In case you haven't heard, mes auteurs, it's looking like Greg Mortenson may have made up a lot of stuff in his books, Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools, and now Jon Krakauer is calling him out on it. (You can download Krakauer's .pdf book, Three Cups of Deceit, for free for a limited time.)
The problem of partially fabricated memoirs isn't new to the industry; you probably remember Margaret B. Jones' Love and Consequences, which was found to be totally fraudulent not long after it was published, as well as the much more infamous "memoir" by James Frey, A Million Little Pieces, which was also (much) less than honest (the Daily Beast mentions both here).
Now, the allegations of fiscal misappropriation against Mortenson aside—as I think that's a very different, and far more serious, question—do you think it matters if the/a story is true or not? Does "memoir" mean "fact," or does it mean "how I remember it, which may or may not be super true"?
If this seriously offends/bothers you (it seriously offends/bothers me), what do you think publishers can do to remedy the situation (besides the easy and vague answer of "do a better job of fact-checking")? What actions should be taken against house and author, and should/how can we differentiate between memoirs that are "mostly true," "somewhat true," "fraudulent," &c &c?
Theories, questions, and diatribes in the comments!
I think it's false advertising. If it's fiction, sell it as fiction. I understand "names changed to protect the innocent" and all that, but a gross misrepresentation of fact should stay where it belongs...in the halls of congress.
ReplyDelete#notintendedtobeafactualstatement
I don't think the industry cares that much for generic distinctions, memoir vs. novel. Edmund Morris got around the problem by saying "I'm writing a memoir except for this large bit over here that I've written as a good-faith estimation based on my research and interviews." Everyone got up in arms at the time, but it was certainly an honest solution to a tricky problem.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the underlying assumption has been that memoir=true-if-clouded-by-memory, but with James Frey it's become much murkier - if only as a marketing gimmick. Not that I think the Mortenson case comes into that, just that it'll stir up the murk even more.
The industry's job is to sell books and make money. Sometimes scandals help that, and if our old definitions of what is "fact" and "fiction" go by the wayside, I doubt it'll be particularly concerned.
It doesn't bother me if the stories in the book are not true. I think that's true of a lot of memoir.
ReplyDeleteIf the author's not really building schools for Afghan girls with the money raised by his charity-- that bothers me a lot.
I'm with Karen. There is always some wiggle room in memoir. It's the allegations of misappropriation of funds that disturb me.
ReplyDeleteJohn Hersey's monumental story of the Warsaw Ghetto, THE WALL, was written as a "found" journal. Readers starting at the preface are told it is a journal that he preserved, and he signs the preface as "the editor." Only if you read the small print on the copyright page do you come upon the disclaimer that reads, more or less, "This is a work of fiction. Its 'journal' is a hoax." THE WALL is one of the most underappreciated (today) novels of the mid-twentieth century, I think far better than his more famous HIROSHIMA and A BELL FOR ADANO. But some probably read it as memoir, not seeing the disclaimer or knowing that Hersey was a novelist. The book was made into a Broadway play starring a young George C. Scott. The book is well worth reading today. It is, I think, a staggeringly great work of fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe charity thing bothers me much more. As far as memoirs, I've read a few novels that seemed like memoirs to me (first person, realistic, etc) so it doesn't bother me. Memoirs have dialogue, and most of that has to be contrived. No one remembers dialogue exactly. And most dialogue in real life is boring anyway.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone should start a literary category called "fiction memoirs." :)
If these allegations didn't carry the much weightier problem of misallocation of funds, I doubt the fudging of truth in his books would bother many people. I expect that in a memoir, a series of events will be compressed into one revelation and multiple people will be combined into a single representative character. Still, beneath it all there should be a core truth--in his books, the schools were that truth. If he's not really building schools, then he lied on many, many levels.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that bothered by truth-stretching for the purpose of entertainment. After all, when Henny Youngman said "take my wife, please" he probably didn't mean he wanted somebody to run off with his wife. David Sedaris certainly does some truth bending. The problem comes if somebody gets wrongly maligned, which may have happened here. There's a big difference between a kidnapper and a welcoming host. And if the charity thing is true--that's where I'd really worry.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rick in comment #1. I couldn't have put that any better myself.
ReplyDeleteIf Mortensen marketed the very same book as fiction, the parts that are true could open him up to being sued by real people who feel they aren't represented favorably.
