a rant.

We all remember the case of James Frey, who wrote a "memoir," which turned out to be not so true in that it was only "loosely" based on his life. He was ridiculed and scorned, having disappointed so many readers and even worse, Oprah.
You would think people would have learned from this lesson: If you want to write a story that's only mildly based on your life, don't call it a memoir unless you have a receipt from the night you spent in jail. Call it fiction - people love fiction! Why is there a need to call a perfectly good and in fact, well-written story a memoir?
Late last week, I read, what I thought was, a very compelling article in the Times about a young female author, who was raised among gangs in Los Angeles. The article discussed how far she'd come from those days - going to college, raising a daughter, and now publishing a memoir, which chronicles her once dangerous life -- it had already been widely praised and for crying out loud, she got a profile piece in the new york freakin times.
Turns out, it was all a lie. She actually went to private school in the suburbs and wrote her book sitting in a cozy starbucks, guzzling lattes and devouring scones (ok, i made that last part up). Why did she have to lie? I STILL would have wanted to read the book if I knew it wasn't necessarily how her life had been led, verbatim. In fact, isn't that why we read? To go to a world, which isn't ours? which was created by someone talented and imaginative?
I'm disappointed. I really wanted to read that book. Now, not so much and not because I know it's not a memoir but because she's a liar and a cheat, or something.
That's where you come in. I need a good book(s) recommendation to fill the gap that has now been created. If you check this blog, it means you know how to read so you must have suggestions...that's why there is a comments section!

Read more about this story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/books/04fake.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin