[PW] Re: James Frey -- pro and con?

[Bristow, Barbara]

The articles below are from OmniFile Mega.  A number of them fall under the "lying sack of $%#$" side, but _Don't Shoot the Storyteller_ looks like it comes out on the side of Frey.  Some of these articles appear to be examining both sides, so they might be worth looking at.

Barbara Bristow
Editor, OmniFile
H. W. Wilson


Title: Truth or consequences 
Personal Author: Bethune, Brian 
Source: Maclean's v. 119 no. 15 (April 10 2006) p. 68 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Fact checking; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Conlon, Patrick, 1938-/Works/No need to trouble the heart 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James
No need to trouble the heart [Autobiography]: Conlon, Patrick 

Title: The Predictable Scandal 
Personal Author: Freedman, Samuel G. 
Source: Columbia Journalism Review v. 44 no. 6 (March/April 2006) p. 50-3 
Abstract: The writer discusses the publishing world's lack of concern for factuality in memoirs. The Web site The Smoking Gun http://www.thesmokinggun.com discovered that James Frey had wildly exaggerated or completely fabricated various passages in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, an account of addiction and recovery that was selling 3.5 million copies as the choice of Oprah Winfrey's book club. In the genre of stories of personal and familial dysfunction, however, Frey was no aberration. The most notable revelation is not that he conveniently alternated between fiction and nonfiction but that the publishing industry ostensibly sees nothing wrong with his method and supplied a series of self-justifying rationales to excuse it. It took Oprah herself to speak up on behalf of the conned readers, deceit of whom most publishers clearly dismiss as unimportant. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Truthfulness and falsehood; Autobiography; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Reality Bites 
Other Titles: J. Frey 
Personal Author: Long, Rob 
Source: National Review v. 58 no. 2 (February 13 2006) p. 30-1 
Abstract: James Frey has come under fire for billing his terrible but best-selling A Million Little Pieces as a "memoir." People tend to enjoy a story more when it is pitched as the truth, but the revelation that this account of a messed-up, self-destructive tough guy wrestling with addiction was really just part of a "True Story" pitch has forced those associated with it to grapple with the thorny issue of whether a bad book can become a good one if it is true and uplifting. Indeed, when Frey first submitted the work to publishers as a novel, it was rejected and was only taken up when it was transformed into a memoir, a format that allowed the awkward writing and unbelievable plot to make the story seem more real. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Truth, Fiction and Frey 
Personal Author: Flamm, Matthew 
Source: The Nation v. 282 no. 6 (February 13 2006) p. 5-6 
Abstract: James Frey, the discredited author of the faux memoir A Million Little Pieces, should share the blame with his publisher. Frey has been revealed to be liar and a fraud, but it should also be pointed out that his publishers were foolish and venal. A Million Little Pieces has a clumsy beginner's prose style, and its overblown story of addiction and recovery aroused suspicions long before thesmokinggun.com revealed that the author did not serve time in jail and was never wanted in three states. Book publishers struggling to maintain levels of growth often crave titles that come with marketing plans built in, and Frey's claim that the book was true proved to be an essential piece of marketing bait. Greed made the publisher take on the book. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Frey's Lies 
Personal Author: King, Stephen 
Source: Entertainment Weekly no. 862/863 (February 10 2006) p. 142 
Abstract: The writer discusses Oprah Winfrey's recent interview with James Frey and the untruths that have been discovered about his book, A Million Little Pieces. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Pathological lying; Compulsive behavior; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Winfrey, Oprah 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: You Can Make This Up 
Other Titles: Controversy surrounding J. Frey's "memoir" 
Personal Author: Golway, Terry 
Source: America v. 194 no. 4 (February 6 2006) p. 8 
Abstract: The debate over author James Frey reveals the damaging effects of postmodern theory. Frey, who sold more books in America in 2005 than any other author except J. K. Rowling, purported to tell in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, the story of a tough guy with a bad attitude and a drug habit who served time in prison but ultimately found redemption. It turns out that Frey made up the most dramatic sections of his story, but his defenders have responded by insisting that, essentially, the facts and the truth do not matter. Ethicists, theologians, and philosophers have been warning for years about people who proclaim that truth does not exist, that everything is relative. Although memoirs are not autobiographies, surely even their authors must be held to certain standards of truth. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Literary forgeries; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Are There More James Freys? 