ReplyDeleteI guess the moral of the story is to either always tell the truth and call it a memoir or make the whole damn thing up and call it fiction.
The largest issue is if he has misappropriated funds from the charity. Having said that, while I accept that a memoir is always told through a filter that may result in a difference in opinions of how something happened or a condensed time frame- the fact that large portions of his book are now in doubt are an issue to me. He says he was kidnapped. To me that is not something that you may interpret differently. If that isn't what happened then it's a lie. Or fiction if you prefer.
ReplyDeleteI have the naive expectation that memoir is factual. Sure, my brother and I may have had a different experience and now recollection of watching dolphins jump in Key Largo, but we were there, dolphins jumped. I agree with Rick. If it's not true, call it fiction and market it as such. Anything consciously deviating from that feels deceitful and clearly blows any trust of the author and casts a shadow on the house.
ReplyDeletePeople can get details wrong in memoir, for sure. They can mix up dates, and or the sequence of events. But, that's not the same as making shit up, which is what It sounds like Mortenson may have been doing. Somehow it isn't a surprise to hear that Mortenson is accused of misappropriate of funds in addition to lying about the events of his life.
ReplyDeleteMisappropriation of funds: thief.
ReplyDeleteMisrepresentation of truth: liar.
Being chosen as a must read in schools: horrible.
Mortenson offends me on many levels because I write both fiction and memoir and strive for accuracy and realism in both venues.
I don't think I could even write a factual memoir. I've been making it up as I go along for years.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the question of what publishers can do to remedy the situation: I don’t see why publishers should be held accountable for inaccuracy in a memoir. They are as much victims of deceit/faulty memory as the reading public. The most they can be expected to do is publish an editorial disclaimer stating they haven’t checked the facts. (Interesting to speculate on what publishing accountability would do to vanity publishers’ profit margins.)
ReplyDeleteI could accept "How I remember it," but there is a big difference between being hazy on a few of the details and outright lying. He may go to jail for fraud and I'd be okay with that.
ReplyDeleteIf the allegations are true, this is very serious, and very sad. Most publishers asked about this issue say that it's up to the author to fact-check. Is that because they don't have the personnel or don't want the responsibility? I love reading memoir and the allegations against Mortenson will not shake that. I know that not every single word of a memoir is necessarily unvarnished truth. The human memory is a slippery thing. Small details...exact dialogue, et cetera...are not as important as getting the big stuff right. Yes, the disclaimers in upcoming books will be interesting...
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why I have done extensive research and have all the documentation needed to prove that my memoir is indeed " a true story". This documentation will be provided to my publisher.
ReplyDeleteI do think there should be a disclaimer of some type in memoir in the foreword, on the back cover, or somewhere stating "this is a true account", or "this is an account based on the memory of the author" or something like that to differentiate truth and half truth.
Bottom line for me-a memoir should be a "true story" even if the author's memory is fuzzy-it should be true, otherwise call it something else-like "fiction-based on a true story".
My two bits.
Thanks Eric.
I expect memoir to be very close to the truth. I understand that not everyone recalls an event the same, but it seems like there are lots of facts in question here. Sounds like the money issue needs a lot more investigation.
ReplyDeleteI assume some leeway in a memoir - but more along the hazy, that's the way I remember line, rather than just making stuff up. The Frey thing never bothered me. This bothers me quite a bit because the author is making things up with an emotional content that serves as an appeal for money. It's not simply a story to sell books, but to encourage people to support a cause. If he made the beginning up, then the concept falls apart. The charity aspect of it infuriates me because how it was targeted to and taken up by kids. We've had many a Pennies for Peace drive in our schools, and I am angry if these kids have basically been swindled.
ReplyDeleteI read about this in USA Today and I was very surprised to read that the publisher has basically washed their hands of all this stuff about his book being less than truthful.
ReplyDeleteI'm a brunette but I'm with the 'Dumb Blonde Author' when it comes to expecting a memoir to be truthful. If it's not, then it feels like an intent to mislead readers unless there is a disclaimer stating that it is fiction written in memoir format.
ReplyDeleteCarol Garvin
If something is billed as a "true story," then all attempts should be made to ensure that it is as truthful as possible. Opinions, memories and perspectives may alter the "truth" to some degree, but the intent should be to tell the truth and not just use it as a marketing gimmick. Not sure what the legal consequences should be though...that always seems to be a slippery slope.
ReplyDelete