Kaavya is Innocent, Until Proven Otherwise

Dear Kaavya,

This is your Akka writing. The fact that you have never met me is immaterial; we are brown and we don’t live in the land our parents were born in—that alone means that you probably have relatives you’ve never met, just like I do, so Akka it easily is.

Paavum Kaavya (letÂ’s call you PK for short), there is something I want you to know, but before I disclose that, I have to admit a fault of which I am rather ashamed, a fault which I hope youÂ’ll forgive your imperfect Akka for.

I was jealous of you.

Just a bissel, but it was enough to make me loathe myself for a few minutes. Green looks fabulous on me, but envy surely does not flatter. Wait, don’t frown—I promise that once I was aware that I was being a twat, I earnestly called myself out on it and owned my jealousy. Long before I admitted that my “unlikely-fantasy-if-wishes-came-true” job was acting, I cherished what to me seemed an even more far-fetched aspiration: to write. Getting a book deal seemed like the greatest thing which could possibly happen to someone. To get paid to write? Wow. And that you did, with a stunning advance, which everyone bandies about ad nauseum, since it makes your “fall” all the more violent.

Sigh. How I wished that my parents had been savvy enough to enroll me in an Ivy-League-Prep-Camp-Thing. Where my counselor, who just happened to be a published author, would discover me as if I were some naïve starlet in a ‘40s era soda shop and then pluck me out of the sweaty, freaked-out ranks of cloned overachievers and marvel at my genuine uniqueness. My parents made me turn down Columbia for U.C. Davis. My parents are SO not your parents. Your parents gave you everything, including an inadvertent star-making opp that made me want to howl. You’re nearly half my age. It’s like watching your little sister get married before you do. It’s a little humiliating to endure, in this obsessed with chronological-milestones culture we share.

So, whenever this group blog of mine did a post about you, I’d look down and notice that my skin suddenly looked wayyy more olive than usual. Then I’d take a deep breath and tell myself that you deserved it. That you had hustled for it, working on your writing when in comparison, 17-year old me probably would’ve been brooding over which Smiths or Ultravox LP to spin next. My skin would go back to the shade my mother calls “irrantharam” and I’d exhale with relief. It felt good to be silently proud of you.

Here’s the thing my little PK: I still am. And I’m a little appalled at how many people are crowing elatedly about your alleged toppling. The first thing I thought of when I read the “Crimson” writing on the blog was that tragically accurate, snarktastic story about the pet shop with international crabs. You’re looking at me blankly. I’m sure you haven’t slept. Tut-tut. That won’t do. You know brown girls are predisposed to developing those nasty under eye circles. Take a benadryl, bachi. Your skin and, well, everything will thank you. Hell, take a nap right now. I’ll dispel your probably non-existent curiosity about crabs for you, like a wee bedtime story.

So, there was this pet store and it was renowned for carrying the most exhaustive selection of crabs aroundÂ…there were specimens from Mexico, Japan, RussiaÂ…almost everywhere, really. Each tank had a very secure looking cover to hold in the precious crab-cargo. All, but one, that is. Perplexed, a customer pointed to the open cage and asked the pet store proprietor why it didnÂ’t have a lid.

“Oh. Those are the crabs from India. A lid isn’t required, because as soon as one of them climbs up, all of the others furiously yank it back down. So they never get out.”

Look at you, almost asleep. And I haven’t even come to my main point yet! No wonder you got the book deal and I didn’t. We hadn’t met, so I have no way of knowing if we have this in common, but something tells me we just might—you see, I have a near photographic memory for all things useless. Didn’t help me with German vocab, but it does help me recall conversations I’ve had almost flawlessly, even if it’s been some time since the words were originally spoken (as you can imagine, this makes me a terrifying girlfriend, since it’s exceptionally easy to destroy my boyfriends in arguments…but we won’t go there, in case your parents are reading. Wha-? OH. Hi Viswanathan Uncle and Auntie! I promise I’m a virgin who’s never conversed with men, even ones I’m related to—I’m totally safe to keep around Kaavya!) Whew, that was close.

Anyway, I remember lots of other things as well. I can remember what my very best friend Eileen Perfume was wearing the day Los Angeles exploded in to riots over the Rodney King verdict. (Maroon boucle turtleneck sweater, black crinkle skirt with blood red roses here and there and black knee-high boots, which she had folded down slightly. She had her hair half-up and half-down, eyeliner on the lower lids, ruby lips and no other makeup.) Like you probably are, I’m a devoted bibliophile who can’t bear to be without something to read at all times. My memory kicks in here, too, since as edifying as Gita Mehta or Vikram Seth might be, knowing what either of them wrote at some point ain’t gonna get me an “A” on anything.

So this memory of mine, which I suspect you got too—sometimes, it is almost dangerous, yes? I can remember being in graduate school (has it already been five years since I graduated? Mein Gott.) and being so exhausted, because I worked full-time (as required by my program) AND took all my classes from 7-10 pm each night. I’d read books and articles throughout the entire day and then sit at my computer around 1 am, after the dinner dishes had been washed and my then-boyfriend had been tended to like some entitled Maharajah who keeps asking for “pani!” when he’s supposed to be asleep. Then, exhausted to the point of sleeping mid-keystroke, I would type. And sometimes, I’d go back and see a sentence and think, “weird”.

I’d feel that odd tingle that unmoored recognition evokes. And then slightly horrified and suddenly awake, I’d realize that I had typed, almost verbatim, something I had read earlier in the day. Sometimes, what I had borrowed wasn’t even brilliant. I’d shake my head then. I was terrified of getting caught, since I was certain that one day I’d turn in a paper that contained a sentence that I hadn’t “re-recognized” in time. “Dear Lord, please don’t let it be something craptacular…if I get in trouble, at least let me parrot something genius.” But that’s not how my little universe works, PK. When I was in third grade, my dramatic ascent up the Spelling Bee ladder was destroyed when I misspelled a word so simple, I’m too ashamed to even type it. It’s always the little things that I trip over, in the end.