Personal Author: Deahl, Rachel 
Source: Publishers Weekly v. 253 no. 6 (February 6 2006) p. 4 
Abstract: Following the literary scandal surrounding James Frey's memoir A Million Little Pieces, there are signs that the public and the media remain interested in factually suspect memoirs. William Bastone, editor of TheSmokingGun.com, which broke the Frey story, claims that he has received a deluge of requests for similar investigations into other memoirs, and a blog entitled Truth to Power is running a contest to uncover the best lies in a range of memoirs. Little, Brown editor in chief Geoff Shandler says that the reaction to Frey has, at a certain level, less to do with book publishing and more with a public obsession with celebrity and scandal. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Biography/Evaluation; Thesmokinggun.com (Web site); Journalism; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: The Wrath of Oprah 
Personal Author: Darman, Jonathan 
Source: Newsweek v. 147 no. 6 (February 6 2006) p. 42-3 
Abstract: During a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, author James Frey was forced to admit that he had fabricated parts of A Million Little Pieces, his searing memoir of addiction. Winfrey had earlier championed Frey and A Million Little Pieces, and she had defended him even when lies were discovered in his book. During a recent interview with Frey, however, she criticized the author and asked him to account for the book's fabrications. It is unclear why it took so long for Winfrey to suspect Frey. Two years before she selected Little Pieces for her book club, the Minneapolis Star Tribune carried out an investigation that questioned the accuracy of the memoir. In addition, eight days after Winfrey announced the selection in September 2005, a counselor from Hazelden, a Minnesota-based rehab center where Frey supposedly spent time, approached Oprah's producers with concerns regarding the accuracy of the book. Despite these questions, Winfrey decided to embrace Little Pieces, and its sales soared immediately after being selected for her book club. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Oprah Winfrey show (Television program); Winfrey, Oprah; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: When the Story Stolen Is Your Own 
Other Titles: T. Barrus's fabricated memoir, The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams taken from A. Sherman's short story, This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona 
Personal Author: Alexie, Sherman 
Source: Time v. 167 no. 6 (February 6 2006) p. 72 
Abstract: In 1999, Nasdijj, a Native American writer who was born fragile and poor on a destitute Indian reservation, published the essay "The Blood Runs Like a River through My Dreams" in Esquire; the piece garnered a National Magazine Award nomination and was subsequently expanded into a memoir of the same title that became a finalist for a PEN/Martha Albrand Award. The writer, a Native American writer and multiculturalist, explains why he suspected that the author of the piece was a literary thief and a liar. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Plagiarism; Literary forgeries; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics; Nasdijj/Ethics; Alexie, Sherman, 1966-/Works/This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona 
Works: This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona [Story]: Alexie, Sherman
Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: James Frey: Feelings as Facts 
Personal Author: Travis, Trysh 
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education (February 3 2006 supp) p. B5 
Abstract: The writer criticizes the embellished version of the truth presented as fact by James Frey in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces. She compares his embellishments of the truth to student plagiarism. 
Subject(s): Literature and morals; Truthfulness and falsehood; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Falling to "Pieces" 
Personal Author: Rieder, Rem 
Source: American Journalism Review v. 28 no. 1 (February/March 2006) p. 6 
Abstract: Newspapers take fabrication problems seriously when they encounter them, but the book business seems to play by different rules. A Million Little Pieces, published in hardcover by Doubleday, is the memoir of James Frey, who relates his recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, and is a special favorite of TV book queen Oprah Winfrey, whose endorsement helped it become a major best-seller. An investigation by The Smoking Gun Web site, however, revealed that Frey had embellished and made up elements of his difficulties with the law. In an appearance on Larry King Live, Frey admitted that he had played around with the facts but dismissed it as trivial. Winfrey stood by him, calling the King show to declare her undiminished support, and Doubleday has not expressed any alarm or regret. What is most disturbing in all this lack of remorse and anger is an astounding contempt for the importance of truth. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Winfrey, Oprah 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 
 
