<p>[Author</a> admits acclaimed memoir is fantasy - International Herald Tribune](<a href=“http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/04/arts/04fake.php]Author”>http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/04/arts/04fake.php)</p>
<p>I don’t really care if something is fiction or fact- if the story is good as long as it doesn’t slander any real people, I think fiction can actually be * truer* than fact if that makes sense.
A well crafted novel or short story can get through the extraneous bluck, that clouds our vision. I think it is a shame that people with something to share, feel the need to tart up their perspective to get published.</p>
<p>I read Education of Little Tree for example, before the author was found to have been an active participant in the KKK, before he attempted to hide his past.
It really didn’t take away from the book for me- because after all- even if we have experienced the exact same memory- we all are going to remember something different.
What he had to say spoke to a part of me & I accepted that.</p>
<p>Same with [Opal]( <a href=“http://intersect.uoregon.edu/opal/”>http://intersect.uoregon.edu/opal/</a>), whether it was written by Opal Whiteley as a young girl- or manufactured as some believed, it still is a great story.</p>
<p>I find it amazing that the publisher did not fact check even the easiest “facts” in her story. I have no sympathy for this author and think she should have to repay the $100,000 advance, but I also have absolutely no sympathy for the publisher or the editor because true stories that are going to be marketed as such should be FACT checked. A Million Little Pieces should have taught them that much.</p>
<p>I think it’s a real problem that publishers only want memoirs, so it tempts people to lie. It’s too bad she didn’t just write it as a novel inspired by her work experiences.</p>
<p>this is the third in as many days, one from the white house (and it matters not what his party was)</p>
<p>it is amazing how far these people can get by either plagerizing or faking their stories</p>
<p>Makes one wonder about more stuff that is out there</p>
<p>That she chose a photo of herself for publicity and, presumably, the book jacket-- full face forward, along with the child-- confident that no one recognize her? Interesting that her sister is the one who shopped her. I feel sure she will have to return the advance. I don’t even believe half of what’s written in the newspapers, much less in memoirs. Even those that are supposedly true are based on no more than the author’s selective memories.</p>