The Fabulist. S Glass Fiction. Hardback. 339 pages. 2003. Simon & Schuster. New York. ISBN: 0 7432-2712-3

"Fabulist" - as defined by The Concise Oxford Dictionary: n. composer of fables; liar.


Preamble
I came across this book sitting pristinely on the new arrivals rack at the local library and grabbed it. At first I thought it was a real-life account of the events which took place, but it is a work of fiction. However, as Stephen Glass (whose protagonist has the same name) explains, much of his personal experience is woven into the story.

Story
Steve Glass, a journalist in his mid-twenties, works for a local Washington newspaper. His life is good: successful career, lovely girlfriend, nice apartment, etc. But all that changes one day when Robert, Steve's stuffy boss, calls him into his office for a "Please Explain".

[NB: For non-Australian readers, this term was first coined back in the mid-1990s when Pauline Hanson, the then leader of the controversial One-Nation Party, was asked by a reporter if she was xenophobic. Her terse response - "Please explain!"- has now become a part of accepted Ozzie vernacular.]

Steve's worst fears are realised when Robert reveals that a rival paper has questioned the veracity of his stories.

How It's Done
In the Author's Note which precedes the main text, Stephen Glass gives a summary of the novel, explaining why he was fired from his job at New Republic, and expressing regret for his actions. The book is divided into five sections or chapters, each with a significant title, each beginning with the same letter (if this is significant, I don't know why): Downfall, Debacle, Dossier, Desperation, Denouement.

The opening lines of Chapter One grab the reader's attention immediately:

A spectacular crash, I've learned, is the quickest way to incredible accomplishment. In the summer of 1998, when I was twenty five years old and sure of where I was going in the world, I suddenly became both Washington's most disgraced journalist and its fastest-rising star. It actually happened in that order: fall first, rise second.

The novel traces Steve's life after he is fired and his unsympathetic girlfriend, Allison, has given him the boot. Pursued by reporters, he becomes the prey instead of predator, identifying now with those he once chased just as mercilessly. Shunned by friends and ex-colleagues alike, he goes to stay with his parents in Chicago, before disappearing into the Washington suburbs to live alone, exorcise his demons and deal with what he has done.

The interesting paradox is that while Steve has dreamed up fantastic stories and people, passing them off as reality, the new life he embarks on proves to be even more weird. He finds himself in strange situations (pretending to be a deaf passenger on an airplane, while - through a quirk of circumstance - wearing bin liners in place of underpants; playing an endless game of hide and seek with vengeful journalists; working as supervisor to two oddballs in a video store - the list goes on). These are the most amusing pieces in the story and balance the more serious aspects ofjournalistic integrity, pathological lying, and the desire to be accepted and loved at any cost.

The rapidity with which a successful reporter can fall from grace is matched only by the avidity of his rivals to bring him down even further. Steve comes to embody the public's mistrust of the journalists as a whole, and learns what it feels like to be on the receiving end of unwelcome and relentless media attention.

Another offshoot of Steve's journey of penance and self-discovery is the renewal of interest in his Jewish roots. This, together with a new love interest who arrives on the scene, guides him towards a certain inner peace and self-acceptance. I felt that some of the Jewish characters (especially the elderly ladies) border on the stereotype, whereas his descriptions of journos, supportive family members, friends, etc. are believable and realistic.

At the end of the book, Steve is a step closer to rectifying the situation and getting on with his life, although still bearing a huge burden of guilt and shame, by learning to deal with his compulsive lying and being true to himself, rather than living up to others' expectations.

Glass's prose is lively, engaging and often very humorous, but lapses occasionally into introspection, which causes the story to sag in places. On the one hand, he gives entertaining and witty descriptions of confrontations and encounters with different characters - journalists who are out to interview him at all costs, strange people (girlfriends, work colleagues, neighbours) - which have the reader gagging with laughter. On the other, he is at pains to explain the reasons for his actions, and these intermittent sessions of self-examination tend to detract from the storyline.

Because the author's name is the same as the protagonist's, this makes the reader little uncomfortable, voyeuristic even. However this could be his intention, since one of the book's main themes (apart from that of lying) is that of media intrusion into people's privacy and it could be that the book is a kind of catharsis through which he has confronted his problem and laid it bare for the world to see and judge.

Conclusion
While the novel starts off strongly, and draws the reader in with some very funny sequences and action, it starts to pall somewhere in the middle, almost as if the author can't decide whether this is invention or reality, confession or entertainment.

Overall, though, the book is interesting because it exposes the workings of journalism and shows how easily ethics and integrity can be swept aside for the sake of a good story.

Worth reading, but not mind-blowing.



Recommended: Yes