Saturday, March 17, 2007

David Sedaris is James Frey?

 

The New Republic March 19th issue says humorist David Sedaris plays loosey-goosey with the facts.

[Here's the Slate summary]

A piece fact-checks the collected writings of essayist David Sedaris and turns up more than a few half-truths. In a passage from his book Naked, Sedaris describes an elderly mental patient rising from a gurney to "sink her remaining three teeth into my forearm." This incident never happened. The author argues that Sedaris might not deserve "the James Frey treatment" but also doesn't deserve the label "non-fiction."

I'm not sure I understand the controversy.  Hello?  The guy is a humorist, not a historian. 

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