Title: Talk Show Blues 
Personal Author: Nelson, Sara 
Source: Publishers Weekly v. 253 no. 5 (January 30 2006) p. 5 
Abstract: After chastising author James Frey about the veracity of his memoir on a recent show, talk show host Oprah Winfrey turned on the publishing industry itself, in the form of Nan Talese. In response to Winfrey's assertion that publishers should verify that what they tell the public is true, Talese explained that publishers do not fact check memoirs but instead vet them for libel. Talese's condemnation of the public's misunderstanding of a memoir's scope and Winfrey's assertion that editors should be more vigilant highlight the disconnect between the work of publishers and what readers want. The subsequent public reaction, that publishing conspires with liars and that editors do not care about what is in their books as long as they sell, is unfair and illogical. Nonetheless, Winfrey is correct that something has to change. Publishers would be wise to pay closer attention to the details in memoirs, particularly when they address such enormous and powerfully personal subjects as recovery. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Publishing; Biography/Publishing; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Winfrey, Oprah 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Live on 'Oprah,' a Memoirist Is Kicked Out of the Book Club 
Personal Author: Wyatt, Edward 
Source: New York Times (Late New York Edition) (January 27 2006) p. A1, A16 
Abstract: On live television Oprah Winfrey confronted author James Frey for misrepresenting his book A Million Little Pieces as an autobiography. Because of Ms. Winfrey's earlier promotion, Mr. Frey's book has sold more than 2 million copies in a short amount of time. He acknowledged that he fabricated essential parts of the book, while Winfrey stated that she regretted backing the book and fostering the impression that truthfulness was not that important. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Oprah Winfrey show (Television program); Winfrey, Oprah; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: The Ugly Truth 
Other Titles: J. Frey 
Personal Author: Peyser, Marc 
Source: Newsweek v. 147 no. 4 (January 23 2006) p. 62-4 
Abstract: James Frey's best-selling drug-addiction memoir, A Million Little Pieces, is at the center of a literary tempest. The stark and brutal book focuses on the time the author spent in a Minnesota rehab program and was initially, Frey says, rejected by over a dozen publishers, only selling after he reclassified it from a novel to a memoir. One of the unanswered questions about this harrowing but inspiring story is what, if any, alterations Frey made after the reclassification. He has admitted to 18 pages of embellishments, which he rationalized as less than 5 percent of the total, and is standing by the essential truth of the work. The controversy surrounding Frey's book raises concerns that readers might stop buying memoirs, the cash machines of publishing houses for about the past decade, if writers admit to juicing some facts. 
Subject(s): Autobiography/Authorship; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Crack-up: James Frey's Messy Story 
Personal Author: Homans, John 
Source: New York v. 39 no. 3 (January 23-30 2006) p. 80 
Abstract: The Smoking Gun Web site has subjected James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, to a savage expose. The site exposed photographs of Frey as a fresh-scrubbed teen idol--not the hollow-eyed wraith with missing teeth that would have matched his stories about crystal meth. Frey was a garden-variety collegiate coke-snorter, and his stories of substance abuse hell told in A Million Little Pieces were bogus. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Smoking Gun (Web site); Autobiography/Authorship; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 
 