I donÂ’t believe that you are the torment-deserving fraud that many of my fellow pajamahadeen think you are. I donÂ’t think you copied those words, that youÂ’re a plagiarist. I think that either one of two things occurred, neither of which is really your fault:

1) You pulled an “Akka” and regurgitated something that was playing on your mind. Like the number “170”. Even if this is true, I blame your handlers for not vetting a manuscript that had received sooo much attention, in this post-Frey era. Perhaps I am mistaken, but aren’t they supposed to read, re-read and triple read what they’re hawking? I can’t help but believe that this is quite common in terms of the writing process, this borrowing a phrase or voice. If this public flogging hasn’t happened often to other writers, then I feel like some critical step was missed in this entire process. Even if I’m wrong, and the process allows that manuscripts DON’T get vetted as carefully as a cabinet-level appointment (WTF?) I think you didn’t intend to lift such craptacular writing. If you were pushed over the ethical edge by exhaustion, pressure and your Ivied obligations, I think you would’ve chosen someone better to borrow from.

2) And this one is the more sinister, more galling and I think, most possible. I keep reading that your book was initially quite different. Darker. Truer. Kaavya-er. I heard that THAT manuscript wasn’t “marketable”, not with a pinkish cover and some strappy stilettos. I heard that lots of Kaavya disappeared and in its place, fluff was stuffed in to Opal Mehta. I don’t know if you’re being set up (that would be even MORE sinister! Perish the thought!) but I do think that someone else did that heavy lifting, dear girl. And I think you’re the one who’s getting marched up to Golgotha for it.

Speaking of Golgotha, perhaps the reason I have so much faith in you is because I suddenly have a lot in me, quite literally. I spent enough time in church last week to qualify being religious as a part-time job, potentially with bennies, if itÂ’s like Starbucks. I emerged from my week of holiness, calmer, stronger, fortified with light. Buoyed by hope and a renewed determination to see good everywhere, in everyone, in all things. If I can have faith that bread and wine when consecrated by a priest, become the body and blood of my savior, I can give my PK the benefit of my doubt. Let people trash and thrash you, Kaavya. Blogging has thoroughly taught me that the bile which they spew (my sinful self included, natch) indicates more about them then you, anyway. You deserve to be innocent until proven otherwise. And I believe that you might just be exonerated of these heavy, back-breaking charges which lay now on your similarly irrantharam shoulders. And if you should fall, while on your way, no matter what causes you to stumble, you will have my prayers and support. We are all human, pots and kettles the lot of us and we all deserve a little bit of compassion.

Sincerely,

Anna-akka

564 thoughts on “Kaavya is Innocent, Until Proven Otherwise

  1. OK – to all the female wannabe writers out there who are wallowing in the schadenfreude – enjoy it, it is well deserved. Now get back to your desks and write your novels and see what you come up with and see if you have what it takes. Kaavya is finished – go back to your quiet jealousies of Jhumpa Lahiri and others and actually see if you can manage to get published or not – put your money where your mouths are – try your best!

  2. But she approached the show and agreed to do the exclusive b/c she wanted the “opportunity” to address the clusterfuck. She apologized over and over…and you can now skewer ME for the next ten or 100 comments to come, but more than ever, I am behind her.

    I agree Anna. She was brave, almost heroically brave, and genuinely repentant. And though she quavered, as all of us would, her poise in the face of the onslaught convinced me that she’s telling the truth.

    Here’s to you little sister, who in a moment of enormity shone like very few others will ever have the chance to shine.

  3. Not to get too nerdy on all of you (well, okay, a little bit), but here’s a thought, especially for the scientists among you. (Empiricist Abhi, perhaps?) I wonder what kind of support there might be for the very notion of “unconscious” incorporation of another’s writing — style, form, concept, whatever — into one’s own, and if so, the particular ways in which it might manifest. Anyone know? Certainly, those of us who write have our own anecdotal and intuitive ideas about this prospect, and for myself, I have to believe that it does take place for most people at least to some extent. But to what extent, and in what forms? I wonder — with Mahzarin Banaji’s work on unconscious bias very much, well, consciously in mind (sorry!) — whether any empirical research has been done to explore how that happens a bit more closely. If not, seems like an interesting set of questions to chase down a bit. I should think that the results could potentially shake up the way in which we understand creativity, plagiarism, and the very idea of private intellectual property. (Or not — I guess it obviously would depend on what those results were.)

    Personally, I’d be surprised if it could result in such close resemblances between so many passages as we appear to have in KV’s book, but then again, I barely can remember what I need to get from the grocery store, let alone many of the things I spend time reading, so I might be the wrong research subject. (Though who knows what evil unconsciously lurks within.)

    ** end nerdy query. back to your regularly scheduled “schadenfreude vs. anti-schadenfreude,” “let’s fry her vs. let’s be empathetic” **

  4. It worked for Hugh Grant, didn’t it?
    And George Michael (I think).

    And Bill Cliton (maybe? sort of? the first time?)

  5. i have a feeling KV/17th street might have used a lowly paid ghostwriter who would have carried out the ‘lifting’. For somebody who has planned everything so well, or has so many handlers, such sloppy intentional plagiarism seems out of character. Of course, that means she has to concede someone else wrote it for her. hobson’s choice i guess.

    however, i do agree that she should be fried. not in a vicious or revengeful manner. But she put her name on the book, and it isn’t all her work. that is just dishonest.

    srgntpepper.

    PS : I read somewhere that the concept of acronyms like HOWGAL (“how opal will get a life”) HOWGIH and a couple of other lines from the book are very similar to rushdie’s language in haroun and the sea of stories. Any takers?

