A Million Little Pieces

[Caribou]

Is anyone reading this book? The author is James Frey, it''s in the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. There''s all this controversary over the fact that he embelllished the story a little (suppose to be a memory of his 6 week stint in rehab).

I am. It''s a very good book, very explicity, not sexually just what happens while in rehab. I''m about half way through it right now. The controversary does not bother me and I will continue to read it. I was wondering what other people''s opinions are, if anyone else is reading it.

 

[lilyinct]

I read it last year and enjoyed it, and personally don''t care if he embellished his story....maybe those extra little touches will speak to someone who has a problem and will make them get help.

Wait until you read the ending!

 

[Caribou]

You know, as I was reading it there were somethings where I was thinking ''that didn''t happen''

or ''how could he remember that''. I don''t really care either way, either. It''s is a very good book and like you said, if it helps someone GREAT!

I read the page that has all the characters stories after rehab. I am a terrible last page reader.

 

[roxy7]

I read it a few months ago and really enjoyed it, though it was kind of haunting. I can''t wait until it is a movie!

I cannot believe the controversy surrounding it in the media right now. Even if he might have greatly embellished some of the arrest stories and the story about the girl in high school, I really see those as side stories that were hardly integral to the integrity of the book. I read somewhere that Frey initially wrote it as a fiction, but publishers pressured him to work on the details so that they could sell it as autobiographical. I really think he must have someone who is out to get him, because most people''s reactions are, "So what?"

And don''t worry that you already read the last page b/c there are still other surprises in store

 

[bling*diva*]

~~I''m reading this book right now and I love it!! I think that James is very good at describing things without it being boring. I haven''t finished it yet (a little over halfway through). But so far, it''s great!!

 

[FireGoddess]

I read it and thought it was pretty decent, but by far not as amazing as Oprah thought it was. And I thought his method of writing (stream of consciousness) was somewhat confusing and a little irritating. I did like it enough to want to read "My Friend Leonard" (waiting for the paperback though) because I was fascinated with that character very much. I also saw him on Oprah's book club episode for the book, and it was interesting to hear his take on things. He is very matter of fact. Whether or not some things are embellished - I don't really care. But if the book helps anyone anywhere out there who's addicted to something, then it's worth the read in my eyes. On that episode of Oprah there were several people on the show who were addicted to drugs and claim the book saved them from "the brink."

 

[Morticia]

I''ve read both his books and loved them. I saw him on Larry King Live last night to hear his side of the story and it hasn''t changed how I feel about him or his writing. The things that he supposedly embellished are his arrests and some details about the death of a girl he knew in high school. To me, it doesn''t take away the good that came from his book, helping people with addictions. It just doesn''t bother me...

 

[koko]

I flipped through this book at Barnes & Noble, but didn''t buy it because I couldn''t get into the writing style. I''ve recently heard it referred to as "A million little lies"....ha. It seems to me that part of the addictive personality is exaggeration/deceit/embellishment or whatever. At least from the couple of people I''ve know with pain pill addictions which includes a co-worker & a friend''s aunt. Funny, though, not the alcoholics I''ve known (unless the deceit is directly related to hiding the drinking).

 

[MissAva]

Well if you bought and want your money back they will give you a full refund. Refund He did not just embellish, according to the news two nights ago he made up nearly the entire things, arrests, fights with cops, and more...The fact that Oprah however admits that the books is untrue "She declared that the allegations that Frey had fabricated some parts _ including a three-month prison stint that apparently never happened _ were "much ado about nothing" and that the book should be judged by its redemptive power." Makes me look at her in a new light and not a good one. This book had been a failure until she boosted it, she should have fact checked before making it her first non-fiction book.

CNN Story from 1/10/06

WTOP
Kansas City

A Million Litle Lies

 

[february2003bride]

"This book had been a failure until she boosted it, she should have fact checked before making it her first non-fiction book."

Actually the book was a best seller from month 1 of its release. Oprah giving it her "seal of approval" just boosted sales that much more as is the recent controversy.

Also, its not up to Oprah to research facts in a book, it''s the job of the publisher. She recommends books that speak to her in a profound way. She, just like other consumers, rely on the publisher to make sure a non-fiction book is fact checked.

Personally, I loved the book and liked My Friend Leonard even more. Should his book have been put in the non-fiction genre? My opinion is yes but there are women in my book club that felt it should have been labeled fiction.

