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Archive through January 14, 2006

The TVClubHouse: Movies/Library ARCHIVES: Movies & Library 2006: The Smoking Gun debunks A Million Little Pieces: Archive through January 14, 2006 users admin

Author Message
Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 12:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
I haven't read the book, but own it. Bought it before Oprah made it so popular. I'm considering returning it, unread.

Dear Friends:


Thanks to Oprah Winfrey, author James Frey's "A
Million Little Pieces" has sat atop best-seller lists
since the TV star picked the nonfiction memoir for
her powerful book club four months ago. Winfrey
has called Frey's book, which chronicles his years
as an alcoholic, drug addict, and criminal,
"gut-wrenching" and "so real." Well, not exactly.
A six-week investigation has determined that Frey's
blockbuster is filled with fabrications, falsehoods,
and other fakery. In a related note, a "rattled" Frey
has lawyered up and is threatening to sue us for
millions. Details at:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html


Regards,

Your pals at TSG

This is a really LONG article, but pretty interesting.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 1:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Interesting article. Frankly when I read the book, there were a lot of things I questioned as being factual -- starting with the opening sequence of him being on the plain bleeding and covered in vomit -- there's just no way a flight crew would let him get on a plane like that.

However, I found the book to be a very interesting read (once I got used to the unconventional writing style). I'm reading the sequel now and still question some of the "true life" aspects of it, but it's a good story.

Bottom line, I liked reading both books and I think there are important pieces to them that can help non-addicts understand something of what an addict's mind might be like and that seems to have helped some addicts find courage to seek help themselves.

After reading the TSG article (yes, it IS long!), I have to question the publisher a bit here. If it's true that Frey originally was selling the book as a work of fiction, but the publisher wanted it to be billed as non-fiction, then it would seem the publisher bears some responsibility for this situation.

Anyway, if you think the story sounds interesting to you, read it. If not, return it. No matter how you look at it, it's an interesting proposition. :-)

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 8:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Well I do think I could still get something out of it, but I guess I have read plenty of real stories and hate to support a fraud. I noticed that Oprah was promoting a rerun of the show where she was pushing the first book.

Bonzacat
Member

07-08-2003

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 8:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Bonzacat a private message Print Post    
Well, I just started the book..... two days before this story broke...

Mr. Frey will be Larry King's guest on Wednesday. I'll be watching.

Wendo
Member

08-07-2000

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 9:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wendo a private message Print Post    
I just finished reading TSG's report (and yes, it is long.) What a strange story, to say the least. I've noticed the book at book stores (nifty cover), but haven't yet bought it. I may now because I'm somewhat curious about this whole thing.

Interestingly, I graduated from Denison University in 1993 and was a senior in October 1992 when Frey was allegedly arrested for creating a brouhaha. I do not recall ever hearing of such an incindent myself. And, according to TSG article, Frey may have used some creative license in describing the event.

I did not know him, but knew of the fraternity he was part of, SAE. They had the repuation of rich partiers. The reputation of druggies went to another fraternity, FIJI.

It's always so odd to read of something that you have some knowledge of (in this case, Denison and Granville.)

Personally, I enjoyed my three years at Denison. While I had fun, I also came away with a great education.

I wonder how this will all play out? Strange.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 12:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Well, it seems that some refunds are now being offered on the book. 'Pieces' buyers offered refund

I bought my copy (along with My Friend Leonard) from Amazon.com. No word if they are offering refunds, but the publisher and apparently some bookstores are doing so.

While I enjoyed both books, I have to admit that I'd take a refund if it was offered -- not because of the 'scandal' but just 'cause it would be a good budgetary move for me.

Cndeariso
Member

06-28-2004

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 1:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cndeariso a private message Print Post    
o.k. i'm so out of the loop, who is this guy anyway?

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 1:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Cndeariso, James Frey is the author of A Million Little Pieces, which was an Oprah Book Club selection and supposedly a true account of his drug and alcohol rehab experience. It's a very good book, IMHO, but it doesn't completely surprise me that it may be embellished.

Anyway, here's the latest: Winfrey stands behind 'Pieces' author

"I am disappointed by this controversy surrounding 'A Million Little Pieces,' because I rely on the publishers to define the category that a book falls within, and also the authenticity of the work," Winfrey said.

"But the underlying message of redemption in James Frey's memoir still resonates with me, and I know it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book."