  6. I forget, what was the most-commented Sepia thread ever?

    Hey BB, I believe it was 440 comments on the “Sepia destiny” thread……at least since the past year that I have been reading this blog

  7. darlingest bongsie,

    i get it, i do, i consummately understand where you’re coming from and why your opinion is what it is. but i do think it was somewhat brave for her to speak…i’d be terrified to be on the today show if i were her, b/c if it were ME, i’d start crying and then the schadenfreuders would be having a field day. she stayed composed, which was a relief, b/c i can’t stand katie’s questions sometimes.

    now i know there is something genuine about her, i saw that much. yes, the word “unintentional” was used, almost as much as the words, “I’m SORRY.” what does “intentional” even mean?

    deliberate: by conscious design or purpose

    i just don’t think her intent was to plagiarize. i don’t think that was her purpose and i still want to hear more about the packaging company. and i know, people think i’m being too soft on her, but what’s hilarious is, i no longer get invited to my own mother’s prayer meetings because i am such a punishmentarian, i have no qualms about disciplining someone else’s kid when they’re in MY house and their parents are too lazy to…parent. spare the rod and spoil my life, i always say. i’m all about law and order, we’re a military family. but the punishment should fit the crime. as jai pointed out upthread, she’s not OBL.

    No one smoothed my hair down and frankly if my Mum had, perhaps I would not have learnt my lesson. I kept my head down for the next few months and things blew over.

    …i want to “smooth her hair” b/c unlike in your case, her lesson is being taught (and watched) by the entire world. i’m sure you had it bad, but hers is orders of magnitude worse. i don’t see scandal when i google you, but forever and ever amen, i will when i search for anything related to her.

    let me put it to you in a much darker way:

    kaavya viswanathan’s very obituary will contain a reference to this entire ordeal.

    knowing that, would you still want to kick her when she’s down? still want to make her suffer? i don’t. i also don’t think there’s any danger of her “not learning her lesson”. especially since it’s likely that however way she’s punishing herself might be the worst ordeal of all.

  8. Your obituary line is persuasive Anna. And of course I agree whatever I went through is nothing compared to this. I think we’re in agreement really – I do not want to kick her when she’s down at all and I do feel sorry for her seeing what she’s going through now. But all I meant is I don’t think she needs anyone to wrap her in cottonwool and hug her. The time for that will come, but right now she needs to weather this on her own as it (seems to be) of her own doing. Yes she deserves credit for staying composed but the mistake remains. Perhaps this will serve to make her stronger in years to come and I think chick pea is right – she’s probably smart enough to have achieved success without inspiration from others. I guess what we really should be doing is moving on and no longer making her a topic of discussion. Forgive, forget and a few years from now maybe she’ll be back on top of the chick lit charts. Hell, people will know her name which is more than can be said for 90% of authors.

  9. ANNA, re #310.

    kaavya viswanathan’s very obituary will contain a reference to this entire ordeal. knowing that, would you still want to kick her when she’s down? still want to make her suffer? i don’t. i also don’t think there’s any danger of her “not learning her lesson”. especially since it’s likely that however way she’s punishing herself might be the worst ordeal of all.

    Once again, the depths of your compassion and grace astound and inspire me. More people should be as sensitive as you are, ANNA.

    xoxo DD

  10. We still don’t know about how much of the book the packaging co. may have written/edited. As someone pointed out above, the offending passages seem so incidental. More and more I think they came from the packaging co., and if that’s so, my bet is that all novels written by that packaging co. have such commonalities or borrowings (and the same goes for novels written with other packaging co.’s). I think the public is being very naive to believe that this is the only case of “plagiarism” in chick lit and other genres which allow for mass production.

    It’s just that Kaavya/her book got caught. Why? (In no particular order:) 1) Big-bucks deal made us all jealous, but also meant the product would be under scrutiny by the public (what could be worth $500,000?). 2) Same for her author profile, played up for marketing, (17-year old! Harvard! Desi/”Ethnic!”) 3) The flip side of her author profile (i.e. she’s non-white) activates (latent) racism which motivates extra scrutiny. 4) The rest of Harvard, a den of aspiring literati, was going to damn well find out whether she deserved the book deal. At least, reading comments from/about the other students and her wonderful “mowglisambo” TA, there seems to have been a lot of “who does Kaavya think she is?” etc.

    Other authors who have worked with packaging companies, who don’t have these factors so intensely in play, may have books containing as much plagiarized/common content. It’s just that no one has had the motivation to notice.

  11. Oh my God! I just realized something!

    THIS IS A TOTAL DISASTER FOR ALL WRITERS FROM NEW JERSEY!!!

    The moment you say “Garden State,” now, people are going to slam their doors in your face!

  12. I’ve read this story closely and haven’t seen a single whining complaint that Miss Kaavya is being picked on because her skin color is black or that she is an Indian. It’s a great thing that Indians are able to just charge ahead without looking for excuses. I suppose Indians are a reason why Jesse Jackson started everyone using “African American” instead of “Black”. Indians are black too but that’s not the group Jesse has in mind. Chinese Americans are the same way. You can dump on Mormons all you want and they never complain either, they just keep moving forward. You dirty wogs are OK by me, good luck to all of you.

  13. I’m in agreement with Anna through this whole thing. We’ve all made mistakes and most of the time we suffer their consequences; it’s just sad that her trial had to be so public.

    I just watched her interview with Katie Couric and I’m not entirely sure if I believe that all of the instances of copying were unintentional (But does her defense really even matter now? I think everyone’s made up their mind about what they think she’s done) but it’s pretty clear that she’s taking this really hard. (Did you see the bags under her eyes?) But good on her to go on the air, publicly apologize so profusely, and face the questioning and not just hide about it. Shows a lot of character, especially for such a young’un.

    Plagiarism is a serious academic crime and she will face up to it. At first I was surprised and proud that 1st gen Indian-American talent would be recognized so early (she is like a little sister! uh, sort of the little sister I never wanted, but I did feel a certain special pride nonetheless that she was brown) and now that this scandal broke I just feel bad for her. I think she committed a serious error in judgment here but I don’t really have feelings of vindiction (“SHE MUST BE PUNISHED”).

  14. I saw the today show and kaavya is pretty cute, I don’t know if that will help, but it won’t hurt.

  15. yea… that’s actually all I wanted to say about this affair.. she’s kinda cute..

