Thank you for this. I was floored by the virtuosity of the Labatut as I read it, but I soon found myself quite troubled by it. I went to high school with Mochizuki-san, and I really wonder what is my responsibility as a reader to him as a fellow human? Should I have googled every assertion to determine what was true and what was false? Maybe this is Labatut’s point? I don’t know. I remain weirded out.
I'm fascinated that you went to high school with Mochizuki! My sense from my own Googling was that the section about him was very fictional indeed. I don't think Labatut expects or wants every reader to try to figure out where the dividing line is, but to accept these figures as fictional characters. For some readers this is more difficult than for others ...
Thank you for this. I was floored by the virtuosity of the Labatut as I read it, but I soon found myself quite troubled by it. I went to high school with Mochizuki-san, and I really wonder what is my responsibility as a reader to him as a fellow human? Should I have googled every assertion to determine what was true and what was false? Maybe this is Labatut’s point? I don’t know. I remain weirded out.
I'm fascinated that you went to high school with Mochizuki! My sense from my own Googling was that the section about him was very fictional indeed. I don't think Labatut expects or wants every reader to try to figure out where the dividing line is, but to accept these figures as fictional characters. For some readers this is more difficult than for others ...