You Want A Piece of Me?!
I know I'm a little late in addressing this, but when it came to this topic, everyone was talking at me, and quite frankly, I couldn't hear a word they were saying.
What I'm talking about is the big scandal that recently rocked the literary world. And here everyone thought bookworms were only stuffy, boring types.
The controversial author is James Frey. The book is entitled A Million Little Pieces which, ironically, describes the state of Frey's career and reputation right now.
Admittedly I didn't know what this book was about before the scandal emerged. I had seen the book before and was intrigued, if only by the aquamarine cover and accompanying image. What can I say? I can be a shallow book chooser at times. I know I know, you can't judge a book by it's you know what. Regardless, I suppose you could say I'm still trying to put all the "pieces" together, so to speak.
So far this is what I think I know. A Million Little Pieces is a self proclaimed memoir of Frey's which highlights his triumph over tragedy and his success in the face of adversity. His words were so convincing that even Oprah, aka "God", put her stamp of approval on his book, literally.
Personally I've never put too much stock into anything Oprah recommends or doesn't recommend. I mean she's just a woman who happens to read. I'll take my must read recommendations from far less pretentious people who actually know me thank you very much. She's just another squirrel to me, trying to get a nut. This time though, as far as the nut part is concerned, she actually succeeded.
It was Smoking Gun, the folks who REALLY see you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake, allegedly blew Frey's "cover".
At first it seemed like Frey told us some lies. Sweet, little lies. But then the lies started piling up and when you get a bunch of little lies and put them in a room together the problem doesn't seem quite so little anymore. This also makes it much harder to ignore.
Questional Content Fabrications include but are not limited to:
1. Assigning himself a role in a deadly train accident that cost the lives of two female high school students.
2. Undergoing brutal root-canal surgery without the aid of anesthesia.
3. Confessions he was in jail numerous times, one time lasting as long as three months, when really it was more like a few hours.
4. The means by which a former girlfriend committed suicide.
Before we throw the book at him and all of his mounting lies, let's look at some truths. If Frey had written a fictious novel including much of what he did in his "non fiction" novel he wouldn't have gotten nearly as much attention. It wouldn't have mattered if he was the best writer on the planet. What made Frey so riveting was not because he was a good writer, but because he was a real guy who happened to write.
In fact, as many people were reading this book, they became engrossed BECAUSE it seemed so untrue. Here was a real man, with real problems who managed to overcome them. And as we all know, everyone loves a story about a bad guy who turns his life around. They want the truth but just like Nicholson once said, they can't handle the truth. Actually, A Million Little Pieces would have made a perfect movie. Now, no doubt, the movie will still be made, only it will be about the man who lied to make the book. I'm calling it The Humpty Dumpty Man. Talk about poetic justice.
A controversy that is far from over, Frey has admitted to some fabrications, but he has done so begrudingly. He also does not seem to want to admit that the lies are large enough to effect the overall message of the book. But one look at Frey trying to defend his actions and it's obvious that he is frayed in more ways than one.
It almost seems as if he has been lying for so long that he doesn't know what's real and what's not. The only truth to be found here is that Frey has a hard road ahead of him where he'll be picking up the "pieces".
What I'm talking about is the big scandal that recently rocked the literary world. And here everyone thought bookworms were only stuffy, boring types.
The controversial author is James Frey. The book is entitled A Million Little Pieces which, ironically, describes the state of Frey's career and reputation right now.
Admittedly I didn't know what this book was about before the scandal emerged. I had seen the book before and was intrigued, if only by the aquamarine cover and accompanying image. What can I say? I can be a shallow book chooser at times. I know I know, you can't judge a book by it's you know what. Regardless, I suppose you could say I'm still trying to put all the "pieces" together, so to speak.
So far this is what I think I know. A Million Little Pieces is a self proclaimed memoir of Frey's which highlights his triumph over tragedy and his success in the face of adversity. His words were so convincing that even Oprah, aka "God", put her stamp of approval on his book, literally.
Personally I've never put too much stock into anything Oprah recommends or doesn't recommend. I mean she's just a woman who happens to read. I'll take my must read recommendations from far less pretentious people who actually know me thank you very much. She's just another squirrel to me, trying to get a nut. This time though, as far as the nut part is concerned, she actually succeeded.
It was Smoking Gun, the folks who REALLY see you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake, allegedly blew Frey's "cover".
At first it seemed like Frey told us some lies. Sweet, little lies. But then the lies started piling up and when you get a bunch of little lies and put them in a room together the problem doesn't seem quite so little anymore. This also makes it much harder to ignore.
Questional Content Fabrications include but are not limited to:
1. Assigning himself a role in a deadly train accident that cost the lives of two female high school students.
2. Undergoing brutal root-canal surgery without the aid of anesthesia.
3. Confessions he was in jail numerous times, one time lasting as long as three months, when really it was more like a few hours.
4. The means by which a former girlfriend committed suicide.
Before we throw the book at him and all of his mounting lies, let's look at some truths. If Frey had written a fictious novel including much of what he did in his "non fiction" novel he wouldn't have gotten nearly as much attention. It wouldn't have mattered if he was the best writer on the planet. What made Frey so riveting was not because he was a good writer, but because he was a real guy who happened to write.
In fact, as many people were reading this book, they became engrossed BECAUSE it seemed so untrue. Here was a real man, with real problems who managed to overcome them. And as we all know, everyone loves a story about a bad guy who turns his life around. They want the truth but just like Nicholson once said, they can't handle the truth. Actually, A Million Little Pieces would have made a perfect movie. Now, no doubt, the movie will still be made, only it will be about the man who lied to make the book. I'm calling it The Humpty Dumpty Man. Talk about poetic justice.
A controversy that is far from over, Frey has admitted to some fabrications, but he has done so begrudingly. He also does not seem to want to admit that the lies are large enough to effect the overall message of the book. But one look at Frey trying to defend his actions and it's obvious that he is frayed in more ways than one.
It almost seems as if he has been lying for so long that he doesn't know what's real and what's not. The only truth to be found here is that Frey has a hard road ahead of him where he'll be picking up the "pieces".
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