A Harvard sophomore’s novel, which was pulled from the market last week after the author acknowledged mimicking portions of another writer’s work, appears to contain passages copied from a second author.
[…]
Last week, Little, Brown announced it would pull copies of “Opal” — which spent six weeks on the New York Times best-seller list — after dozens of similarities were found with two novels by Megan McCafferty.
Viswanathan acknowledged borrowing from McCafferty’s work but claimed it was unintentional.
Isn’t it always?
I can see certain similarities occurring from something someone read and something someone wrote, but dozens of such occurrences is more than coincidence. And given that two different sources are at issue here, the coincidence argument isn’t going to fly.
I have seen the comparisons between Mc Cafferty and Viswanathan. While numerous they strike me as exceedingly banal. If it is intellectual theft, it is petty theft. And there’s the rub, if she was really stealing why did she steal trash? I am reminded more of sloppy scholorship than incompetant plagarism. Writing fiction has its own pace and rhythym, did she get “caught up in the van?” Did her own forces over-run her?
My remark on theft could probably use quotes, I don’t remember if it’s exact, ‘there’s the rub’ is of course pure Shakespeare, but since I’m just commenting, what standards am I held to? There is little room in fiction for footnotes, and what fiction writers I know rarely think of them. The books in question apparently have similar plots, similar characters and similar philosophies. No one seems to mind that. It is admitted they are pretty much ‘formula chick lit.’ If Ms. Viswanathan truly does have an eiditic memory and her task is to produce more of the ’same old, same old’ (another chicken dinner only this time with curry) is she guilty of using someone else’s bbq sauce as a not so secret ingredient or is she guilty of merely not cleaning her bowl before using it to cook in?
My tendency is to believe this was a stupid act, negligent rather than criminal. Ms. Viswanathan seems quite intelligent, therefore her capacity for stupidity is also large. And where were all the professionals involved in the production of this catastrophe? Could it be they did not notice the ‘reproductions’ simply because they did not expect any true stylistic variance? After all, they did pay half a million dollars for a nineteen-year-old amatuer. They played with a kitten and she coughed up a hairball.
Comment by richard rollins — Tuesday, May 2, 2024 @ 10:48 am
Interesting to hear how the young author came up wiht her novel - she was sent to a novel “stylist” to help flesh out an “idea” for a novel into a full-length piece of fiction. Perhaps Little, Brown doesn’t want the whole world to know what a sham the book publishing industry is.
Much of the text is in French, and it was not uncommon around the time of the French Revolution for books to be covered in human skin.
The practice, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, was sometimes used in the 18th and 19th centuries when accounts of murder trials were bound in the killer’s skin.
Meet the latest children’s author, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, his co-protagonist in “My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C.”
Scholastic Inc. will release the book in May.
Ok, first off, I have a hard time thinking of Senator Kennedy as a children’s book author. But, ok–no reason why he can’t.
But second, does the man not have a publicist? I have known for a while that his dog was named “splash” but this is surely taking it to a whole new level.
It always struck me as, well, odd that he names his dog “Splash” in he first place–kind of like Nixon having a dog named “Plumber” or Clinton having a dog named….well, you can write your own joke…
I received A Feast for Crows for Christmas, and am about 100 pages into it (so far, so good). Ideally I should have re-read the first three volumes, but was too anxious to get to this one. However, given the lack of a synopsis (a gripe I share with Steve Bainbridge), I went looking for an online source to help me with the copious dramatis personae and the myriad plot threads.
Comment by clint — Friday, December 2, 2024 @ 4:29 pm
What Bad Book Am I?
Via PoliBlog take the WHAT BAD BOOK ARE YOU test. and go to mewing.net. not as good as reading a good book, but way better than a bad one. I’m not quite sure what to make of this result. Maybe just the fact that I’m old-fashioned….
Of the list, I have only read two. I am not much of a “mainstream fiction” kind of guy, and rarely read brand new stuff anyway (too cheap to plunk down the cash for brandnew hardcovers, unless it is something I have really been looking forward to).
My two:
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. By J. K. Rowling. Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. (Arthur A. Levine/ Scholastic, $29.99.) In this sixth volume of the epic series, the Dark Lord, Voldemort, is wreaking havoc throughout England and Harry, now 16, is more isolated than ever.
and
1776. By David McCullough. (Simon & Schuster, $32.) A lively work that skewers Washington’s pretensions and admires citizen soldiers.
Funny, I didn’t come away from 1776 feeling as if there was skewering, per se, of Washington–except the already well-establshed fact that he screwed up at New York and had to re-think his strategy against the British.
At any rate, I would recommend both.
Looking at the 2004 list, I note that I have read (actually amy just now finishing) only one book:
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. By Ron Chernow. (Penguin Press, $35.) A biography of the founder who created American capitalism and died in a duel with Aaron Burr.
From the more-than 100 in the 2003 list, I didn’t read a single one.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to read 1776 yet, but I have read many other books on the American Revolution and the key players.