  16. Query about comment #296

    Aiyyo Akka,

    Couldn’t help but notice your blind support for PK. Totally understand that PK is getting a lot of heat and needs compassion from atleast some of us. People have gotten away with worse and made millions of dollars in the process. PK went through the process of apology and all that good stuff. What next? should she keep the half mil and go on with the rest of her life after her fifteen minutes in the limelight is over? or should she make amends.. if so how? mind you we are talking about a teenager here…nineteen right? she has the whole life ahead of her and then some.

    Are you condoning her actions as a juvenile prank? Don’t you believe in todays youth being the future of the world and all that “chanakam”? Shouldn’t there be a shred of integrity left for the future generation? unless of couse the world as we know is going to end tomorrow.. then all is good.

    It will be interesting to see how PK comes out of all this unscathed. But surely, she caused a stir. Hopefully, there will be a positive twist to it.

    Brown Power, YES!!

    PS: I know you are going to call me a JackAss, would you be a dear and put a “Dear” as prefix? thanks 🙂

  17. I don’t think anyone’s denying the writer’s wrongdoing, but the point is that — considering her public (and international) humiliation in this matter — it’s not a good idea to “twist the knife” any further. I often feel that many South Asians get a real kick out of eviscerating others if they can find some kind of moral justification (ie. excuse) to do so.

    I guess what we really should be doing is moving on and no longer making her a topic of discussion.

    …..Which is what I have basically been saying all along.

  18. Here are the titles to the latest yahoo comments on the Kavya story, which appears on the front page of Yahoo this morning.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060426/ap_en_ot/young_author

    Author Rec’d Date/Time (ET) 299 Re: CINDYBIN ALSO PLAGIARIZED MY NOVEL!! trollthebones 04/26/06 12:32 pm 298 Martin Luther King was plagarism GOD dadudedd 04/26/06 12:32 pm 297 Harvard should expel her Mating_ritual 1 04/26/06 12:31 pm 296 Re: HEY, AT LEAST SHE’S IN COLLEGE! jt_arrowood 04/26/06 12:31 pm 295 CINDYBIN ALSO PLAGIARIZED MY NOVEL!!! jehovahs_vengeful… 04/26/06 12:31 pm 294 Indians love stealing disgustipated77 1 04/26/06 12:31 pm 293 teach her a good lesson – loathe_me_tender 04/26/06 12:28 pm 292 INDIANS TAKE TECH JOBS FROM AMERICANS leekosagrios 04/26/06 12:28 pm 291 ANOTHER lying RAGhead. assbreath4u 1 04/26/06 12:28 pm 290 GETTING HER DEGREE IN OUTSOURCING sambos_plunger 04/26/06 12:27 pm 289 Re: Oprah’s on the phone…. hithereimjohnnyca… 04/26/06 12:27 pm 288 DOT HEADS LIE deanna_troll_redu… 04/26/06 12:27 pm 287 I’ll teach her a lesson Razor94 1 04/26/06 12:26 pm 286 Re: typical indian theif sich431 04/26/06 12:26 pm 285 Re: HEY, AT LEAST SHE’S IN COLLEGE! p_e_s_t11 04/26/06 12:26 pm 284 I REALLY believe SHE is a LIAR DR_NC 04/26/06 12:26 pm 283 SHE IS BEAUTIFUL cluckie_the_chick… 04/26/06 12:26 pm 282 Re: typical indian theif zimlion 04/26/06 12:26 pm 281 Re: Aren’t there any more white kids cool_slapshot 04/26/06 12:25 pm 280 I am knowing java and having raju_venkatpillai… 04/26/06 12:25 pm 279 Another Terrorist Who S/B Executed! ger_a_troll 04/26/06 12:25 pm 278 BUKKAKE FACE–SQUIRT- SLURP-DRIP! i_dont_do_squat_a… 04/26/06 12:25 pm 277 Indians/Pakis cheat…period, it is a compost_tumbler 04/26/06 12:24 pm 276 +_+OUR COLLEGES TEACHING OUR KIDS p_e_s_t11 04/26/06 12:24 pm 275 HEY, AT LEAST SHE’S IN COLLEGE! tacoboy312 04/26/06 12:24 pm 274 She’s Not Bad Looking….wonder if she skeeter_sleeps_we… 2 04/26/06 12:24 pm 273 A CHEAT GETS A SIX-FIGURE BOOK DEAL ! zimlion 3 04/26/06 12:24 pm 272 I BETCHA SHE’S NOT EVEN A CITIZEN leekosagrios 04/26/06 12:24 pm 271 another india rip off. lou737200 04/26/06 12:23 pm 270 “KILLER FARTS” LATEST BIG CITY SCARE !! lees_sword 04/26/06 12:23 pm 269 Re: typical indian theif justsomethingtoth… 1 04/26/06 12:16 pm 268 Re: Oprah’s on the phone…. cool_slapshot 04/26/06 12:14 pm 267 Re: just wrote a screenplay buttinski2001 04/26/06 11:57 am 266 Re: indian=hairy bush bbwslovebigcocks 04/26/06 11:51 am 265 Oprah’s on the phone…. friendofthediva 2 04/26/06 11:49 am 264 Re: just wrote a screenplay red_meow1 04/26/06 11:42 am 263 Re: typical indian theif red_meow1 04/26/06 11:40 am 262 just wrote a screenplay redlions11 04/26/06 11:38 am 261 Re: THIS BITCH NEEDS A BIG DICK DISCIPLI bbwslovebigcocks 04/26/06 11:37 am 260 typical indian theif

  19. I’ve stayed largely silent while following the comments in this thread very closely. As a writer, I’ve found it a little difficult to buy some of the explanations put forth by the most compassionate people here, but I’ve agreed with them that skewering the girl is schadenfreude at its purest. Most markedly, I have recoiled in disgust when people here have referenced places on the web where others have invoked Kaavya’s ethnicity to explain her plagiarism.

