A Quick Word... Who Stole Amanda Palmer?

You know you've made it in the writing business when someone steals your work. Readers, I'm pleased to announce that I've officially had my first instance of intellectual theft!

About 6 Months ago on my Goodreads page, I posted a review of Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer's curious and arresting book Who Killed Amanda Palmer? The review was one of the first to hit the internet on the book, and as such it garnered a bit of attention from curious readers. This was compounded when Neil himself said that he liked the review, sparking a new torrent of interest. As you can see here, it's still up at the top of the review pile, and I've been grateful for, and flattered by, the interest.

The review ran as follows:

This book is one of those that is incredibly hard to describe in review form. So lets start with the facts:

1. It's a companion to Amanda Palmer's new CD of the same name.

2. It has words accompanying each of the pictures she has had taken of herself, written by Neil Gaiman.

3. She's dead in all the pictures, different ways and states each time.

So that's the basics, but it leaves me wondering how to describe it to you, if I call it beautiful, it dis...more This book is one of those that is incredibly hard to describe in review form. So lets start with the facts:

1. It's a companion to Amanda Palmer's new CD of the same name.

2. It has words accompanying each of the pictures she has had taken of herself, written by Neil Gaiman.

3. She's dead in all the pictures, different ways and states each time.

So that's the basics, but it leaves me wondering how to describe it to you, if I call it beautiful, it disregards the visceral pictures, the gritty, horrifying pictures of Amanda bloodied in a shopping trolley, or left in a dark alley.

If I say it's horrifying, it denies the superb photography of the book, the cadence of Neil's fitting words, the attention to detail in the pictures, and the shots where Amanda lies serene and peaceful.

The only thing to do then, is describe it as this: spectacularly unique. Combining the lyrics of her latest album, with short stories by Mr. Gaiman, and photos that seem to have been collected over many times and situations, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is both frightening, absorbing, artistic, and just a little fascinating. My personal favourite is the story of the author in the hot-air balloon, where I actually sat amazed at how well the picture and the text sat together as a compliment. It's not a book for everyone, but for Gaiman fans it's a definite read, For Palmer fans it's a sure-bet for a look. And for fans of both - it's an absolute must buy.

What's interesting though, is where this leads next. A friend of mine who read the review and decided to buy the book was surprised by a feeling of deja vu when reading Amazon's product description of the title:

This book is a companion to Amanda Palmer's new CD of the same name. It has words accompanying each of the pictures she has had taken of herself, written by Neil Gaiman. She's dead in all the pictures, different ways and states each time. So that's the basics, but it leaves me wondering how to describe it to you, if I call it beautiful, it disregards the visceral pictures, the gritty, horrifying pictures of Amanda bloodied in a shopping trolley, or left in a dark alley. If I say it's horrifying, it denies the superb photography of the book, the cadence of Neil's fitting words, the attention to detail in the pictures, and the shots where Amanda lies serene and peaceful. The only thing to do then, is describe it as this: spectacularly unique. Combining the lyrics of her latest album, with short stories by Mr. Gaiman, and photos that seem to have been collected over many times and situations, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is both frightening, absorbing, artistic, and just a little fascinating. It's not a book for everyone, but for Gaiman fans it's a definite read, For Palmer fans it's a sure-bet for a look. And for fans of both - it's an absolute must buy.

It's been cut down, but the resemblance is irrefutable and obvious. After email contact by me asking to be acknowledged as the author of the review, Amazon have instead chosen to remove it, but haven't been able to wipe up traces of it on this blog here, and here where Barnes and Noble appear to have stolen the Amazon-edited version, though they did not do me the service of using the whole document, ending mid-sentence:

Combining the lyrics of her latest album, with short stories by Mr. Gaiman, and photos that seem to have been collected over many times and situations, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is both frightening, absorbing, artistic, and just a little fascinating. It'

"It" what Barnes and Noble? Don't leave us in suspense!

Truth is, most of this probably isn't even Amazon's fault. It seems they have taken steps toward more user-generated content and I fully understand that they probably have no idea where many of their product descriptions come from. Truthfully, I don't mind my work being stolen, I could use the help to get my name out there, but if something as simple as attributing the words to their author is too hard for someone who thinks that they're at least good enough to advertise the product with, it stings a little. Although I suggested - and would have much rathered - that Amazon add my name to the review rather than scrapping it altogether, i'm impressed that they did at least change the product description page. It's been interesting to see the way that the words have moved from one place to another as one person 'borrows' from another in a domino-syled fashion. Above all, it's been exciting and thrilling to have my work received with the level of credibility associated with theft. I wonder if this is how the musicians feel...

If you miss this blog, or simply don't like the layout, chances are you'll be able to read it online somewhere else by the end of the week! How exciting!