Geez, what are writers thinking? A fake memoir of the Holocaust? Seriously?! That's not good, people. A fake memoir about gang life in Los Angeles? Yikes. The famed James Frey book, a fictionalized account of drug abuse? That's not good either. Slushpile takes a look at this troubling new genre and the LA Times gives a full list of memorable literary hoaxes including a Native American who wasn't, an HIV-positive former drug addict who wasn't and a covert agent for Britain's Special Air Services in Afghanistan, who, well, wasn't.
You'd think if the authors were truly happy with their work they would just market the books as fictional memoirs. I currently reading "Born Twice" by Giuseppe Pontiggia, a book I found as a direct result of this blog (posting from 12/19/07... thanks by the way). It's written in the style of a memoir, but at no point ever claims to be an account of actual events. Just sayin' is all... :-D
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