The Chameleon
The many lives of imposter Frédéric Bourdin.
The many lives of imposter Frédéric Bourdin.
David Grann New Yorker Aug 2008 45min Permalink
An interactive fiction: a son and the illusion of his dead father; the intersection of technology and real life.
"Once I created his page I tried to return to my life. I was twenty-six years old, a man of inconsistent employment. During the winter I shoveled snow for the elderly. They paid me in germs and butterscotch candy. My landlord, an independently wealthy sexagenarian, accepted the candy as payment. She also insisted I tidy the complex. I changed light bulbs. I dusted the parking lot. I swept cigarette butts into the street. I clubbed the occasional beehive. My life was guarded and lonely, and susceptible, I soon discovered, to the distraction my father provided."
Alex McElroy Passages North Nov 2014 15min Permalink
A scholarly dispute devolves into criminal impersonation.
Batya Ungar-Sargon Tablet Jan 2013 10min Permalink