Biography Puzzle

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2008-10-10 Word Count: 541 Category: Book Reviews

Biography Puzzle

In todays time the genre of biography (and autobiography) have have floodedthe market and we see a host of these books that capture the life story of everyone ranging from sports stars to film stars to people who are essentially nobodies and then back again.

Part of the lure of autobiography and biography is that people read about those they admire. The amazing success of Lance Armstrong’s book is evidence that a man (or a woman) who inspires the masses can write a book that has a similar effect. I know of people who claim to have worn out copies of Armstrong’s book, and never cease to be inspired by its contents.

Just as Don Quixote brought about the end of the romance, so it seems that Ashley Cole may have brought the life story crashing to it’s knees. People were going to wake up at some stage and realise that, at the end of the day, footballers in particular very rarely have anything to say that is in any way remarkable. Ronaldo, for example, had a book out last year, admittedly the man has been through some difficult personal times, but worthy of writing a book at the age of 21, I think not.

Another interesting facet of the biography phenomenon is the outrage that emerges when someone admits that the content of his or her book wasn’t altogether true. Not so long ago an author admitted to lying in his biography and was consequently dropped by his publisher, agent and vilified on national television. Much of the interest in biography and its power over people seems to be in the inspiration that the readers get from reading about how other people have triumphed over adversity. The outrage that this particular author experienced when it was revealed that his story wasn’t altogether true is testament to how much it matters to people.

Autobiography is something of a curse, as is ghost writing. There is a strong argument that suggests that if you are not capable of writing your own biography, then you’re probably not in a position to say anything particularly remarkable or interesting about your life or anyone else’s. If footballers had to write their own biographies one suspects that there would be a significant reduction in the number of biographies on the shelves.

On the other hand, why should we suspect that any of these autobiographies are true? After all they are written by individuals who have their own, subjective, interpretation of events. Just about everyone else who was present at these events might state that they were grossly inaccurate but that doesn’t seem to matter particularly.

Biography is an abused genre. Its worth has been watered down by fifteen-minute celebrities and self-righteous footballers who barely deserve comment. Those sorts of books should be used as doorstops at best and firelighters at worst, and not worthy of consideration. Their existence sullies the name of biographies that are genuinely worth reading, stories of people who have done incredible things or survived horrors most people couldn’t imagine. As the old cliché says: if you haven’t got anything worth saying, don’t say anything at all.

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