Former Facebook employee says Dave Eggers copied her memoir in his new novel
Accusations that Dave Eggers 鈥渞ipped off鈥� the memoir of a former Facebook employee in his new novel, 鈥淭he Circle,鈥� are raising difficult questions about plagiarism and gender bias in the publishing world.
Kate Losse, author of 鈥淭he Boy Kings,鈥� in which Losse dishes on life inside Facebook, has accused Eggers of 鈥渞ewrit[ing] my book as his own novel鈥� in a blog post on .
鈥淔rom all appearances, it is an unnervingly similar book, and I wrote it first (and I imagine mine is more authentic and better written, because I actually lived and worked in this world and am also a good writer),鈥� she writes. 鈥淭he difference is that Eggers is a famous man and I am not.鈥�
The accusation has drawn much attention online, including the likes of , , and the , among others. So far, however, no comment from Eggers himself.聽
Losse has admitted that she has not read Eggers鈥� book (excerpted in the New York Times), but says that 鈥渋f you look at the description/plot arc/main character name it is disturbingly similar.鈥�
Both Losse鈥檚 memoir and Eggers鈥� novel examine the life of a woman working her way up through a tech company, Facebook in Losse鈥檚 case and a fictional company called The Circle in Eggers鈥�.聽
But perhaps more interesting than Losse鈥檚 claim itself is the issue it raises about plagiarism and gender bias in the publishing world.聽
Plagiarism and fraud charges are nearly as old as literature itself (see: Jonah Lehrer, James Frey, even Jane Goodall and Greg Mortenson), which brings us to wonder at what point is it considered 鈥渋nspiration,鈥� and when does it cross the line into outright stealing, plagiarism, or fraud?
Art imitates life, as such works as Curtis Sittenfeld鈥檚 鈥淎merican Wife,鈥� (clearly a portrait of Laura Bush), and Joe Klein鈥檚 鈥淧rimary Colors,鈥� (a thinly veiled account of the Clintons) can attest to.
And then there鈥檚 the argument that everything has already been written and good literature is merely intelligent recycling.
Eggers鈥� prior books on the Lost Boys of Sudan and Katrina survivors certainly follow this model, though in these cases he named sources for his material, while he neglects to do so in 鈥淭he Circle,鈥� according to Losse.
Not having read either book, it is still unclear to us whether or not Eggers 鈥渞ipped off鈥� of Losse鈥檚 book and whether or not he must pay her credit.
What is perhaps more interesting is Losse鈥檚 rumination as to why the media ignored her and 鈥淭he Boy Kings,鈥� and lavished praise on Eggers and 鈥淭he Circle.鈥� The culprit, according to her: gender bias.
Writes Losse, 鈥渙ur work is supposedly minor, less valuable, and limited to the personal, where the work of a white man is presumed to be 'universal', 'essential', and relevant to all. This assumption is how, when I published 'The Boy Kings' ... the media made the sexist assumption that this book was not important, because how could a woman writing about technology be important?鈥�
She continues, 鈥淭he assumption the media makes in these instances is that something is not important unless a familiar, male white face does it. So, when Dave Eggers decided to rewrite my book as his own novel about a young woman working her way up through Facebook, [the media heaped praise on him].鈥�
It鈥檚 certainly not the first time have pointed to gender bias in literature, even . Though still widely disputed, that appears to be documented and clear.
What鈥檚 not clear to us is whether, in this case, the attention paid to Eggers鈥� novel is due simply to his famous name and not his gender. Though gender bias in literature is real, we tend to think in this case Eggers鈥� received more attention than Losse simply because he is far more famous.
Still, Losse鈥檚 accusation raises important 鈥� and difficult 鈥� questions for the publishing world.聽
What do you think? Is this a case of gender bias? Did Eggers steal Losse鈥檚 premise, or was it merely inspiration?
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
