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Originally Posted by Jyqm
Okay, so again: What's the difference? What difference does that make?
(Sorry if it seems like I'm repeating myself or beating you over the head with this, but it's an honest question. I read novels and memoirs more or less in the same way, and I'm interested in what the difference is for some people.)
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When I read novels, I don't expect to read something that the author is trying to pass off as reality to me. When I read nonfiction, I expect the works to have enough truth to them to be respectable and deserving of the label "nonfiction." I don't expect the author to invent entire criminal records, prison stays, drug offenses, involvements in train accidents, and tense meetings in rehab about how they're going to deal with all of the things they've supposedly done. It's deceptive and unfair to the reader.
Just last night on Larry King, he said that he wrote of cutting his cheek when, in reality, he "fell down, [his] lower teeth tore up my lip and penetrated it in two separate places." When pressed by King as to why, he said "Because it's a lot easier than saying over and over again that I cut the area between my lower lip and my chin." That answer made me wonder if he was still lighting that crackpipe up. He had no reason to invent all of these things or exaggerate these things unless his actual story wasn't all that interesting to begin with. Don't tell me it's 100% true when it's 75% bull****.