While he was ambitious, I wouldn’t characterize Washington as pretentious, and he did have the virtue of “rethinking his strategy” as you put it.
Far too many people who claim they are our leaders do not, to our detriment. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that repetition of the same behavior expecting different results is insane.
Comment by Jack — Saturday, November 26, 2024 @ 10:13 am
I’ve read Harry Potter. I don’t think I’ve read any of the others on any of the 3 lists, although I’ve been trying to get Freakonomics from the local library. Unfortunately, at AP Govt. and Economics teacher at the local high school, a very good teacher BTW, has “strongly encouraged” her students to read it, so it’s been continuously since August. I have, however, read 4 of the Jack Aubrey series of books by Patrick O’Brian in the past month; I just decided it was time to fill in the gaps of what I’d read in that series.
Comment by Harry — Saturday, November 26, 2024 @ 11:23 am
For those who care, George R. R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows goes on sale today.
The Song of Fire and Ice series is perhaps the best fantasy series I have ever read, and hence am pleased that the current volume is finally completed. I am even tempted to go out and buy it, even though I have plenty of reading material on hand.
Of course, if Bantam wants to send me a review copy…
I will say that the online excerpt isn’t really awe-inspiring. If you haven’t read A Game of Thrones and you like fantasy, you must go get it now.
I also noticed that the new Wheel of Time book is in stores as well.
Knife of Dreams is reportedly, and so far in my first 200-odd pages estimation, more the kind of book we’ve been waiting for than, say, every one since Lord of Chaos.
Oddly, my sister loaned me the first Martin book and I didn’t get far without being bored to tears and putting it down. Considering some of what I have slogged through in the past, that’s pretty sad. Perhaps I’ll try again someday.
In fact, the last book I can remember doing the same with was Lord Foul’s Bane, to the point where I assumed the author wasn’t very good, leading a ftriend to buy me a copy of The Mirror of Her Dreams to prove me wrong.
Comment by Jay — Tuesday, November 8, 2024 @ 3:22 pm
Yes, I’m getting my copy throught the SF book club. Hopefully I’ll have it sometime next week. It is a fantastic series and, in my opinion, it’s the best stuff in the fantasy genre right now. Much better than the WoT stuff I’d say.
I have resisted buying A Feast for Crows this week. I am trying to hold out and get it Friday night to read over a few days of business travel.
I have finished Knife of Dreams. In some ways, it has been what many readers have been hoping for. It rapidly advances the plot, ties up a number of storylines, and gives you a sense that the Last Battle is right around the corner. The negatives included a feeling that the book was rushed in both the editing and also the vibe it gives. It felt like 2 books in one. All in all a great read.
I cannot wait to read A Feast for Crows. It will be nice to read something from Martin aside from his political musings on his website…
Comment by Dundare — Tuesday, November 8, 2024 @ 4:22 pm
I am astonished that her publisher has not given her the boot yet. What more is it going to take?
Comment by Mark — Tuesday, May 2, 2024 @ 10:06 am
I have seen the comparisons between Mc Cafferty and Viswanathan. While numerous they strike me as exceedingly banal. If it is intellectual theft, it is petty theft. And there’s the rub, if she was really stealing why did she steal trash? I am reminded more of sloppy scholorship than incompetant plagarism. Writing fiction has its own pace and rhythym, did she get “caught up in the van?” Did her own forces over-run her?
My remark on theft could probably use quotes, I don’t remember if it’s exact, ‘there’s the rub’ is of course pure Shakespeare, but since I’m just commenting, what standards am I held to? There is little room in fiction for footnotes, and what fiction writers I know rarely think of them. The books in question apparently have similar plots, similar characters and similar philosophies. No one seems to mind that. It is admitted they are pretty much ‘formula chick lit.’ If Ms. Viswanathan truly does have an eiditic memory and her task is to produce more of the ’same old, same old’ (another chicken dinner only this time with curry) is she guilty of using someone else’s bbq sauce as a not so secret ingredient or is she guilty of merely not cleaning her bowl before using it to cook in?
My tendency is to believe this was a stupid act, negligent rather than criminal. Ms. Viswanathan seems quite intelligent, therefore her capacity for stupidity is also large. And where were all the professionals involved in the production of this catastrophe? Could it be they did not notice the ‘reproductions’ simply because they did not expect any true stylistic variance? After all, they did pay half a million dollars for a nineteen-year-old amatuer. They played with a kitten and she coughed up a hairball.
Comment by richard rollins — Tuesday, May 2, 2024 @ 10:48 am
Interesting to hear how the young author came up wiht her novel - she was sent to a novel “stylist” to help flesh out an “idea” for a novel into a full-length piece of fiction. Perhaps Little, Brown doesn’t want the whole world to know what a sham the book publishing industry is.
Comment by bryan — Tuesday, May 2, 2024 @ 11:44 am