Oh My...I just finished the book that everyone has been talking about, thanks to Oprah... A Million Little Pieces by James Frey...I remember seeing this book at the bookstore way back when...the pretty cover and candy-covered hand was certainly an attention getter...
It looked interesting, but heavy....months later Oprah is going on about it and before you know it I am seeing it in the hands of almost every Reader on the El..... then I come home and my Mom has it...Oh Oprah! So I did what any daughter would do...I snapped it up from my Mom and started reading... my feelings towards Frey's story is indescribable.. I am heart-broken and yet lifted. Without the intention of sounding like Oprah, seriously if you have thought about reading this book, or need a new read, PLEASE do yourself a favor and pick up this book. I want to hug you all, I want to hug James… The other day while finishing up work at the restaurant I met this woman at the bar. She had said that all she did for the day was read, she had just finished this book. I told her I had a little left to go and was already floored by the book and for a brief moment we bonded. Then just as I left this now, not-as-strange, stranger said good-bye told me to go home and finish the book. Then she said but first, “Give me a Hug.”
I understand why….
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There is nothing so wonderful about literature as its power to move us. Your post is heartwarming. And yet, in the interest of full disclosure, this just in from my Publisher's Weekly newsletter:
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
James Gets Frey-ed in Blogosphere
It looks as though James Frey's "haters" and "doubters" are coming out in ever greater numbers. The response to the damning expose published by The Smoking Gun (www.thesmokinggun.com) claiming key elements of the author's bestselling, Oprah-backed memoir A Million Little Pieces (along with its follow-up, My Friend Leonard) were either exaggerated or wholly fabricated, has hit the media and the blogosphere with quite a thud. After PW reported Monday on The Smoking Gun piece, the major media outlets ran with the story in full force on Tuesday (articles appeared in The New York Times, The AP, Reuters and USA Today among others), while Frey's fans and readers reacted to the scandal on various online message boards.
Frey, along with his agent, editor and lawyer, have remained mum on the controversy, although Frey is expected to address the issue in some fashion when he appears tonight on the Larry King Show.
On the message boards at Oprah.com (where the book is highly publicized and promoted as the most recent pick of the talk show queen's popular book club), sentiments were largely of anger, betrayal and confusion. While some who joined the fray supported Frey claiming, as one did, that "true or untrue, [the book] is a great read." Others called the author a "fraud" and a "liar" who presented fiction as fact for personal and financial gain. As one reader put it: "There is no disclaimer on the book that states he may have embelished [sic] his story. This is not right!!" A number of those taking to the message boards made pleas to Oprah (who is scheduled to announce her newest book club selection next week on her show) to address this recent turn of events.
Elsewhere on the Web it was the same story. At places like www.allreaders.com, comments were flying on the "James Frey Message Board" both in support and disparagement of the author. While one reader said, "who cares if [Frey] embellished [his story]," another responded that Frey had profited by doing so, writing that "not all of us are making millions off of those embellishments, and then passing them off as truths."
As questions about the authenticity of Frey's memoirs rage on, raising along with more complex questions about the way we as a culture appreciate and understand certain types of books, many eyes will be focused on Oprah. For it will be the talk show host's handling of this sudden kerfuffle (What, if anything, will she say about the scandal? And, more importantly, will it make the industry's resident King Midas think twice before endorsing another book by a living author?) which will be the most significant thing for the industry.--Rachel Deahl
Here's the smoking gun link:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/
jamesfrey/0104061jamesfrey1.html
Yes I have been reading about this all day yesterday and today. As a writer and storyteller I can see why things are exgerrated or embellished, shees, bad I guess...but flat out made up? That'd be just wrong! I wish I knew the truth....
To be honest, I don't think he could have passed the book off if he didn't claim it to be true. The writing isn't all that great. I allowed certain times where I wasn't particularly impressed because he wasn't out to become an author, he was telling his story.
I loved reading the book and it just broke my heart almost every time I opened it up. It would warm it just enough to coagulate and then break it all over again...
Maybe he was trying to be a simple writer and use repetition as his style? I hope he's got better skills hiding somewhere otherwise I wouldn't read another one of his books knowing they weren't true.
Jo - what was the name of that book about the dog and the linquist?
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