The Miserable Truth

I'm trying to give the people what they want, so what the heck do I do with the truth? 😬

“There are many ways of telling a secret, by which a man exempts himself from the reproaches of his conscience, and gratifies his pride, without suffering himself to believe that he impairs his virtue.”

Samuel Johnson, The Rambler No. 13

The most common question asked of an author is invariably the most discomfiting.

‘Was that all true?’.

The customary source is a satisfied viewer, floating like a balloon before its inflator and seeking the final filling puff. As a writer, it galls me to think that the only honest answer will deflate. The most accurate response is ‘no’.

I’ve been inspired to denounce myself in solidarity with Mike Daisey, one of America’s premiere storytellers, who is currently performing a lengthy public penance at a theatre in New York.

Daisey soared to attention on the back of a later discredited monologue in which he visits China and bears witness to the vile conditions under which Apple products are alleged to be manufactured¹. The key moments of the story, that is t…