Only a day after I once again touted James Frey's A Million Little Pieces and its follow up My Friend Leonard, The Smoking Gun reported that Frey may have fabricated and/or "wildly embellished" parts of his story. Reaction has ranged from shock and outrage to shoulder shrugs and "who cares?" The New York Times wrote twice on this issue, first reporting the story, then letting us know that Frey's publisher, Doubleday, was part of the shoulder-shrugging camp (no surprise there).
If the allegations are true, I personally will be disappointed. Sure, I'm still plowing through My Friend Leonard at a remarkable pace, but part of the umph and power of the story is lost on me. Even today, I found myself naturally reacting to events in the book, but then questioning how true to life it actually was. For me, part of what made the book(s) so fantastic was the notion that Frey's life was so dramatic, his story so out-of-this-world that it was better than most fiction. I'm guessing this issue won't ever fully be resolved; Frey will likely defend himself and others will say "fiction or nonfiction, it's still a great book," but it's a shame that the all the hype (which I deemed worthy) and Oprah fanfare and bestseller list stuff will be tarnished over this debate.
Anyway, I'm sure this will all blow over soon. Probably Monday, in fact, when Oprah announces her next book club selection. Hope it's a goodie!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment