Is Million Pieces by James Frey still worth-while?

[byucougs]

I posed this question to my 8th grade students. After all of this talk about the lies that went into this book, is this book still worth reading? I am curious to hear your thoughts.

[Ryduce]

Just having the courage to write a novel,true or not,is commendable.I could care less if he lied.All that matters is if you enjoyed the book,or if it effected you.I heard it's helped alot of people get through their substance abuse problems.More power to him.To hell with the critics,and Oprah.

[beer good]

Has the text of the book changed any? If it hasn't, then it's the exact same book, and any value it had before (I've not read it myself) is still in there.

I honestly don't get this obsession with true stories, as if a true story was automatically more valuable than a fictional one. People are SUING James Frey (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002760247_frey25m.html) for wasting their time because they read his book - I mean, come ON. An autobiography which is exaggerated and not completely truthfull... gee, that can't have happened before, right?

Sure, when we're talking non-fiction (which this, apparently, is presented as, which probably was a stupid decision, but...) separating truth from fiction is important. But Frey was unknown before the book came out, and I honestly don't see why it's important whether every single word in it is true or not.

[ArcherSnake]

A Million Little Pieces is not worth reading PERIOD, whether it is a truth or a lie. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone, and certainly not 8th graders. It's just disgusting. As for it being competely true or not...well, I guess the bottom line is, don't trust a crackhead. It is very unlikely that many of the things the book detailed actually happened. The dental surgery, for instance; dentists have said that that would be next to impossible to endure.

[Virgil]

You guys who support this liar are nuts. Anyone who buys this book now is a sucker. Anyone want to buy a bridge? I've got one cheap. And as for Doubleday, his publisher, I'm not going to be in a hurry to buy something from them either.

[Psycheinaboat]

I think it is important for memior writers to be as truthful as possible. Human memory is not flawless, but I think we should value the attempt to at least try to be honest in a biography or memoir.

[beer good]

You guys who support this liar are nuts. Anyone who buys this book now is a sucker. Anyone want to buy a bridge? I've got one cheap. And as for Doubleday, his publisher, I'm not going to be in a hurry to buy something from them either.
Is a made-up story (and from what I've read, "Million..." is hardly made-up, just exaggerated) automatically less profound than a true one? Is a news reporter who takes great care to get the facts right more important than, say, Dostoevsky? Are novelists just liars?

I guess I just don't get this infatuation with true stories, which seems to be spreading (look at the "da Vinci" controversy). The whole point of literature, at least for me, is to shine a light on this thing called life from different perspectives. Whether every single word of it is factually TRUE matters not one smidgen to me, as long as it speaks to me.

The whole "he's a liar" perspective would be more valid if we were talking about someone who is already well-known. But Frey, AFAIK, was virtually unknown before the book came out - the only facts he's lying about are ones about himself, and all we know about him is what's in the book. He presents an image of himself which isn't true, but isn't this exactly what Kurt Vonnegut does in "Slaughterhouse-Five" or Bret Easton Ellis in "Lunar Park" or Philip Roth in any of his novels? Who, except himself, is he hurting with these "lies" of his? (And again - seriously, does anyone believe this is the first autobiography to be less than truthful? "Lady Sings The Blues" is most likely a fib from beginning to end - should I burn my Billie Holiday records?)

Should Frey have slapped the word "Novel" on the front cover? Probably. I think I'll just pencil that in when I read it.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

Great post Beer, you said exactly what I was going to say. I don't think I have a word to add.

[Logos]

Well there certainly are a lot of allegations condemning the guy as to his initial intent on writing this book. I'd never actually heard of him till all this controversy. Maybe it should be relegated to the semi-autobiographical fiction department :lol:


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

[Ryduce]

In a interview I heard him say that he tried to have it published as a ficticious novel,but the publishers would only have it as non-fiction.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

In a interview I heard him say that he tried to have it published as a ficticious novel,but the publishers would only have it as non-fiction.

As Mandy Rice-Davies famously said under oath, "Well he would say that, wouldn't he?" :lol:

[byucougs]

Just to clear things up a little, I wasn't recommending my 8th grade students read the book, I just wanted their opinion on the validity of it as a book. Their thoughts mirrored the opinions found here. Thanks for the posts.

[Virgil]

You guys who support this liar are nuts. Anyone who buys this book now is a sucker. Anyone want to buy a bridge? I've got one cheap. And as for Doubleday, his publisher, I'm not going to be in a hurry to buy something from them either.
Just a clarification. I had first heard that Doubleday was the publisher, and I was under that impression when I wrote this post. Today on the radio I heard it was Random House. Let me just clarify: I don't know who the publisher is at this point. If Doubleday is not the publisher, I feel bad I slammed them. Whoever the publisher is is partly culpable. But the writer deserves most of the blame.

[Spiritus]

How could anyone even suggest that this book was or is worth reading now? When I first came across the book (lent to me by a friend) I immediately found it to be horrible in structure and laughable in content. I have battled with addiction and what this guy wrote did not make sense. Who would let someone who is all bloody and wasted board a plane? Really? Think about it!
The point is that he is a liar. Big deal, in this world he is hardly alone. But what makes him dangerous is not his fake gutter bravado portrayed in his book (Would that character in the book really say in real life "I am honored to be chosen for Oprahs' book of the month?") the damage he has done is his tremendous callous ego that gave pep talks at treatment centers and dragging up the painful memories for the parents of the dead girl he used to make some money.
Addiction is not glamorous. It is horrifying for the one who is suffering and for the ones that come into contact with him or her. When beaten down by an addiction, you are not proud and ready to fight the good fight as portrayed by the likes of this author. You are sick and scared. In this state, nobody needs the likes of James Frey coming along and confusing things more.

[Spiritus]

How could anyone even suggest that this book was or is worth reading now? When I first came across the book (lent to me by a friend) I immediately found it to be horrible in structure and laughable in content. I have battled with addiction and what this guy wrote did not make sense. Who would let someone who is all bloody and wasted board a plane? Really? Think about it!
The point is that he is a liar. Big deal, in this world he is hardly alone. But what makes him dangerous is not his fake gutter bravado portrayed in his book (Would that character in the book really say in real life "I am honored to be chosen for Oprahs' book of the month?") the damage he has done is his tremendous callous ego that gave pep talks at treatment centers and dragging up the painful memories for the parents of the dead girl he used to make some money.
Addiction is not glamorous. It is horrifying for the one who is suffering and for the ones that come into contact with him or her. When beaten down by an addiction, you are not proud and ready to fight the good fight as portrayed by the likes of this author. You are sick and scared. In this state, nobody needs the likes of James Frey coming along and confusing things more.

[Mortis Anarchy]

Read it. I don't care what anyone says, it was a really good Novel/Memoir, or whatever you want to call it. Brilliant. I'm not sayint the guy is an honest/dishonest man, but it was amazing.

If you look at it just as a novel and not take it as a memoir, it is pretty decent. It is true that what he did was wrong and the publisher as well was wrong, but I don't really take memoirs as a memoir, I read them like I would anyother book. Sometimes memoirs are just totally crazy that I find it hard to believe because nothing like that has ever happened to me or anyone I know. I wouldn't stand it up to quite a few memoirs/novels but it is still a pretty interesting story, even if he is a liar. I'm not agreeing with his actions.