Just finished The Legend of Colton H Bryant

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

A lot of those Amazon reviewers are authors' shills. With only three, all five stars, it's a good bet they all are.

poke, go on there and give her a one star. I like the one you did for us. Funny as hell. Just copy it over there and give her a one star. Wreck her average. You'll be the only "objective" reviewer, maybe the only one who actually read the book.

I have to wait 24 hours before I can post a review since I didn't have my own account and had to open one. I'll post a link when her average is wrecked.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by landpoke

Ehh, after sleeping on it I think I'll pass on making any further comments other than to point out that in the acknowledgments the author claims the book is a work of non-fiction. She then proceeds to tell us she has changed the time line around, enhanced those portions of the protagonist's personality that suited her and jettisoned those that didn't and "recreated" dialogue. Which, of course, is exactly what you do when writing a work of non-fiction.

To paraphrase Denny Green, she is who I thought she was and the book is what I thought it was.

Just today I heard an interview with David Saderis on NPR where he admitted doing this all the time and calling it non-fiction. He said basically, "So what? What is truth anyway?" He's hugely annoyed that there's a genre called "creative non-fiction" now. He says he publishes stuff all the time he knows is peppered with fictions and calls it non-fiction. He thinks people got mad at James Frey over nothing.

I felt like I was in the CG religion section.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Just today I heard an interview with David Saderis on NPR where he admitted doing this all the time and calling it non-fiction. He said basically, "So what? What is truth anyway?" He's hugely annoyed that there's a genre called "creative non-fiction" now. He says he publishes stuff all the time he knows is peppered with fictions and calls it non-fiction. He thinks people got mad at James Frey over nothing.

I felt like I was in the CG religion section.

What is your take on it? Does it bother you?

It bothers me.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by landpoke

I have to wait 24 hours before I can post a review since I didn't have my own account and had to open one. I'll post a link when her average is wrecked.

I will read good reviews and post my own review, implying that I read the book, if you post a bad review, in the style of Su.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Archaea

What is your take on it? Does it bother you?

It bothers me.

Yes, it bothers me. They should just call it fiction, like Capote did In Cold Blood.

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I will read good reviews and post my own review, implying that I read the book, if you post a bad review, in the style of Su.

How very Cougarboard of you.

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Yes, it bothers me. They should just call it fiction, like Capote did In Cold Blood.

I agree. Take a book like The Killer Angels. Would anyone consider that non-fiction? Its subject matter occurred, but nobody argues that the conversations therein are anything but the author's own supposition.

Same deal here. She took the life of a rig hand, made up a bunch of crap that she would have liked for him to have said and then passes it off as the truth. All in the service of her anti-energy agenda. I doubt her subject matter would have agreed in any way, shape or form with the crap she's peddling.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by landpoke

I agree. Take a book like The Killer Angels. Would anyone consider that non-fiction? It's subject matter occurred, but nobody argues that the conversations therein are anything but the author's own supposition.

Same deal here. She took the life of a rig hand, made up a bunch of crap that she would have liked for him to have said and then passes it off as the truth. All in the service of her anti-energy agenda. I doubt her subject matter would have agreed in any way, shape or form with the crap she's peddling.

What I don't get is there's no shame in calling your work fiction, as Capote realized. The fiction norms, employed by a master able to employ and take them to their frontiers, have the capacity to plumb truths inaccessible by work legitimately called non-fiction. Each has its place, but calling fiction non-fiction is just plain lying.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by landpoke

How very Cougarboard of you.

Immerse yourself deep into the depths of CG posts and you'll fully understand why Mike is punching SU in the gut.

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

Immerse yourself deep into the depths of CG posts and you'll fully understand why Mike is punching SU in the gut.

Would it be worth my time or would I get the same effect by assuming somebody done somebody wrong at some point setting off an endless cycle of metaphoric murder and recrimination?