    But that interview with Katie Couric has done a lot to erode my inclination toward moderation. I particularly did not appreciate KV’s invocation of her Indianness to “prove” that her book was substantially different from McCafferty’s. HOMGKGWGAL is almost entirely unconcerned with its protagonist’s ethnicity, which is dealt with about as superficially as possible (sweeties sprinkled, as an afterthought, on a completely vanilla cake). Her invocations of Indianness seemed defensive, perhaps even a psychological ploy to introduce the race factor as a way of shutting up critics who might fear insinuations of racism. And it pisses me off, because if she continues to use this tactic, then she’s begging for her mistakes to become indelibly associated with her ethnicity, and that’s crap, as she, I, and every other rational person knows.

    Kaavya got caught. Intentional or no, she committed plagiarism. If she wanted to keep emphasizing the unintentionality of her crime, far better had she said, “This was unintentional. I was writing under a deadline. I read to relax. I was reading a slew of books at the time to unwind. McCafferty’s were some of them. Her prose stuck with me, and I guess it crept in. I’m horrified. This was plagiarism, unconscious or no. I’m taking time off to edit this book ASAP. I’m also thinking hard about the challenges faced by writing novels as you’re reading novels; about the way words cling to your mind; about how to avoid this trap. I am so, so sorry.”

    I would have been more sympathetic. “Internalization” is no excuse unless you’re invoking Althusser.

  20. In the Today Show interview, Kaavya says she’s read each of McCafferty’s books “three or four times.” So, we’re talking a total of at least six and at most eight readings.

    Is this just something she said off the cuff, or is this the actual truth? It’s an important question because I think that Kaavya (like Clinton, and like Bush) is a liar. In between all the Ishiguro and Atwood she claims to adore, she finds time for eight readings of McCafferty? Because if she did, yes, that’s plenty of opportunity to “internalize.” But the thing is, we know she probably didn’t. It’s another lie, told to cover up a lie. It’s a lie, and it’s a stupid one, like “I did not have sexual relationship with that woman” is a stupid lie, like “Saddam has WMDs and is planning on using them against the US” is a stupid lie. It’s a culture of falsehoods, what we’re developing here, and thinking people can see that you’re lying, but you plow on regardless because you know that there’ll always be people who give you the benefit of the doubt.

    And it’s dismaying to see people applauding her, not for the lie of plagiarism itself, but for the lies she’s telling to escape the charge.

    I’ve ceased to care how young she is now. American nineteen year olds are dying in Iraq every week. American nineteen year olds are killing people in Iraq every week. Welcome to the real world, girl. The worst of it is that, when all’s said and done, you’re still in the lap of privilege, with all your limbs intact. You haven’t learnt your lesson, and the pathetic society you live in won’t let you learn it.

  21. Re: “..But does her defense really even matter now? I think everyone’s made up their mind about what they think she’s done..”

    I’m NOT in the sympathy camp (i believe, like a variation of newton’s law, with every action there is a reaction), but as this ordeal get messier and messier (when it jumped to 40 passages, when she went on TV(!), when publishers starting verbally sparring), it’s hard not to start to reign in the criticism. If she’s like the rest of us over-achievers, she will probably be punishing herself enough already. i agree with what someone said upthread; answering to those demons within yourself..that’s the worst ordeal of all.

  22. This may have already been said in the 300+ comments, but the way that the language was changed in Opal Mehta just a little bit indicates, to me, that the “borrowing” was totally deliberate. The fact that they are so similar, but she just replaced some words with synonyms and rearranged sentence structure points to the fact that it was, in fact, intentional, as if she thoughy by changing a few words, no one would notice. As long as she keeps pleading the “unintentional” line, I can’t support her in this.

  23. amen to deepa and simmie.

    amen also to whoever said kaavya is now faced with a hobson’s choice: either take the fall, or reveal the inner workings of the production of her book. if i were betting, i too would say the plagiarism/imitation/sampling came in during the “packaging” phase.

    the racist material that eddie has pointed us to, and indeed some comments on this thread, are a reminder of what’s at stake here. that’s not kaavya’s fault or responsibility, but it’s something to keep aware of.

    cynics will say that all the hoopla is good for both authors and their publishing houses, esp. for mccafferty who is sitting pretty here, but maybe also for kaavya and little, brown. (we’ll see.)

    peace

  24. I particularly did not appreciate KV’s invocation of her Indianness to “prove” that her book was substantially different from McCafferty’s. HOMGKGWGAL is almost entirely unconcerned with its protagonist’s ethnicity, which is dealt with about as superficially as possible (sweeties sprinkled, as an afterthought, on a completely vanilla cake).

    Simmie, I was surprised to hear her say that too. I haven’t read the book yet but, as you said, it’s not exactly heavy on the Indian-ness. I didn’t know what to make of that comment (I believe she said this was written from her perspective as an Indian-American girl from NJ who made good grades?) but in general I’m reluctant to pass judgment on what someone else feels/writes about in their experience as an Indian-American.

    For example I grew up in rural white America and if I wrote a book at 17 it would have very little explicit “Indian-ness” in it, but it wouldn’t change my perspective as an Indian-American. Does that make sense? It’s like…you don’t FEEL different but once in a while you look around and see that you ARE different…but, it wouldn’t necessarily be at the forefront of your mind all the time? (This is in no way a criticism of what you’re saying, in fact you’ve actually read the book so your opinion is more informed than mine.)

  25. What started as a handful of passages has mushroomed past 12 to 21 to almost 40 sections of significant overlap in text and content. Sympathy aside, PK’s approach so far stinks of evasion and BS which only worsens her credibility.

    I for one would love to see PK stand up, admit there was error on her part, order an immediate withdrawal of the book from the stores, and a release at a later date with the edits in place or an insert acknowledging the other author, and a donation of the $500K (or a large portion of it) to a program promoting young writers or artists…or even a charity. That sets a standard that will look good for her, redefine how such cases are resolved in future, and recast this whole mess into something positive for everyone.

    It is not like PK needs the money–her dad drives a RangeRover…–and worse, holding on to tainted money will only make it worse for her. Doing that, Anna, will address your concern for how PK’s obit might read. PK can turn this saga on its head and make the entire process more affirming for everyone (and that very much includes PK and her future in wall st or elsewhere).

