Wednesday 3 May, 2006

Plagarism?

Here is Malcom Gladwell on the latest plagarism scandal in the States. While there is no doubt Viswanathan's a shoddy and lazy writer, I think he's right that her borrowing of material is getting blown out of proportion. What would happen to most popular song writers if these kind of standards were applied? And the fashion industry?

Part of Gladwell's point is that Viswanathan's novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, is a genre book. Her publisher, Little Brown dumped her a few days ago. The more substantial charges against her relate to her use of work by Megan McCafferty's. Here's an example (via Gawker ) of her 'plagarising' of a second author, Sophie Kinsella.

Kinsella: "In a full-scale argument about animal rights," one character says, "The mink like being made into coats." Viswanathan: In a "a full-fledged debate over animal rights," one character says, "The foxes want to be made into scarves."

Here's another example, via the New York Times

'Mr. Ramakrishnan [a blogger] had noticed a similarity between pious aphorisms scribbled onto posters by a character in Ms. Viswanathan's book ("If from drink you get your thrill, take precaution, write your will" and "All the dangerous drug abusers end up safe as total losers") and passages from the 1990 book "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" by Salman Rushdie. A chapter titled "The Mail Coach" in Mr. Rushdie's book depicts a series of rhyming road signs, including two that read, "If from speed you get your thrill, take precaution, make your will" and "All the dangerous overtakers end up safe at the undertaker's." To be fair, of course, rhyming road-safety signs are common along India's expressways, so Mr. Rushdie was himself borrowing on a theme. But like everything else, even this minute similarity -- homage? remix? rip-off? -- became part of the ceaseless compare-and-contrast debate.'

There would be half a dozen travel writers just back from India who would have used the road signs in their articles as well. They're irresistable.

Anyway, it seems to me that people are confusing an indifferent writer, who has done what many, many writers have done before her, with a criminal. The girl's an easy target. All bloggers, journalists and writers beware - you may be next.

Update: It seems Gladwell is backing down though I don't think I am. Trying to finetune my iritation into an article for New Matilda next week. I think what's bugging me is that publishers are not encouraging original work, and want every book to be like every other book, but not, well, you know TOO like it.

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