Memoir Writing and Ethics - Essex County

In the NPR interview, Frank Stasio talks of the news that the memoir, "A Million Little Pieces" by James Fry, was not 100% fact, and that much of it was fabricated, borrowed and expanded upon.  After interviewing a few folks, the prime argument is that when reading a book that claims to be a memoir, the reader believes it (as well they should) to be true, whereas, when a book is labeled as Non Fiction, the reader just takes it for what it is, and rolls with it.  I can get behind this, and perhaps if I were reading a memoir which I had close emotional attachment to (like some may with "A Million Little Pieces") I may feel more strongly about finding what that what I believed was true, was in fact, a lie, or someone else's story to tell.  If anything, I would no longer trust the author of the book, and if the writing was good, I'd probably still read his or her work, but wouldn't believe that things were true even if the author said so.

Jeff Lemire's, Essex County, is a fantastic story with characters who weave together to create a whole "family tree" so to speak.  Often, I found myself sort of saying, "Ahhhh..." as one character's life made way for another character's life, and I was intrigued by all of it; the story telling was phenomenal and kept my attention.  I felt sad for many of the characters, and those who I felt okay about, I had moments where I felt sad for them too.  This isn't a bad thing at all, the characters were just relatable and easy to empathize with.  Would I be super bummed out if I learned that Lemire borrowed this story and made things up?  Not at all, the writing and the illustrations are so good that I'd just think, "well, that guy makes up some fascinating stuff."

Again, if I was reading a memoir about an adopted kid from Central America, and learned that the author made it all up, maybe I'd be a hint upset, but it would only be fleeting and then I'd be okay with it.  I guess I don't feel like I know published authors well enough to get offended by their mistakes, and lies.  When I open a book, I read it for the story, if it's true, great; if not, that's great too.