. Obviously, then, writers and publishers will be looking to fill that demand, they'll market their books accordingly, and like good consumers the readers will buy them as advertised; cue vicious circle. Then if it turns out that the True Story!!! is actually not 100.0% true - as in the case of Frey - they'll howl for his blood. The important part, after all, isn't whether a book is good or not; it's whether this exact thing actually happened in this exact way to some guy I'd never heard about before, even if it has no impact on me personally at all.

I am not even going to go where I want with this comment.
So you don't mind reading a book that was claimed as The Truth,and then come to find out ...well,wasn't the whole truth...just as long as it was well written? Like a good Fiction Novel I guess.

I think this would all be avoided if the authors just said "this book was inspired by actual events that happened to me but it also has fiction in it". They wouldn't be lying and their books would most likely still be published.

My point exacly.

 

[Peder]

I think this would all be avoided if the authors just said "this book was inspired by actual events that happened to me but it also has fiction in it". They wouldn't be lying and their books would most likely still be published.

Actually, if he had said that there would have been one less person who bought the book. I was specifically counting on learning factual information about the treatment process he alleged to have experienced. I don't disagree especially with the general point you make, but there were those of us who had a legitimate right to be disappointed and to have felt swindled.

 

[kella]

Bite me! I'm not wasting my time writing about it

Haha

Nice one

 

[Occlith]

Is it ok because "part" of the story is true?

It is not okay by me. I read a memoir/autobiography expecting it to be an account of someones life. I'm sure most are written in a way to make a more interesting read, but lying and adding events that never occurred are fiction and have no place in a "memoir".

 

[beer good]

As for the Iliad,very cute,at least you wrote something I know a little bit about (and I appreciate it),to get your point through but The Iliad is under Literature/Fiction and Homer didn't come and claim otherwise.

Today it is, yes. How do you know what Homer claimed? What about the readers and writers - Virgil springs to mind - who treated it as an actual historical account? (I'd remark that there are other mythical writings from the same age that some people consider 100% reliable as historical accounts today, but that's another issue...) The division into fiction and non-fiction, as if there were a watertight wall between them, is a pretty modern concept. But that's a long long post that I don't have time for right now I'm afraid; I'd recommend Karen Armstrong's A Short History of Myth.

I am not even going to go where I want with this comment.
So you don't mind reading a book that was claimed as The Truth,and then come to find out ...well,wasn't the whole truth...just as long as it was well written? Like a good Fiction Novel I guess.

*shrug* I don't read books because they claim to be BASED ON A TRUE STORY. In fact, I tend to avoid books that have that as their sole selling point. If I do read them, I do so with the knowledge that no memoir is ever going to be the whole truth. It's always going to be one person's view of things - or rather, what they remember (hence "memoir") of it. For instance, Bob Dylan's memoir Chronicles is most likely 25% fiction and 75% slight distortion of the truth. It's still a fine book, that says a lot about the writer even if the facts aren't necessarily reliable.

I think this would all be avoided if the authors just said "this book was inspired by actual events that happened to me but it also has fiction in it". They wouldn't be lying and their books would most likely still be published.

Agreed, but are you sure they would still be published? As I recall, Frey, for instance, was explicitly told that they wouldn't sell his book as a novel; as a TRUE STORY, on the other hand...

All I'm saying is that before we start accusing writers and publishers of taking advantage of the poor unsuspecting public by peddling lies - and I'm not saying they're right to do so - I'd just like to ask: Why this sudden demand over the past 10-20 years for True Stories Of Overcoming Hardship by people whose sole claim to fame is having overcome hardship? Why do we demand authenticity in literature? Why is true/false the only relevant dimension? If you want to read facts, grab something written by an expert with footnotes and a bibliography at the end. Literature is about capturing an experience, not cold dry facts.

The problem with writing a post like this is that it feels woefully short. I have a feeling I'm not coming close to explaining my point. I'll get back to this.

 

[Landslide]

I'd just like to ask: Why this sudden demand over the past 10-20 years for True Stories Of Overcoming Hardship by people whose sole claim to fame is having overcome hardship? Why do we demand authenticity in literature? Why is true/false the only relevant dimension?

Personally, I'm not even a very big fan of non-fiction. If I want reality I'll just watch the news... What upsets me is being lied to. I usually buy a book because the story appeals to me. If they claim it to be a true story and I find out it's made up, I just feel tricked...

 

[kella]

Sadly, I did and it was terrible. I sat on vacation in Wisconsin on the back porch of our camper and read it.

Sooo sad

Thanks for the heads up.

Hopefully the vacation was good.

 

[Libra]

Today it is, yes. How do you know what Homer claimed? What about the readers and writers - Virgil springs to mind - who treated it as an actual historical account? (I'd remark that there are other mythical writings from the same age that some people consider 100% reliable as historical accounts today, but that's another issue...) The division into fiction and non-fiction, as if there were a watertight wall between them, is a pretty modern concept. But that's a long long post that I don't have time for right now I'm afraid; I'd recommend Karen Armstrong's A Short History of Myth.

Scholars to this day are still debating about Homer,and his epic poems.Was it exacly like he wrote? Probably not,but good writing comes in play with his works.With that said beergood,nobody has proven or admited what was a lie and what was truth to Homer's poems. So,I would read such a book with the notion that it will be a "watertight wall between fiction and non-fiction".

On the other hand Frey and others advertised their books for being the truth to what they have been through.If,for example ,a leaf is written as "green" when really it was "dark green",it does not change the feel of the real story and the struggles mentioned,but when someone says (Rosenblat)he met his wife in a concentration camp and she lived in a close by village,she would sneak him apples and bread but come to find out he really met her in New York,well that in my opinion,is not right.

Literature is about capturing an experience, not cold dry facts.
The problem with writing a post like this is that it feels woefully short. I have a feeling I'm not coming close to explaining my point. I'll get back to this.

I understand the point you are trying to make because reading Speak Memory I understood "capturing an experience"but are we to consider all books like fiction then? or when we buy a non-fiction or a memoir we should be prepared that maybe it's a non fiction?

 

[Wells83]

I think this would all be avoided if the authors just said "this book was inspired by actual events that happened to me but it also has fiction in it". They wouldn't be lying and their books would most likely still be published.

It's not usually that easy. James Frey actually attempted to market A Million Little Pieces as fiction but it was repeatedly turned down. Tt wasn't until he agreed to have it published as a memoir that the book was published. personally, I think it's discouraging that so much is made of labeling a book. Frey wrote a really great book but that fact was hidden by all the controversy that surrounded the book. Does the label given a book change, in any way, the value of the book? To me, the answer should be no, and is personally no, but for many readers, the label on a book makes a big difference.