    As an aside what is transpiring on this forum seems no different than OJ Simpson’s saga a few years ago. Please don’t misinterpret me. I ask this out of curiosity and out of a genuiune desire to understand something that I fear I might be missing. In the OJ saga one community stood by him regardless of how stretched or far fetched their logic was. Most of the rest stood on the other side of the divide. Ok, one involved cold-blooded murder and the other is lifting of text but if you step to the balcony and drink in the reaction amongst us, I think you’ll see the commonality in the responses. I wonder if we of South Asian origin in this country, especially women that grew up here (as seems to be the bulk of PK’s supporters in this forum), feel we are so disadvantaged that we need to demand overwhelming evidence, proof, etc. in the absence of which we will support “one of our own”. Could this be true?

  26. According to CNN… KV got a nice, fat check for doing the Today show…

    A pathological, attention seeking liar…sad…she should receive no support in the SA community she is an utter fraud and profiteer…

  27. That Today show was simply horrible to watch.

    STOP LYING KID!

    STOP LYING!

    So many people lie in this country, people in the public eye, people in high places. But, God, this is depressing. It’s obvious she was under pressure to finish the book, and she lifted bits from someone else’s book to do it. Either that or (and this isn’t particularly likely, but I wouldn’t rule it out) her “packaging company” wrote most of the goddamned thing and did the plagiarizing for her. Which is an even worse crime, because then Kaavya Viswanathan sold her credibility and her good name to a product she didn’t even make.

    Whatever it was, it was intentional. And now, it’s obvious that her advisors have counselled her to go with the big lie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lie) technique and to sow doubt in the minds of the (weak-minded) public.

    Kaavya, STOP YOUR GODAMMNED LYING. It’s making us ill.

    (And I hope you stay at Harvard. No other school wants sloppy seconds.)

  28. 325 comments, and no one has asked what a “bissel” is.

    What is a “Bissel”?

  29. I saw the video of KV on the today show and I feel not on shred of compassion or pity for her. In fact I feel that maybe she hasn’t had enough yet. Look at the caption under the video on the MSNBC site:

    April 26: Katie Couric talks with Kaavya Viswanathan, who has acknowledged taking material from fellow novelist Megan McCafferty, but says the borrowing was an accident.

    She CONTINUES to lie! The word “internalize” is being thrown around like feces in the monkey exhibit at the zoo. This has become the sign of our times. Even when caught in the act and confronted people continue to deceive, almost pathalogically, because their false pride won’t allow them to admit that they were wrong or they might have actually done something bad.

    Remember Milli Vanilli ? I used to ROCK OUT to them. Blame it on the Rain was my anthem. When they were discovered as frauds I was hurt. Everytime I heard the words “Blame it on the rain (yeah yeah)” played, I would hear in my mind “Abhi has been fooled (ha ha)” in the same tune. Now we are hearing this tune:

    Blame it on the rain internalization
    Blame it on the subconscious
    Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
    Blame it on the rain internalization yeah yeah
    You can blame it on the rain internalization

    And yet, when MV came clean and described how they had fallen victims to their own desire for success I wanted to reach out to them. I wanted to put Milli on my lap and I wanted to smooth down Vanilli’s dreadlocked hair and tell him it would be okay (one of them committed suicide so it obviously wasn’t). Americans and all good people WANT to forgive. I believe it is human nature to let the past be the past and rise to our better natures when there is an opening to do so. The difference? THEY CAME CLEAN. THEY ADMITTED WHAT THEY DID. This girl, like Ashlee Simpson, Like Ken Lay, like countless others are part of this new “it wasn’t me” generation. It is a generation filled with pathological liars who even when confronted with their deception, decieve even more, a downward spiral. It is pride alone that drives these people (and society that encourages their behavior). I don’t believe anyone here is out for blood. People are just craving some truth which seems in short supply these days.

    The obituary example can be extended. Poor Ken Lay. I see him looking befuddled on the witness stand. Maybe he really is a victim in all of this and everyone else set him up. Isn’t it punishment enough that Enron will be mentioned in his obituary? Also poor “leash girl.” The pictures of her holding tortured Iraqi prisoners on a leash, that is bound to end up in her obituary. That is a stiff punishment, no? KV obviously isn’t in the same league as a Ken Lay or a leash girl but she is a symptom of the same overall disease. Also the fact that she is a 19 year old “sister” makes no difference to me.

    KV is nothing, just a tiny issue in a world full of way more important issues to focus on. She is however symbolic. She is the most recent example for people who are taking a stand to say NO MORE! I will refuse to coddle someone drowning in their own lies. Once they pick themselves up out of the water then I will offer my compassion and kind words instantly. Commenter #198 said it best 🙂

    Bong Breaker, I’m surprised by you concilliatory tone. I think you trip across America has softened you up 🙂

  30. Sheet Eddie, are Yahoo comments always like that? I forget what dickheads are out there, visiting only the nice websites I do.

    Then again, “BUKKAKE FACE–SQUIRT- SLURP-DRIP!” made me laugh. I’m puerile, I can’t help it.

  31. All this talk of indians skewering their own out of some jealousy/”haterade” is disconcerting, and sadly, this does occur among many desis.

    BUT, in this young woman’s case, there is too much evidence of funny business (just compare the passages). And I will admit, her past public comments/stance (before the sh** hit the fan, that is) – not to mention the backstory of the very expensive admissions consulting service employed to get her into Harvard – do cast a pallor over her credibility and frankly, likeability.

    Nobody “hated” in this way on Lahiri, Ali, Desai, or the many other very gifted Desi writers when they launched. Why? Because they were not in such murky waters! Kaavya is another story.

    Let’s not get one’s “brownness” in the way of one’s sense of fairness. Crappy lesson for kids (esp kids whose parents cannot afford to spend 5 figures on a college application).

    Peace!

    PS – And how about that Sanjay Kumar going to Club Fed? Not a good press week for my desi peeps.