Carrie

 

[MissAva]

From what I read it had been out for a few years already...is that untrue?
That she continues to support a man she now knows is a liar sets a bad example, and has nothing to do if the book is good or not.
If he just wanted to write a book he could have admitted that it was a fiction.

ETA: "The book, originally published in 2003 by the Nan A. Talese imprint of Doubleday, soared to the top of the best-seller lists in the fall after it was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her television book club. Ms. Winfrey's enthusiastic endorsement helped the book to sell more than two million copies last year, making it the second-highest-selling book of 2005, behind only "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." "A Million Little Pieces" currently tops the New York Times paperback best-seller list; Mr. Frey's second book, "My Friend Leonard," is on the paper's hardcover best-seller list. "
Best Seller After Choosen By Oprah

 

[koko]

I don''t think Oprah backed down on this because of her huge ego.....she could have at least acknowledged that it was "redemptive fiction."

 

[sarita]

I agree with 2 of the other posters. I received this book as a gift and while the subject matter is certainly interesting, I can''t get into it due to the choppy, often incongruent writing style. I didn''t know about the lying controversy, though. Embellishment isn''t a big deal to me but if it''s truly fiction I don''t think it would have destroyed its popularity to market it as such. :shrug:

 

[monarch64]

Although I am not a fan of Oprah Winfrey, I have read a couple of books that bear the "Oprah''s book Club" stamp based on recommendations by friends and my mother long before Oprah put them on her reading list. I will more than likely read the Frey memoir, due to the fact that it has received so much publicity, but not because Oprah gave it her seal of approval.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I haven't even considered reading this book. If a book is on the Oprah list or has has her stamp of approval, I'm more inclined NOT to read it because I feel her entire promotional tone is unappealing. I use to like her show, but I cannot stand the way people flock to her recommendations, even if they hold no merit. She raved on and on about AG jeans, which are like $150 a pair, but when I tried a pair on, they made my butt look flat! I wonder how many women are walking around right now thinking they look like hot **** when in fact, they're just fashion victims of Oprah's demise!?!

Also, a couple of THE WORST books I've ever read were highly recommended by her. "Songs in Ordinary Times," is an Oprah book from years back. The book is a depressing tale where the main character spends her entire time complaining about how miserable she is. The book drove me nuts. Another book, "A Hundred Years of Solitude," has absolutely NO plot, was boring, and all the characters had far too similar of names to keep them all straight. I didn't even finish the book!

About three years ago, I use to love Oprah's show and her raves of products, but since, I've seen so many people finding that items she suggests (like Bath and Body Works' Pumpkin Mask) aren't as great as claimed and mostly just a waste of money, that I try my best NOT to be suckered in.

 

[MINE!!]

I have to agree with you there MC.. I find most of her books a part of the "love being a victim, so I can tell you I am a survivor" tone.

 

[bstraszheim]

I have not read the book, but I do want to chime in for Oprah. I don''t care for her one way or the other, but one thing I think is great is that she is getting a generation of TV watchers to read. I think that is fantastic. It''s far easier to turn on the TV as opposed to sitting down to read. I think that is a shame. If it takes a round circle on the cover with the word "Oprah" in it to get people to read, then so be it. Not everyone will enjoy the stories, that''s okay, that''s what makes us people. How can you know you prefer one thing if you have no basis of comparison?

Happy Reading : )

Bridget

 

[monarch64]

It think you make an excellent point, Bridget. As much as I complain about Oprah and her "cult" sometimes, she has used her influence wisely regarding reading. For that I commend her. I also respect the fact that she doesn''t apologize for being such a huge presence in this country, she owns it and she should be proud of herself for making it big. My problem with the whole thing is that I see a lot of people who seem to hang on her every word and religiously follow her recommendations without ever questioning why they do so. Nothing wrong with being a conformist, but it''s just not me.

 

[FireGoddess]

Spoiler Alert - if you want to read the book or haven''t yet, don''t read this, because I reference events in the book!

Having had some more time to think about this, and learn more about what James Frey is accused of lying about in the book, and having seen Oprah''s talk show episode where she eviscerated him on national TV after calling in support of him to Larry King, does anyone think differently of the situation? I''m curious. I just read on MSN that James Frey is getting dropped by his agent, and that his publisher is reconsidering their two-book deal with him.

