Reading a memoir is like hearing one side of an argument—the author always gets the last word. Although I’ll sometimes read in the news that an errant third cousin or grandmother has sued a memoir writer for defamation, readers are rarely given the gift of two separate books about the same relationship. In the hilariously heartbreaking memoir My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me: And Other Stories I Shouldn’t Share With Acquaintances, Coworkers, Taxi Drivers, Assistants, Job Interviewers, Bikini Waxers, and Ex/Current/Future Boyfriends but Have, Hilary Winston writes a literary rebuttal to her ex-boyfriend Chad Kultgen’s slanderous novel, The Average American Male.
Winston, a sitcom writer who has worked for Community and My Name is Earl, dated Kultgen, who she calls “Kyle” in her book, for five years. After a slightly rocky breakup, Kultgen published his first novel, The Average American Male, in 2007. Winston insists that the protagonist’s girlfriend Casey is not only based on her, but that the book contains nearly word-for-word conversations that she and Kultgen had throughout their relationship. Of course, none of this would be so bad if Kultgen’s novel didn’t constantly refer to Casey as “the fat-assed girlfriend.” It’s every ex-girlfriend’s worst nightmare. (more)
