Forbidden Love (novel) - Hoax Scandal

Hoax Scandal

Questions about Khouri's story surfaced almost immediately. Several readers wrote on message boards that much of the book didn't ring true. For instance, the book contained numerous factual errors (it claimed that Jordan borders Kuwait, contained "fanciful" depictions of Amman, and made false statements about Jordanian law). She also aroused suspicions because she spoke perfect American English, even though she claimed to have never lived in the United States. Additionally, she had promised to donate most of the proceeds to the Jordanian National Association for Women, but only sent $100. The group was suspicious of her claims from the start, contending that it would have known about such a crime given Jordan's size. After conducting an investigation, it wrote Random House Australia in September 2003 detailing 73 specific errors and exaggerations. However, Random House stood by Khouri.

In July 2004—a year after the book's release--Sydney Morning Herald literary editor Malcolm Knox wrote a series of articles which exposed Khouri as a complete fraud. Knox wrote that based on an 18-month investigation, Khouri had fabricated the story and sold it untruthfully as a memoir. In truth, Khouri had not lived in Jordan since 1973, but had lived in Chicago for most of her life and was married with two children. Khouri's family had not heard from her since 2000, when she abruptly left Chicago to write the book. Khouri continued to insist she'd told the truth, even when confronted with public records which proved beyond all doubt she had spent most of her life in the United States. Knox also unearthed evidence that suggested Khouri had left Chicago when legal problems arose with several real-estate transactions.

As a result, Random House pulled the book off the shelves in Australia and England indefinitely. Knox, with fellow Australian journalist Caroline Overington, won a Walkley Award(2004) for investigative journalism for his exposé.