Award-winning author Ann Patchett's most recent book, "This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage," was reviewed favorably in the New York Times when it debuted last year. But when a shorter blurb about the book appeared in the Times recently to promote the release of a paperback edition, Patchett appeared in, um, a less flattering light. The Times inadvertently made it sound as if the writer had married her dog.
As Patchett has proven herself to be a gifted writer and, clearly, a person with a good sense of humor, she sent a charming correction to the paper so copyeditors might rectify the mistake:
To the Editor:
I was grateful to see my book “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage” mentioned in Paperback Row (Oct. 19). When highlighting a few of the essays in the collection, the review mentions topics ranging from “her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog” without benefit of comma, thus giving the impression that Sparky and I are hitched. While my love for my dog is deep, he married a dog named Maggie at Parnassus Books last summer as part of a successful fund-raiser for the Nashville Humane Association. I am married to Karl VanDevender. We are all very happy in our respective unions.
The Times has updated its new review to reflect Patchett's relationship with her dog.
Shares