S1Ep5: The Comet

In fall of 1965 a book called The Painted Bird is published and begins to make waves across the literary world. It’s the story of a boy separated from his parents for six years during WW2. It follows him while he wanders the Polish countryside witnessing and enduring unimaginably sadistic torture and abuse. And as if the plot weren’t shocking enough, it’s made all the more sensational by the fact that it’s true! Yes, the author, a man named Jerzy Kosinski, managed to live to tell the tale. He’s compared to Anne Frank, his book is held up as one of the most important works of holocaust literature, and his life story is one of the most remarkable ever told! But...well, it’s all bullshit. Kosinski was never separated from his parents. Almost none of the events in the novel actually happened, and on top of that, he didn’t even write the book by himself.