Comments on: Memoir Hoaxes caused by Publishers Favouring ‘Fact’ over Fiction http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/ Musings on the Book, Literature, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Collecting, Media, Life and the Arts, and Audio Interviews from The Biblio File radio program pertaining to same by a writer, broadcaster, bibliophile. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:06:37 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-44466 Nigel Beale Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:04:18 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-44466 <p>Sylvia: Thanks for your comment. I think it's a left/right brain thing. Misplaced faith in 'facts'</p><p>Brian: Thanks. I notice that you hail from the Sunshine Coast. My father used to model for an artist's workshop there several times a year. I look forward to checking out your site.  </p> Sylvia: Thanks for your comment. I think it’s a left/right brain thing. Misplaced faith in ‘facts’

Brian: Thanks. I notice that you hail from the Sunshine Coast. My father used to model for an artist’s workshop there several times a year. I look forward to checking out your site.  

]]> By: Brian Palmu http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-44465 Brian Palmu Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:44:35 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-44465 Good initial post, Nigel. From it: "Fiction, because of its power to put the reader into the lives of others, to convey deep emotional turmoil and harmony, to illicit empathy, to ignite powerful feelings in the reader, is just as truthful as fact, and its impact often more profound." This gets at the heart of the matter. I would even say " 'more' truthful than 'fact' ". Too many people don't see that the path of discriminatory imagination leads to more profundity, more depth,  than a catch-all rendering of disorganized "reality" bereft of metaphor and context. Good initial post, Nigel. From it:
"Fiction, because of its power to put the reader into the lives of others, to convey deep emotional turmoil and harmony, to illicit empathy, to ignite powerful feelings in the reader, is just as truthful as fact, and its impact often more profound."
This gets at the heart of the matter. I would even say " ‘more’ truthful than ‘fact’ ". Too many people don’t see that the path of discriminatory imagination leads to more profundity, more depth,  than a catch-all rendering of disorganized "reality" bereft of metaphor and context.

]]> By: Sylvia http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-43778 Sylvia Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:38:03 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-43778 Hi Nigel. Thanks for the link (above). I think you've hit the nail on the head here. I've heard that men in particular don't like to read fiction because it's not "real." Where do you think this chaivinism for reality comes from? Can we really blame it on reality TV? Hi Nigel. Thanks for the link (above). I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here. I’ve heard that men in particular don’t like to read fiction because it’s not "real." Where do you think this chaivinism for reality comes from? Can we really blame it on reality TV?

]]> By: Antonio http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-43159 Antonio Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:51:46 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-43159 Maybe is the sign of the times, like TV audiences watching “reality shows” instead of fiction series. People like the real thing although they get nothing like that... It’s like in the Bible: Jesus walking on water is supposedly a fact, not fiction.     Maybe is
the sign of the times, like TV audiences watching “reality shows” instead of fiction
series. People like the real thing although they get nothing like that… It’s
like in the Bible: Jesus walking on water is supposedly a fact, not fiction.    

]]> By: Amateur Reader http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-43156 Amateur Reader Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:27:48 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-43156 Reviewers should declare that all non-fiction books published by Doubleday, etc, etc will from now on be reviewed as if they were novels. We'll still be left with SA's complaint, reviewers and readers praising hackwork as "lyrical prose". Reviewers should declare that all non-fiction books published by Doubleday, etc, etc will from now on be reviewed as if they were novels.
We’ll still be left with SA’s complaint, reviewers and readers praising hackwork as "lyrical prose".

]]> By: Steven Augustine http://nigelbeale.com/2008/03/06/memoir-hoaxes-caused-by-publishers-favouring-fact-over-fiction/comment-page-1/#comment-43149 Steven Augustine Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:27:45 +0000 http://nigelbeale.com/?p=751#comment-43149 The shocking aspect of the Frey case was not the so-called "lying" (is it really a "lie" when the story is too preposterous for any rational adult to swallow?) but the terrible, terrible writing... and the fact that may readers, even today, claim the truth of Frey's tale is irrelevant, since it's the *quality of the writing* that counts.  Baffling. Funnier still how the apparent bar for "realism" in fiction is higher than that for non-fiction, these days. (Note to self: finish that Alien Abduction-themed autobiography...) The shocking aspect of the Frey case was not the so-called "lying" (is it really a "lie" when the story is too preposterous for any rational adult to swallow?) but the terrible, terrible writing… and the fact that may readers, even today, claim the truth of Frey’s tale is irrelevant, since it’s the *quality of the writing* that counts.  Baffling.
Funnier still how the apparent bar for "realism" in fiction is higher than that for non-fiction, these days. (Note to self: finish that Alien Abduction-themed autobiography…)

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