The Scandal that Wasn't

“Ever since Martel won Britain’s prestigious Man Booker Prize last month for ‘The Life of Pi,’ charges of plagiarism and intellectual theft have swirled around him. But as damning as the accusations may sound, the controversy reflects more poorly on those who have propagated it than on Martel. The brouhaha provides less insight into the ethics of literary creation than the way the media can spead false claims….. The Times’ description of the books made the case seem open and shut: Martel’s book told ‘the story of an Indian youth who survives a shipwreck and finds himself occupying a lifeboat with a tiger,’ while Scliar’s was ‘the tale of a Jewish youth who survives a shipwreck and ends up sharing a lifeboat with a panther.'” J. Peder Zane

—The Scandal that Wasn’tNews Observer)

From the conclusion of the above news story: “Like television talking heads, they found it easier to shoot from the lip than flip open a book. Accountability is a two-way street. Sadly, errors often have a longer life than corrections. Even when the record is set straight, I fear a cloud will hang over Martel and his book.”