  32. I’m sure our budding kid-lit author will get a good memoir out of this. That is, once she drops out of college, walks the streets to support her drug habit, sells her babies to aliens and has a good cry over it on Oprah.

    I always wonder what it is about a writer so desperate to be a writer that she steals other people’s work and represents it as her own. What’s the point of being an artist if you don’t create art? Really, the fame and money part of it sure ain’t what you’d think.

  33. I wonder if we of South Asian origin in this country, especially women that grew up here (as seems to be the bulk of PK’s supporters in this forum), feel we are so disadvantaged that we need to demand overwhelming evidence, proof, etc. in the absence of which we will support “one of our own”. Could this be true?

    There is some merit in not rushing to make the harshest judgment on “one of our own,” given that plenty of others will rush to judgment on the basis that she is “NOT one of their own.”

    Anyhow, look on the other SM thread, started by Abhi’s post (“How Kaavya V. got rich…”) I wouldn’t say the SM community’s overall reaction is to support Kaavya regardless of how stretched or far-fetched the logic is…

    There are some people, like me, speculating about the role of the packaging company, but this is not to excuse Kaavya of responsibility. Rather, it is to wonder how much plagiarised/cannibalized/mass-produced material we are actually being fed and had never before noticed.

  34. I just watched the Today show video clip. This was her desperate attempt at damage control but I for one am not buying it. As a poster mentioned above, the copied passages seemed like a word here or there was being changed with synonyms via the help of a thesaurus not to mention that the structure of the passages are way too similar regardless of her “internalizing” excuse. This is clearly an example of ambition gone wrong. In observing Kaavya’s prior media interviews, she definitely came across as a spoiled brat who lacked a humble nature especially when talking about her Range Rover, Harvard, and impending book party with rose petals. Something tells me if she were more humble to begin with that maybe the public wouldn’t be this harsh on her.

  35. 1) It’s so ridiculous for KV to claim that the plagiarism was just the result of her being “inspired by” and having “internalized” the other author’s books. First of all, when the language is almost verbatim, that’s a bit beyond being inspired. Second, the girl was only 17 years old or so at the time of writing, so it’s not like she read those other books 20 years ago and forgot about them. My guess is she read those books and said to herself “Hey, I bet I can write a book just like that!” Turns out, she was right…

    2) It’s even more ridiculous for her to say that she’s going to modify the offending passages “in the next edition of the book.” How can they even think about publishing another edition of this farce? What are the going to call it, “Opal Mehta — The Unplagiarized 2nd Edition”? Or maybe the publishers will try to use it as a marketing ploy and put a big sticker on the front cover that says “2nd Edition — With over 40 never-before-seen new passages!!!” This girl needs to learn something about PR, in a hurry, because every time she opens her mouth she just sinks deeper.

    3) Did she somehow miss all the news stories in the recent past about people getting caught plagiarizing in their books? There have been three major stories in the past two years that I am aware of, and I don’t even follow the literary world. That was happening while she was writing the book, and you’d think she would have picked up on the message that it’s a no-no. If she’s allegedly smart enough to get into Harvard and get a book contract, I’m afraid she is ineligible to use the ignorance defense.

    4) This is the worst kind of plagiarism, because it’s not just a failure to give credit. Unlike non-fiction writers who get in trouble if they neglect to cite their sources, fiction writers are supposed to be creating completely original works. The Opal Mehta book is like an artist putting the Mona Lisa’s face in the middle of her painting and trying to call it original.

    5) The worst part is, I think minority writers already have a tougher-than-average time getting their works published. When something like this happens, it just makes it that much harder for the honest writers to get recognized. Just like Jayson Blair’s fabrications at the NY Times made life harder for other black journalists, you can bet that the next young desi writer is going to get scrutinized mercilessly and held to a higher standard than others — not to mention the legions of writers who won’t get their works considered at all now because she poisoned the well.

  36. Rather, it is to wonder how much plagiarised/cannibalized/mass-produced material we are actually being fed and had never before noticed.

    one could argue that our personal value systems, ethics, etc. are plagiarized values of those in our families, friend-circles, and communities who had influence on us…

  37. I for one would love to see PK stand up, admit there was error on her part, order an immediate withdrawal of the book from the stores, and a release at a later date with the edits in place or an insert acknowledging the other author, and a donation of the $500K (or a large portion of it) to a program promoting young writers or artists…or even a charity. That sets a standard that will look good for her, redefine how such cases are resolved in future, and recast this whole mess into something positive for everyone.

    As someone who studied Communications Strategy and enjoyed the shit out of it, I found myself mentally creating a P.R. plan the second I realized the fit was going to hit the shan. My centerpiece was Kaavya returning the money, since that seems to be the greatest cause of jealousy, bitterness and outrage. It was a newsworthy figure, it’s not a small amount, and even if her parents had been as middle class as mine, I would’ve pushed her to do it. It would have taken that genuine, earnest spark I saw in her interview and amplified it.

    Until I hear about the packaging company’s involvement, I’m not willing to say she’s a Clinton-ette. There’s no spooge on anything to prove it, no intern to point at. I wonder if she’s under obligation to NOT reveal that a ghostwriter at the packing co. rewrote it…

    And finally, for the O.J. analogy, I am getting extremely weary of people comparing this girl to violent criminals. She didn’t kill or maim anyone. She didn’t murder her ex-wife and boytoy etc. Someone upthread asked how many other books are we mindlessly consuming, which share similar sin? Someone else was right: the latent jealousy at Harvard meant that they were going to over-scrutinize this work…other authors don’t have people gunning for them from the outset like that, so perhaps we don’t know how ubiquitous this actually is.

    I just love how people are so certain of things, as if they were an invisible eye-witness to everything. The next time someone starts shit with or about you, and you recoil and think, “they don’t know me!” remember this gleeful moment and how good it feels to malign another. And no, it’s not a race thing. The crab thing was part of my “bedtime story” moment, but I’m not naive enough to think that other ethnicities aren’t similarly catty and bitter. I’m not defending her b/c she’s similarly brown, I’m extra interested in her b/c she is. I identify with her and apparently, from some angles, according to two of you, i look like her. No matter, I like justice and compassion for everyone, pigments-no-bar.

