In reality, as opposed to the book, Michael was not a six-month assistant D.A., Carcaterra says, and he was not necessarily working in Manhattan either. Truth matters, but it has nothing to do with petty details. An author who wanted to write about the Yalta Conference, say, but not about Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, would remain equally true to the topic by naming the principals Larry, Curly and Moe and placing them in a Tijuana saloon. The spectators were left with little else to do but watch the drama play itself out. That's pretty much the reaction provoked by a reading of Sleepers.
Internal contradictions pile up.
We never saw the hot stove, topped by empty cans of Campbell's pork and beans. That is an awful lot of information about a room Carcaterra never saw. Well, the author says, details about the vendor were invented. Could be, whatever. Time Inc. All rights reserved.