True Story
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Editors, Journalists, Publishers
3.7
(76)
Michael Finkel
The true story of a disgraced journalist, the accused murderer who stole his identity, and their complex friendship—now a major motion picture. In 2001, Mike Finkel was on top of the world: young, talented, and recently promoted to a plum job at the New York Times Magazine. Then he made an irremediable slip: Under pressure to keep producing blockbuster stories, he fabricated parts of an article. Caught and excommunicated from the Times, he retreated to his home in Montana, swearing off any contact with the media. Then he got a call from the San Francisco Chronicle—and Mike was thrust back into the news cycle in a way no one could have anticipated.In Waldport, Oregon, Christian Longo had killed his young wife and three children and dumped their bodies into the bay. With a stolen credit card, he fled south, making his way to Cancun, where he lived for several weeks under an assumed identity: Michael Finkel, journalist for the New York Times.True Story is the tale of a bizarre collision between fact and fiction, and a meditation on the slippery nature of truth. When Finkel contacts Longo in jail, they begin a close and complex relationship. Over the course of a year, Finkel’s dogged pursuit of the true story pays off only at the end, in the gripping trial scenes in which Longo, after a lifetime of deception, finally tells the whole truth. Or so he says.
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Author
Michael Finkel
Pages
336
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2015-06-09
ISBN
0062436465 9780062436467
Community ReviewsSee all
"A deep dive sociologically and culturally into the reality tv world that was very much appreciated by this self described reality tv junkie. There were some very interesting and at times obscure cuts from back in the day (does anyone else remember My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding or is it just me?!). The only thing on the negative side for me was that there were maybe a bit too many references to long dead sociologists that didn’t on the whole to be relevant to some of the topics that the author was discussing. Also, it lagged a bit in parts towards the end. With that being said, I think like most people who have seen their fair share of this genre of television, you will definitely gain something from this book after reading it, if only a new list of shows to add to your watch list. <br/><br/>Here’s the best line in the book that summarizes the concept of reality tv really well: “What we experience as reality, is not universal and static but a shifting amalgam like Countess LuAnn. Who and what get to be seen as legitimate? Who takes a seat within the core of society, and who is confined to the margins? What constitutes an authentic family or a real childhood? Who’s allowed to be mean? How do we think about women and sexuality and racial minorities and wealth and our own bodies and what’s tasteful and what’s not? Reality television teaches us how the categories and meanings we us to organize our worlds are built on unsteady ground.” <br/><br/>Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this eARC copy ❤️"
Erin Smith