[giraffe_lady]

Franzen wasn't the first and hasn't been the most consistent among those raising this concern. DT Max, who was Wallace's friend, and not even a rival-friend like Franzen, has said he thinks the chess encounter from this story is fabricated.

It's also been very convincingly established that the "companion" of the state fair essay didn't exist or wasn't there, which fundamentally changes the piece in a very serious way. His relationship to the publication in the famous "consider the lobster" essay was also not at all what he claimed within the essay.

He was a great writer in many ways and these don't change that or reflect on his skill. I think his even publishing as "nonfiction" was more a characteristic of the literary-journalistic culture of his time, rather than an informed choice on his behalf. Tall tales and partially fictionalized accounts of real events are themselves a deep American literary tradition and there's no shame in that heritage.

But it's well established now that he wasn't the most strictly scrupulous writer or person in general. He stalked and harassed Mary Karr for years, and he has absolutely been caught in small lies in his published works. Whether you still trust him on the big stuff is up to you I guess, doesn't speak to his literary legacy much either way imo.