Title: The Trouble with Memoirs 
Other Titles: Controversy over claims made by J. Frey in his book, A Million Little Pieces 
Personal Author: Grossman, Lev 
Source: Time v. 167 no. 4 (January 23 2006) p. 58-60, 62 
Abstract: Author James Frey has been accused of making up important parts of his best-selling 2003 memoir, A Million Little Pieces, but it is debatable whether the truth really matters. A Million Little Pieces is the abrasive, lurid, and outrageous story of an Angry Young Man who becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, and so far, it has sold approximately 3.5 million copies, partly because Oprah Winfrey picked it as her book club's third nonfiction title. In recent weeks, however, some of the facts in the book have been challenged by the Smoking Gun, a Web site that specializes in exposing public records. Speaking on Larry King Live, Frey argued that a memoir is a subjective retelling of events and insisted that the book is his recollection of his life. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Smoking Gun (Web site); Autobiography/Authorship; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Real Life, No Police Chases 
Other Titles: Questionable claims made by J. Frey in his memoir A Million Little Pieces 
Personal Author: Quindlen, Anna 
Source: Newsweek v. 147 no. 4 (January 23 2006) p. 74 
Abstract: Readers should not have been surprised by recent revelations about the veracity of James Frey's best-selling memoir of drug addiction and recovery, A Million Little Pieces. Evidence has come to light that the book, the second biggest seller of 2005, should have been classified as fiction rather than nonfiction, but at issue is not why Frey would inflate his exploits but why readers fell for it easily. One answer is that audiences like drama; another may relate to the book's dramatizing of addiction, which is often sad and unremarkable. Given that many people can scarcely remember their own phone numbers and live undramatic lives, readers should not readily accept the existence of superhumans who recall the smallest details of a time whey they were totally hammered and living on the edge. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Autobiography/Authorship; Frey, James, 1969-/Ethics 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: Why James Frey Doesn't Get It 
Personal Author: King, Heather 
Source: Publishers Weekly v. 253 no. 4 (January 23 2006) p. 216 
Abstract: The writer, the author of the memoir Parched, reflects on the differences between that book and James Frey's memoir A Million Little Pieces, which has sold 3.5 million copies. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Biography/Evaluation; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 
 
Title: Don't Shoot the Storyteller 
Personal Author: Nelson, Sara 
Source: Publishers Weekly v. 253 no. 3 (January 16 2006) p. 5 
Abstract: The vilification of James Frey for changing facts and details in his memoir A Million Little Pieces is beside the point and too easy. Using the creative nonfiction practice adopted by many memoirists, Frey created a compelling portrayal of an addict's life, including the grandiosities and deceptions that entails. He altered some names for the safety of innocent people and adjusted some details for his own benefit, but he never claimed to be writing a journalistic piece. Nonetheless, the literary world claimed to be shocked when TheSmokingGun.com revealed that not all the details in the book could be verified. Ultimately, Frey has provided readers with what they want, a really good story, as evidenced by the book's great reception. 
Subject(s): Literary ethics; Biography/Evaluation; Biography/Publishing; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James 

Title: The Transformation of James Frey 
Personal Author: Nester, Daniel 
Source: Poets & Writers v. 33 no. 4 (July/August 2005) p. 30-4 
Abstract: The writer discusses the career of author James Frey, whose second memoir, My Friend Leonard, was published in June 2005. This memoir takes up where his first memoir, the best-selling A Million Little Pieces, leaves off, chronicling a friendship Frey made while struggling to get clean in the rehab center Hazelden. Both books are suffused with anger and regret, written by a man who has walked the line between life and death and has taken his time discovering which side he wants to stay on. Frey's outlook as a writer is about confidence and hard work. He goes about his writing life the way he went about his recovery from alcohol and drug addiction: very deliberately, very methodically. Before he began his memoirs, he reasoned that he needed to find a style of writing that was new and fresh, unlike anything that had come before. Although it took years to find that voice, he notes that once he found it, it was just a matter of getting it down. 
Subject(s): Authorship; Drug abuse; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/Million little pieces; Frey, James, 1969-/Works/My friend Leonard 
Works: Million little pieces [Autobiography]: Frey, James
My friend Leonard [Autobiography]: Frey, James 
 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org]On Behalf Of
> Robin Shapiro
> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 3:49 PM
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: [PW] James Frey -- pro and con?
> 
> 
> Help!
> 
> I'm working with a college reading instructor who is using 
> James Frey's 
> A Million Little Pieces to examine questions about truth, fact, 
> fiction, and memoir.  Her students will need several articles -- half 
> on the "He told a good story so what does it matter?" side, 
> and half on 
> the "He's a lying sack of $%#$" side.  
> 
> The latter have been easier to find than the former -- and 
> I'm not sure 
> that I'm searching very well.  We have the original Smoking 
> Gun expose, 
> some material from Frey's own website, and not much else.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Robin
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------
> Robin Shapiro
> Reference Librarian
> Portland Community College -- Rock Creek
> 
> robin.shapiro at pcc.edu
> (503)614-7126
> _______________________________________________
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> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
>