It's funny 'cause it's true-ish

Slate has a decent rundown of the recent dustup around all things Sedaris.
It seems even North Carolina needs a hand being funny once in awhile, so the truth is helped along a bit.
Much loved and genuinely talented, Sedaris says his nonfiction stories "are both true and exaggerated," and that some license is no big deal. I don't have a dog in this fight, but the San Fransisco Chronicle rightly points out that perhaps the real reason this matters is,
"nonfiction sells a lot more than fiction. For many readers, books must have some sort of utilitarian purpose -- you have to learn something "real" from it -- and they don't see any point in investing their scarce free time in reading make-believe. It's an ironically ignorant stance, but it exists. Publishers or agents, by calling a work nonfiction that isn't, are hoping certain readers will be more likely to pick it up."
That would be funny if it weren't so depressing.

Posted by Dave