A million little lies..

"Um,well, I mean..." That's the way that author James Frey prefaced almost every answer to the questions he was asked tonight on Larry King Live. Frey's creative shifting and manipulation of his version of the truth has caused a quite a dustup. I am listening to him try to himself out of what he has come close to admitting but not quite: that he lied. A Million Little Pieces is a riveting romp throgh Frey's crack smoking, law breaking alchohol induced existence years ago and of his attempt to get clean in a treatment center. Sounds compelling so far, right? Yeah, well he lied. I have to keep reminding myself of this because it clearly changes the entire impact of the book for me. Yes, James, memoir IS subjective. Yes, James, it should capture the essence of an experience. Yes James, YOU might call it the "essential truth of your life," but you've lost credibility. A student said to me "His story is amazing, I can't believe what he lived through!" And therin lies the rub. He didn't exactly live through any of it. Lessens the impact doesn't it? Not to her. She kept saying, "I don't care whether it's true or not, he's really brave." Okaaaay. . . but see, that 's the POINT, it's a good story, let's give him kudos for a story that has the ability to sell millions and millions (God only knows, if only I could do the same), but let's try not to elevate him to sainthood for what he survived, when at this point it is difficult to even figure out what exactly is true and what isn't. Oprah called in on the show and still supports the book. Frey and his Mom were grinning ear to ear. Sales will probably soar overnight! Having said that, I will lose interest in this rather quickly. Whenever the masses catch on to something , I say "I'm outta here." On to the next thing.
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