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Iraqi blog is up for literary prize | by Kickstart | 2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
| This reminds me... |
by esbita |
2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
...over the furor of the book "I, Rigoberta Menchu."
Riverbend is a very good writer, but I'm going to take what she says with a grain of salt, as long as she stays anonymous and away from PUBLIC scrutiny of her story (not just the claims of a publisher). I can respect her wish to stay anonymous, but I'm not going to totally "buy" the story unless it holds up under the limelight.
A publisher goes after what sells, not necessarily the truth. And it is very tempting to believe or discredit a work based on if it agrees with or threatens your political stance.
I minored in Spanish. I didn't go for a second major in it because of all the political BS spouted by the profs. "I, Rigoberta Menchu" has been questioned/discredited for years, but students coming out of the Spanish department unreservedly thought it was true, hadn't considered or hadn't been told of the exaggeration or inconsistencies. The profs in the article SAY they will talk about the controversy, but I've seen enough Spanish profs to tell you where the slant will lean.
And you know what? It's really too bad. In the attempt to paint a certain picture and capture certain sympathies, you shoot yourself and the genre in the foot if you're not writing a credible account. Rather than change the minds of the doubters, you give them more ammo. So no, I'm not going to hazard whether the young lady is "legit" just from her writings and a money-motivated publisher. |
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