    I grieve for all who are dead thanks to war, but yes, it stings a little harder when I see a face that is so young posed in uniform, in front of a flag, with a -teen indicating age after their name…b/c that’s just too young to deal with such tragedy. Young is young, no matter the cause of the pain.

    In this case, 19 is far too young to have your obituary started at every major paper, to have it read “Disgraced would-be author and plagiarist Kaavya…”

  38. Rather, it is to wonder how much plagiarised/cannibalized/mass-produced material we are actually being fed and had never before noticed.
    one could argue that our personal value systems, ethics, etc. are plagiarized values of those in our families, friend-circles, and communities who had influence on us…

    Perhaps, though I was just referring to the inner workings of the market for creative works.

  39. Deepa: I appreciate your response to my posting.

    Engaging in speculation about the packaging company seems entirely ancillary to the real issue at hand. It seems a search for the remotest, flimsiest rationale that can later be blown up to explain everything and what lies right in front of us, looming large, is downsized to minuscule levels or even ignored. Surely we are fooling ourselves by that, aren’t we?

    Won’t it totally redefine things if our PK stands up and: — admits there is overlap that she acknowledges is significant and regrettable — announces that, with immediate effect, the boos in the stores will carry an insert with her regret and acknowledgement, an apology to the other writer, and … — new prints and editions (if any) will contain revised material and an acknowlegement to the other writer — a donation of the $500K (or >75% of it) to a program for new writers/unearthing potential overlap of text that can be construed as plagiarism/charity. She can earn this $500K in a year or two in i-banking at Wall St. Keeping the money will taint her ability to move forward.

    Doing something like that will help young writers, women, South Asian women, South Asians, and so on. Why, it is time for her to do something for “one of her own”. By sticking to her evasions and BS I fear she does great damage to those standing up for her thinking she is “one of our own.”


  40. I just love how people are so certain of things, as if they were an invisible eye-witness to everything. The next time someone starts shit with or about you


    … I think KV started the sh*& and the 40 instances of stealing are fully certain proof….and now she is stacking lie upon lie….its gross and disgusting…We are too small a minority in the US to have this ‘paris hilton porgi’ flouting convention….(next she’ll wear a bra over a sport jacket!)

  41. And finally, for the O.J. analogy, I am getting extremely weary of people comparing this girl to violent criminals. She didn’t kill or maim anyone. She didn’t murder her ex-wife and boytoy etc.

    I know where you’re coming from, but I also took such references as a reminder that “thou shalt not kill” is on the same list as “thou shalt not steal”.

    I’m not out to demonize her as being the equivalent of a murderer, but so far (!) the evidence strongly points to her being a thief.

  42. To anyone who doubted her ability to read and reread these books as if it would be time-consuming…um, no. try “in one sitting”. And especially if one were stressed, they’d be quite the pleasant, facile distraction from school. I’ve re-read “A Suitable Boy” three times and it’s 1000+ pages AND hardly fluffy. In comparison, much easier books are a quickie for a serial re-reader like me and yeah, I think there was some chick-lit book that I ended up reading three times in one month. After that, I could quote and re-enact entire scenes from it (which I did once, when crunked).

    If she did re-read those books that many times, stuff would stick to her, similarly. anyway, i’m finally going to come out and say something else i’ve been thinking (but miraculously haven’t written in my pages of pages of commentary) these phrases some of you are waving, as you crow over her shittiness? some of them are pathetic, i.e. if you’re going to burn kaavya at the stake for them, you’ll run out of kindling by the time you torch everyone else who’s guilty. isn’t there only ONE word-for-word example?

    you know, this is “shit lit”; therefore you are ONLY allowed to use the same 400 words, none of which were on the SAT or are particularly unique? of course it’s ALL going to start sounding alike if not quite like at least another book. “All sounds same” was a common critique of this genre, before KV made EVERYONE a judge of character.

    Golly, I guess I need to take “two tight slaps” out of my last short story, b/c like, Vikram Seth? He like, wrote it first and that would make me a shitty, shitty person. I’d be like O.J. like Ken Lay, if I used that phrase. Giveth me a break.

  43. Nilanjana Roy asks: What makes KaavyaÂ’s plagiarism, unconscious or not, such a burning issue that the Malaysian Star, the PeopleÂ’s Daily of China and the New Guinea Gazette would all consider it front-page news? What indeed.

  44. Anna: After reading your last posting I am afraid you are engaging in projection and may be so far down the path that you may be losing the fine sense of balance and observation I have seen you demonstrate.

    When something goes amiss it is best to face up to it and get past it. Trying to search for ancillary reasons, digging up conveniences (e.g., references to ethnicity …) to obfuscate issues, etc. only cause more damage to self and those standing up for you. And those standing up for you…by reaching out to trivia and irrelevant factors do themselves damage.

    In three-five years time I bet everyeone will remember this if it was resolved in a manner that confirms PK took the high road a la J&J in the Tylenol case. Otherwise she will have a shadow around her a la OJ regardless of her later success.

  45. The crab thing was part of my “bedtime story” moment, but I’m not naive enough to think that other ethnicities aren’t similarly catty and bitter. I’m not defending her b/c she’s similarly brown, I’

    Whatever Your implication with the crab analogy was that some how indians are just waiting to bring her down. The way the story has played out only the opposite seems true. The indo american media gave her coverage praising the young author, I dont even recall which desi site i saw her name mentioned(it wasnt in negative light).. The 1st time i read about her in print in MSM was in an article about indian americans in the media. The article was in newsweek(dont think if was zacharia) it had a celebratory orientation. …And the discussions here show more indians are backing her instead of staying neutral and adopt a wait and see approach…

  46. And the discussions here show more indians are backing her instead of staying neutral and adopt a wait and see approach…

    Uh…which blog are YOU reading? I’m out on my very own limb, thank you very much, just me and a cradle for Kaavya.