After watching Oprah''s show it seemed to me more like she was crucifying him not only because he lied, but even more because she felt embarrassed by supporting him and then finding out he ''lied.'' I can see that, and for CERTAIN, in light of what her next book selection is (Night, by Elie Wiesel, for God''s sake!!!) she does NOT want to portray the view that the truth doesn''t matter, especially when you''ve picked a memoir about the Holocaust as your next book club selection! But it does seem to me that the things James admitted to embellishing are rather mundane in the grand scheme of things. So he spent 3 hours in jail instead of 3 months. So Lily slit her wrists instead of hanging herself - she still committed suicide. Oddly, the thing that irritates me the most is lying about having 2 root canals w/o novocaine - because it is an early event in the book and it does kinda shape the character you perceive the narrator to be. But all in all, if that''s all he lied about, the book is still worth something. Of course knowing that he embellished things does make you call into question what did happen versus what didn''t. But it seems the uproar is just out of control, IMO. I definitely think a person should be held accountable...but the whole thing seems so whipped into a frenzy!

 

[Mara]

I haven't really been following this but I heard she totally crucified him on her show, hardly standing behind him. Even the publisher admitted they hadn't had the time to check the facts so I think the blame mostly lies on the publisher, you assume they'd be doing their due diligence before they actually put a book out.

As for her recommendations, I actually don't follow them that much one way or another, but having been a huge fan of AG jeans for years, I was happy that her show featured them because IMO they are some of the best out there for curvy gals. Also she only raved about them ON HER BODY, if you watched the show she tried on a bunch of jeans but those worked best for her...as a curvy woman like Oprah I wholeheartedly agree that they can really make you look fabulous, if you are not curvy then yes I could see them not really working out, but I know for a fact they make my butt look fabulous because Greg always gives me huge compliments when I wear those particular jeans.

Also I have a few other curvy friends who adore them as well. But even something like that is very personal. They featured 3-4 other designers on that show that were best 'for your body type' so it was not as though the whole show was about AG by any means.

Anyhow regarding the book, personally I can't believe all the drama surrounding it! Who cares if he embellished or made some stuff up. If the book is good, it's good. If it speaks to someone in the heart, it does not matter if it's truth or fiction or somewhere in between. Just because those things did not happen to him, they could happen to anyone and I think that is what I would take away from it. Part of writing IMO is having the imagination to ensure that your book is fascinating...would it be as popular if he had left some of that stuff out? Just my two cents..I don't plan to read the book as I am not into depressing stuff like that but I figure if you like it, like it because of the content and writing style and not because of whether or not every word is true.

 

[roxy7]

I am a fan of Oprah. Not a follower (personally, I wouldn''t buy anything just b/c she said so), but a fan.

As for Frey, I am concerned for him. I feel that he has taken beating after beating and I am scared that he might relapse or hurt himself in some other way. The public flogging should stop now; I think he has been punished enough.

 

[moon river]

Roxy I agree. This could knock him off the wagon. I think whatever it takes to help people then do it. He looked like he was going to head for the nearest bridge to jump off of.

 

[FireGoddess]

Unfortunately for Frey even though the publisher was definitely in part to blame as Mara said, the publisher''s rep really put all the blame on Frey himself. She kinda was like, "Yes, we should have checked facts, but when someone approaches us with a memoir we don''t immediately run out and check everything. We don''t ask them, "Gee, are you really as bad a person as you say you are in the book?" The woman really kinda thwarted the blame, but acknowledged facts should have been checked.

As for Frey, I don''t think your fear is unfounded, Roxy. During that public flogging on the Oprah show he really looked like a 7 year old kid who was getting his @ss kicked. If I were in his shoes I definitely think I would have done a little more defending of myself and just said, "Hey, x, y, and z were embellished. Is the whole story a lie? No. I understand your qualm with labelling the book a memoir but I stand behind my work." I imagine having Oprah REALLY POed at you can be a menacing thing...but he really acted very wishy washy and didn''t do his image any favors by being on the show again. Even just being up front about what was embellished would have been better instead of Oprah saying, "Okay, page 135, was that true? Page 215, what about that?" I understood her point but I felt it was conveyed in the first 10 minutes of the show....and there were still 50 minutes of a beating left to endure...!!!