"What is relevant is that he was a drug addict who spent years in turmoil from the time he was 10 years old drinking and tormenting himself and his parents, and stepped out of that history to be the man that he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves."

"To me, it seems to be much ado about nothing," she added.


Cndeariso
Member

06-28-2004

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 6:03 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cndeariso a private message Print Post    
thanks, max, but i realize he is the author of this book, but who is he otherwise? is he somebody that was famous for something before he wrote this book? never heard of him until the book. i thought maybe he was related to amber frey or something.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 9:43 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Well, he's done a couple of small screenplays and produced or co-produced some small movies, but really nothing of note. He rose to "fame" because of this book. :-)

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 2:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tishala a private message Print Post    
The cynic in me wonders whether Oprah has optioned the film rights to the book.

Cndeariso
Member

06-28-2004

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 2:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cndeariso a private message Print Post    
gottcha, thanks, max. no wonder i had never heard of him.

Westtexan
Member

07-16-2004

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 3:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Westtexan a private message Print Post    
I haven't read this book but it has been on my list of must reads after a friend highly recommended it.

My question...who is claiming he embellished the book? How would this person know? Why jump to conclusion that the claims are true without knowing the details behind the claims? I need to know more before I discount the authenticity of the book.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 4:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
I have almost finished reading the book and I believe that it has a great deal of value.

I watched a bit of Larry King last nite with Frey. Who is Frey? He's just a guy that went through stuff and wrote about it.

This book may be listed as a non-fiction so some people seem to think that every item and situation in the book can be verified. Frey states that it is more like his memoirs. He did not claim that it was a true account, but it seems many took it to be because it is listed as non-fiction. Memoirs are more like recollections and we all know how well our memories can be on certain events. The book should not be discounted because of it.

Frey has been through quite alot in his life, and he has recorded much of it. His sharing with others has helped them. Does it really matter if 18 pages of words out of 400+ words are not actual events? I say NO. If you read the book, I believe that you will get something out of it.

I know one fellow who has been through quite alot of similar events in his young life, and he is the one who recommended the book to me.

He is struggling to turn his life around, but it has been slow and far from easy. He contacted me online to ask me if I read much. I replied that I am an avid reader. He told me there is one book that I just HAVE to get - he just finished reading it and he said he could not put it down. My friend has gone through many of things that are in Frey's book too.

A friend of his from the past looked him up out of the blue and told him about the book - said he thought it could help him on his journey through life.

Maybe if you have never had any kind of struggles or addictions in your life, the book won't be great for you, but most of us have had our own inner struggles of some sort. If you have, you will be able to relate.

Instead of wasting your effort in reading about what is behind the accusations to determine any authenticity, why not just read the book?

To me, it would not matter if the whole 400+ pages were all fiction because it has helped my friend and I can relate to it. That's all I have to say about it.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 5:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Westtexan. Go up-thread and find the link to the Smoking Gun article for details. Basically, they did some checking of police records and found that some of the things in the book relating to arrests and jail time simply were not true.

Two central incidents in the book have been found to be "embellished" quite a bit. First, Frey claimed that he spent time in jail in Ohio as a result of an incident where his car jumped a curb and hit a police officer. He was wasted at the time and said some other things occurred including his assaulting the officer. In the book, this is a central incident because it is what supposedly caused him to leave rehab and spend several months in jail. There are no records of any of this occurring, aside from the part of his car going up on the curb. No record of jail time for him exists.

Second, there's an incident he describes in high school where, in the book, a girl who he liked asked him to say she was going to the movies with him, but instead she met another boy for a date and then ended up being killed when his car stalled on some railroad tracks and a train came. In truth, there were two girls who died in a similar train/car collision but there is no connection to Frey that can be found. The girls' parents (both sets) are upset with the way the incident was changed in the book.

These seem to be the two things that have people most upset.

What upsets ME the most is that Frey initially tried to sell the book as fiction, but the publisher's representative wasn't interested in that and convinced him somehow to market it as non-fiction. It seems to me that the publisher bears some responsibility in that regard.

I agree that it is a very compelling story and has a lot of good information to convey. It's too bad this controversy is sullying it a bit, however, I imagine that it's also causing continued interest in the work.

