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| L.A. Times 3/1/08 |
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An article
in the L.A. Times (March 1, 2008) caught my eye. It seems a Belgian
writer has admitted that she made up her best selling "memoir"
depicting how, as a Jewish child, she lived with a pack of wolves in
the woods during the Holocaust. Misha Defonseca's book, "Misha: A
Memoire of the Holocaust Years" had been translated into eighteen
languages and was even made into a feature film in France. It's a
story of survival. It's a story of the horrors of the Holocaust. And
it's also a figment of her imagination.
This offends me on many levels. Firstly, as a Jew. The Holocaust was heinous enough without people making things up.
It
offends me as a writer. When we write fiction, we hope to make a
connection with the human spirit. And when we write fact, we strive to
make sure our story is drenched in verisimilitude.
But most
importantly, it offends me as someone who was indeed raised by wolves.
I'm sure my lupine mother is turning in her shallow grave as word
leaked out about Mrs. Defonseca's spurious story.
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| My Mother, Doris |
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I called a
friend of mine as soon as the news broke. He was raised by an American
Black Bear, and they lived in a cave not too far from ours. He hadn't
seen the story and was as shocked as I was at Misha's fabrication. All
of us who have been raised by wild animals share in this
disappointment. My sister (raised by racoons) choked on an acorn when
I told her.
Defonsca joins the pantheon of others, most notably
James Frey whose bogus bio, "A Million Little Pieces" nearly brought
down our beloved Oprah when she championed his sham of a "shocking true
story." These counterfeiters must be stopped. They put an ireasable
stain on all those who write poignant autobiographies, from "One Small
Schlep," the true story of the first man to walk on the moon (my Uncle
Irwin) to "Going, Going Gone," the memoir of the man who hit eighty-six
home runs in the 2006 Major League Baseball Season (my cousin David
Solomon).
We who have been raised by wolves (and there are
hundreds of us) take umbrage. Ignore the posers. Listen to our
stories. They're real. And reality is the backbone of the genre.
Steve Rudnick
3/2/08
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