 

[Caribou]

I also worry about what this will do for James Frey and his relaspe or worse.

I like Oprah, but she really needs to get off her high horse. Like Firegoddess said, nothing that was brought up was that important that it was worth getting her panties in a bunch over it. James Frey didn't ask her to put his book in her book club she choose to do that herself. He didn't ask her to call up Larry King Live and defend him, she took that upon herself, if she regretted it later that's her own fault. I found it totally unnecessary for her to lash out at him in front of millions of viewers. His publishers said that she didn't know that's why she was going on the show...she knew she going on in regards to truth in publishing (or something like that) but didn't realize that it was all about James Frey book. I wonder if he knew what he was in for when he agreed to be on her show. If not, I wonder if he will sue her.

I also heard about a class action law suit that people are starting in regards to this. Four states are involved I believe, they want to be reimbursed for the book (which is understandable and random house or some publishing place already said they do) and time wasted.

Makes me mad, let's sue someone over a book that wasn't all true because you took your own time and read it!!! What about the Enquieor (sp) or Star Magazine? What about the President...do these people want their money back for watching all his lies too!?!?!?!?!?

I hope James Frey comes through this okay. It's really being made into a bigger deal than need be. It's made me rethink my opinion of Oprah Winfrey, not because she backed the book but because her lashing out has made me realize that her ego is way bigger than should be. She's Oprah...NOT GOD!

Ironic, A Million Little Pieces is selling more than it was before all this bad publicity came out.

 

[littlelysser]

I read the book last year and I have to say that I thought it was a compelling read, although not an easy read. Like FireGoddess I was really annoyed by his stream of conciousness writing style and just generally didn''t care for it. I also read the follow up "My Friend Leonard" and before any of this craziness about the lies in the book broke, a friend and I were discussing that there is NO WAY that all the stuff that he says happened in that book actually happened. I didn''t care for that one at all.

I think Oprah was quite hard on him - although I think it was due more to her call on Larry King where she pretty much said the truth doesn''t matter, etc., - so she had to come off as a harda$$ to get over the negative publicity that was directed towards her based upon those comments. Kind of a hard core CYA, if you want my opinion.

And the publisher was a condescending wench. Sorry, but she was. They should have fact checked the parts of his story that would have taken like 3 minutes to check. Smoking Gun did it...

Melissa

 

[Momoftwo]

The biggest issue is his calling this his memoir when it is basically nothing more than a novel. He lied to sell books. Geez, just call it a novel and deal with the fact you won't get the same attention. All of this attention feed his ego. If he was that embarassed or upset by it he wouldn't have gone back on Oprah or on Larry King. Remember, all publicity is good publicity. I personally had no clue who he was (I had heard briefly of the book). I also dont' put a lot of credence in Oprah. She is not the sage that some believe her to be. She has ratings to maintain too.

 

[littlelysser]

I just thought I would add a comment by one of my close friends, who read and really liked the book before all of the lies came to light. One of her parents is an alcoholic and she essentially said that the reason she is so angry that he lied was that she feels like she has been manipulated and conned by yet another addict.

I thought it was an interesting take on the whole situation.

 

[zdrastvootya]

A few thoughts (I haven''t read the book).

I thought, like someone else, that a personality susceptible to addiction is probably susceptible to lying.

The fact that he lied is unacceptable to me. The people (although this may have been before how much lying was revealed), that stated they didn''t care about embellishment, that it was a good story, only encourages other would-be authors to do the same. It''s small wonder the publisher doesn''t fact-check. They only check if it''s a good read, and will possibly sell. If the public doesn''t care that they''re being lied to, why should the publisher?

As for Oprah, the thought of her fans being something of a cult has entered my mind.


Z.

 

[pearcrazy]

I think that Frey just took his beating on Oprah and then laughed all the way to the bank as sales of the book increased after the big stink. Fiction/ Non-fiction or somewhere in between what''s the big deal?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I have yet to read the book but I heard on the radio yesterday that Jennifer Antiston bought the rights to the movie years ago. I guess she loves the book so much. Oprah only did it for her book club in exchange for Jen's first interview after her split with Brad. Poor Jen's luck went from good to bad when the movie studio dropped the film after Oprah came out against the author. This is just what I heard but I thought it was an interesting twist.