Wendo
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 2:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wendo a private message Print Post    
Shadoe wrote, "He did not claim that it was a true account"

Actually, yes he did until The Smoking Gun began poking around. There is no disclaimer in the beginning of the book that it's based on recollection nor is it written on his book anywhere that it's a "memoir". (And even if it is, that doesn't mean one makes up things to make the story better. He claims he spent three months in jail in the book but that never happened and I highly doubt he's recalling it incorrectly.}

It's one thing to write a memoir and rely on your memory; it's something else entirely to make things up and pass them off as truth which is what he may have done. And, if that's the case, how can one trust everything else he's written in the book?

If the book were sold as fiction, I doubt it would've sold as well (or become an Oprah book selection.) What made the book compelling is because it was a "true" story that happened to a real person. Of course, now one wonders just how true a story it was.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 3:53 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Yeah, I saw a bit on TV where people were tossing around meanings of truth; essential truth among others.

I just get tired listening to everything being picked apart.

All I know is that whatever you want to call this book does not matter much to me because it is truly helping a friend of mine, and lies or not, I can relate to parts of it.

This book seems to contain many events that have happened to others who are or have been in similar situations in their lives, so maybe some things did not happen to Frey but others who have read the book did have to deal with those issues.

I have to say that before all this mess came to light, my friend told me that while he did not believe that all of the book was 'true', he still loved it and got something positive out of the story.

Coming from a guy who is going through a very similar type of life and one who seldom reads anything, that tells me it is a good book.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 6:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
50% true, 80% true or 100% true, does it really matter?

Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 9:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Eeyoreslament a private message Print Post    
Yes, but did he start reading the book as non-fiction? This may have changed how he related to the author (or should I say "character").

I dislike that he embellished. But I didn't read the book. I have a friend who has been peddling this book to anyone she can get to listen. I don't read much, and it didn't seem like a story I'd like.

Wendo
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 12:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wendo a private message Print Post    
"50% true, 80% true or 100% true, does it really matter?"

Yes, it really does matter when said book was being sold as 100% true.

Marysafan
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 12:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Marysafan a private message Print Post    
I haven't read the book, but I did watch the show that Oprah did with author. And they BOTH sold the book as being 100% true. The fact that Oprah is standing behind this man and the book, seriously hurts her credibility in my book.

The book was definitely misrepresented. It reminds me of the "Amittyville Horror" incident. A good story...but sooooo much better if it's sold as being true.

Jimmer
Member

08-30-2000

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 1:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
I think that we can say with a lot of confidence that no autobiography is 100% accurate. A person’s memory is frequently faulty and much of it is influenced by his or her own interpretation of the events.

However, there is an enormous difference between not remembering or misinterpreting something and completely inventing significant events that didn’t occur at all and presenting it as non-fiction.

Cndeariso
Member

06-28-2004

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 1:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cndeariso a private message Print Post    
they reported on the news last night that all this fuss about whether or not the incidents in the book were true have shot sales through the roof. i'm sure frey & his publisher are laughing all the way to the bank.

Wendo
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 10:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wendo a private message Print Post    
Yes, I agree Jimmer that autobiographies and memoirs do rely on the authors memory which can't be 100% accurate. And, I agree, that that is different than fabricating events which it appears Frey did.

You know what I don't get regarding this whole thing? Why would Frey lie when such things can be checked out? That's what I just don't understand. You don't forget or not recall spending less than a day in jail versus three months in jail.

Anyways...Cndeariso, good point.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 5:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
Eeyore, my friend read the book because it was suggested by his friend that it could help him.

My friend does not read much at all! He read words on bound pages, with no thought to how it was being advertised to the general public or on any Barnes n Noble site.
When you're not into reading, you may go to a book store, see it, buy it, read it, and never give one thought to whether it's true or lies or fiction or any other combination. Do you really think a non-reader checks at the cashier if a book is fiction or non-fiction or memoirs? No, all they want is to get this book thing that someone said was good and would help them.

When you're done, you have your opinion - it was good, it was bad, it was boring, or maybe yikes, I see myself in that and it helped me!

The end result is that it HAS helped some people. Picking it apart, dissecting its contents has no value to me.

Should we start picking apart every book that comes along and that seems to help others, just to be sure it's what it claims to be? Should we have word/book police?

I really don't see the point in tearing apart good things. Why is there this big need to prove what looks and sounds good to be bad?