In his gripping and smart debut novel, The Creep,  Michael LaPointe tells the story of an ambitious journalist with a history of bending the facts to get a good story. Set against the ramp-up to the US invasion of Iraq and the decline of print journalism, LaPointe's panoramic, ingeniously plotted novel paints an affecting portrait of an increasingly unequal twenty-first century, exploring how self-enhancement and confidently delivered lies can be transfused into fact - and how violence and social breakdown soon follow.  Journalist Whitney Chase grapples with “the creep,” her compulsion to enhance her coverage of news stories with intriguing untruths and white lies. When a chance encounter brings her face-to-face with a potentially massive story about a game-changing medical discovery, Whitney believes she's finally found a story that doesn't need any enhancement. But soon when Whitney's investigation of this apparent medical miracle puts her on the trail of a string of grisly fatalities across the country, and she becomes inexorably tied to a much darker and more nefarious story than even she could imagine.

Michael LaPointe talks to Naben Ruthnum (Curry: Eating, Reading and Race) about The Creep and what a good story is worth sacrificing.

About this event’s guests:
Michael LaPointe
Naben Ruthnum

Photo of author courtesy of Alex Warrender.

***
This event is part of TPL’s Summer Books series. Check out the webpage for the entire Summer Books Series schedule.

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks’ notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email accessibleservices@tpl.ca

Michael LaPointe: The Creep