I would like to study children's drawings. That's where the truth lies, without a doubt. --André Derain

The most striking contradiction of our civilization is the fundamental reverence for truth which we profess and the thorough-going disregard for it which we practice. --Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Fiction or nonfiction?

Maybe you've read about the flap over James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces. I haven't read the book, but I've read several reviews on blogs and one in print in the Wall Street Journal. If you haven't come across it yet, it seems that Frey has apparently made up most of the story, based on some true episodes in his life, and is passing the story off as nonfiction. The publishers are saying the book reflects his perceptions, etc., so it qualifies as memoir, but a few people have checked the facts and they appear to be distorted beyond recognition or possibly even made up. That sounds like fiction to me. The buzz is that the book is an inspiring story of rehabilitation. Maybe it wouldn't seem so inspiring if it were presented as fiction--and more importantly, maybe it wouldn't sell as well. Sounds to me like deficiencies in writer's and publisher's ethics. If a story isn't true, it's fiction....isn't it?

Here's something from the New York Times: Writer Says He Made Up Some Details. I'm interested to see what the Author's Guild has to say about it.