Thursday, December 07, 2006

at the bottom of the barrel, some rotting wood and a shovel

An old lawsuit against Augusten Burroughs from the family portrayed in his bestselling memoir, Running with Scissors, will be the subject of an article in January's Vanity Fair.
The Turcotte family (called the Finches in Burroughs' book) alleges that the book "not only included harmful inaccuracies and embellishments, but also failed to effectively conceal the family's identity.
The author of the Vanity Fair piece Buzz Bissinger also writes that "the author, with the full complicity of the publisher, literally has fabricated events that never happened and manufactured controversy that never occurred." The Turcottes claim this was done to make the book more sensational and, by extension, more commercial.
The family decided to pursue legal action upon learning that an upcoming film based on the book would mean that their story would "not be slipping into obscurity anytime soon."
It's a pointless chicken or egg argument, but if memoirs are tweaked for commercial purposes, then the reality portrayed in them ceases to hold any power. No matter as long as the checks clear, I guess.
Perhaps some really good deceptive fiction? (also being filmed)
I mean novels are entirely made up, right?

Posted by Dave

No comments:

Related Posts with Thumbnails