"Maxine'izing" Your Research

I never trained as a reporter, but I try to find the truth and adhere to it. Life is simpler that way. But I also like to add color and references to my writing. Thus, when I began my review of Marian Henley's THE SHINIEST JEWEL: A Family Love Story for The Internet Review of Books with ...

We all know about graphic novels — okay, yes, they’re the 21st century comic book equivalent to Classics Illustrated, which were the literature crib notes of my generation. But the cover of The Shiniest Jewel, “a memoir written and illustrated by Marian Henley,” announces that the genre has moved from science fiction, fantasy, and superhero heroics toward something more serious.

The author is the creator of “Maxine,” an acerbic cartoon wherein a fan might read such bons mots as “Family reunions really make you sit back and appreciate those other 51 weekends.”

One minor problem: I learned today that the "Maxine" is not the acerbic "Maxine" I quoted twice in the review.

No, Ms. Henley's "Maxine" is younger, and "different in tone and intention."

I am embarrassed. It was a stupid mistake, one made because I deliberately did not want to learn too much about cartoonist's career as a graphic artist before I undertook to read and review the memoir.

That's no justification or excuse, I know. What must be said is "I apologize."

I did. And I promised myself what must be done next time is better research.

Can't Anybody Here Tell the Truth?

Another memoir author is in the news for ... well, writing a novel and calling it a memoir. From a story in the New York Times ...

In Love and Consequences, a critically acclaimed memoir published last week, Margaret B. Jones wrote about her life as a half-white, half-Native American girl growing up in South-Central Los Angeles as a foster child among gang-bangers, running drugs for the Bloods ... The problem is none of it is true.

What is especially interesting is a comment from the editor who was deceived.

Ms. McGrath said that she had numerous conversations with Ms. Seltzer about being truthful. "She seems to be very, very naïve," Ms. McGrath said. "There was a way to do this book honestly and have it be just as compelling."

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• William Zinsser, author of the classic guide On Writing Well, talks to Michele Norris about the challenges of writing personal history.
• Truth or Lie: Fiction vs. Memoir--How Memoir Writers Can Approach Truth and Healing
• How Memories Become Memoirs - Walt Harrington Talks about the Reported Memoir

A Million Little Wolves

PARIS (Reuters) - The author of a bestselling autobiography that told the story of a young Jewish girl saved by wolves while hiding from the Nazis in wartime Europe has admitted that most of the story was made up.

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Her lawyer, Marc Uyttendaele wrote ... "In other words, it matters little whether the account is real or partly allegorical, it is the product of absolute good faith, a cry of suffering and an act of courage. In that it deserves only respect."

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• Other links on the story ...