January 09, 2006

Fictitious autibiographies, fictitious authors. An interesting confluence of events--The Smoking Gun starts out looking for a nice mugshot of James Frey (author of the drug addiction memoir A Million Little Pieces) and discovers that real life just doesn't compare to the details in his book. At the same time, more stories on the identity of JT Leroy have popped up. What is worse, a fake memoir or a fake author? Or does it really matter as long as people enjoy the books?
posted by mandyman 18 years ago
  • I particularly like the Emily Chesley Reading Circle.
  • I'm not familiar at all with JT Leroy - I hadn't heard of him at all until I read that article in the guardian about him last week - but I don't really see the problem with having the fiction seep into the author. In the same way as it doesn't really matter if 50 Cent wasn't a drug dealer or David Bowie wasn't an alien I've never heard of James Frey at all. That smoking gun article is excellent, however.
  • What is worse, a fake memoir or a fake author? No, no. The question is, which is better?
  • I have to say, I find the whole collective propping JT Leroy up story far more interesting than a guy with wealthy parents making up stories about what a bad boy he was.
  • Well, I suppose it's a kind of alchemy. It's all well and good until he's exposed. Kind of like if I give you a slip of paper and convince you that it's a hundred dollar bill, as far as you're concerned, it's worth exactly that until someone convinces you otherwise.
  • the first article is pretty funny. A "bag of crack?" Come on, dude. I'm from the suburbs, I've never laid eyes on crack in my life, but I know it comes in VIALS. Watch a cop show, for God's sake...
  • "...but I know it comes in VIALS" Comes in little ziplock bags more often. Not that I would know anything about that.
  • Ha! A friend was telling me about this book a month or so ago. I was calling bullshit on it then. Root canal with no anesthesia, fought the cops, bags of crack; all of it sounds like those posers that try to sound hardcore. Like people trying to make up an acid trip, after never having experienced one.
  • The bags do keep in the freshness... "Wow! This is some FRESH crack!" "Actually, I made it three months ago!" "No way!" Anyhoo, despite only hearing about both of these cases a day ago, I can say without hesitation that the folks who are responsible for these frauds are pretty scummy, and it's unfortunate that the only thing they'll lose is their credibility.
  • I always see crack in vials and powder in baggies, but I could be wrong. I call also call at least partial BS on "hobo" by "eddy joe cotton." Some parts are just too good to be true, like when he finds "the catcher in the rye" on the ground but doesnt know what book it is b/c the covers are torn off (my copy has title printed at the top of every page)
  • ...but then I could be wrong. I'm always finding exactly the right symbolic book by the author I'm trying so desperately to imitate laying around on the ground.
  • Oh, man, I gave my mom that book for Christmas. Where were you a month ago, Monkeyfilter?!
  • On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog; but everybody knows when you're an asshole. The Internet goes analog.
  • Wolof - that one's really interesting.
  • While we're at it, here's a literary hoax from way way back.
  • Another! I knew more than one hippy who was totally bummed to learn this was fake.
  • Serial hoaxer
  • And who can forget Ern Malley?
  • The Hitler Diaries.
  • A hoaxer and a fictitious author are not necessarily the same thing. Tempting to say any author who uses a pseudonym is a fictitious author, at least in one sense. But then, all writers of fiction are also fictitious authors, in yet another sense.
  • On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog; but everybody knows when you're an asshole On the Internet, nobody can hear your fictitious self scream. In all seriousness, am I the only one thinking this guy is a complete douchebag and should be taken back to the woodshed by a couple REAL convicts?
  • ...by which I mean, they should force him to split and stack wood ALL DAY.
  • I agree. Definite douchebag.
  • Grey Owl
  • God.
  • They should write a book about this scam.
  • And the reason we should care is???? Not to be an ass, but who cares if this guy no one has ever heard of made stuff up? If it were a politician or even a celebrity then I can see people caring because they bought the book to learn about someone specific. Did people buy A Million Little Pieces because they wanted to read about James Frey? Or did they buy it because they heard it was a good book?
  • Richard Patrick Russ.
  • Well, there is a reason why the separate out the fiction and non-fiction sections of the library and book store. I just mean that, when you read a memoir, you expect it to at least glance at the truth. I guess that's why I think it's worse that the author of a non-fiction book made stuff up than a fiction book having a made-up author.
  • Did people buy A Million Little Pieces because they wanted to read about James Frey? Or did they buy it because they heard it was a good book? The people I know that bought the book did so because they thought it was a true story.