A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

[lambikins]

I rarely use yahoo as a search engine but my roomie had just left and she had the yahoo page up. Two weeks ago, I did a search on "James Frey" and got hundreds and hundreds of hits claiming "Buy A MILLION LITTLE PIECES HERE!".

So, today, after the smoking gun article, I typed in his name.

Oh. James.

The Doo-Doo has hit the fan!

According to yahoo news, this is just the first page of new articles relating to James and his non-fiction novel: http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/se...G4QK7ZzwABAA@@

These are just some of the papers and shows investigating him:

Jam! Showbiz; USATODAY; Lansing State Journal; The Village Voice; FOX News; Washington Post; CBS News; ABC News; New York Times; CNN.com

Maybe James' website should be renamed James Frey. con

[LG.]

Actually, horsnhound, you quoted me and what you said was:

I think you really need to read the book before you jump to any conclusions.

when really, I'm perfectly within my right to form an opinion about Mr. Frey's appearance on Oprah (which is all that I was purporting to give) by in fact that I had seen him on Oprah. I stated in my first post that I hadn't read the book, and listening to him made me much less inclined to purchase it. Reading what the Smoking Gun has to say, I'm even more convinced that I don't want my hard earned cash turning into royalties for Frey. I don't need Oprah or anyone for that matter telling me what books I NEED to read. I am just as entitled to my opinion that he was a jerk on a tv show as anyone who read his book and also saw him on a tv show.

[lambikins]

I don't need Oprah or anyone for that matter telling me what books I NEED to read. I am just as entitled to my opinion that he was a jerk on a tv show as anyone who read his book and also saw him on a tv show.

LG: I am laughing WITH you, not AT you, in regards to the above post. I figure if James can pound his post-vomit-caked chest about how HE "did it MY way", that you, LG, have the absolute RIGHTH to also "do it YOUR way" in regards to opinions about Frey.

You go, LG!

[Lonelyguy82]

Actually, horsnhound, you quoted me and what you said was:



when really, I'm perfectly within my right to form an opinion about Mr. Frey's appearance on Oprah (which is all that I was purporting to give) by in fact that I had seen him on Oprah. I stated in my first post that I hadn't read the book, and listening to him made me much less inclined to purchase it. Reading what the Smoking Gun has to say, I'm even more convinced that I don't want my hard earned cash turning into royalties for Frey. I don't need Oprah or anyone for that matter telling me what books I NEED to read. I am just as entitled to my opinion that he was a jerk on a tv show as anyone who read his book and also saw him on a tv show.

Lol! That's exactly what I did. I bought that book last week after NYE, and read it all. I knew that book isn't really after the first couple of pages. When I found out that he told a million little lies in this book, I returned that book back to Barnes & Nobel and got my money back.

In all of this, it looks like Oprah has been had, and I'm pretty sure James didn't expected to have his lies out of the control now but still, it's a good book.

[lambikins]

In all of this, it looks like Oprah has been had, and I'm pretty sure James didn't expected to have his lies out of the control now but still, it's a good book.

Well, I know that my coke-snorting, acid-popping, alcohol-swilling ex-husband never believed that "he'd be found out", either.

Not when he had his "million little affairs". Not when he stole $10,000 from the paint company that he worked for. They chose NOT to prosecute him because to do so, would reveal exactly how he embezzled the money and the company didn't want to educate their other employees.

The thing that most upsets me about this whole million little lies is the nameless, faceless Everyman/woman who believed, with their whole heart James story. I know my roommate does/did. This morning, when I pointed out to her the Smoking Gun article and asked her if she "wanted to read it", she shook her head sadly and replied, "No. I need to believe his lies. They really helped me get a handle on my own sh_t." < THAT is what has me so hopping mad about all the bull crap hoodwinking that he's done.

I'm out nothing; I didn't pop for the book so no money is lost. I didn't believe his story from the first page so I lost no faith. I didn't abandon a Treatment Program of 12 Steps, only to substitue JAMES Treatment Program of Tao and F--k U.

But his admirers, Oprah...my god, even his own parents, who have gone to Hell and back for their boy...those are the people that I'm the sorriest and saddest for, in this latest findings.

Currently, I'm watching the ABC Evening News, and they are having a piece on the "fictionalization of AMLP."

Sad. So sad.

[roseskid]

Wow. Just wow. I read the book a few weeks ago, and I have to admit, I was wondering why in the hell a guy (addict, or no) couldn't have novacaine for a root canal. It didn't make much sense to me, but now I understand a little more about Frey. He obviously was thinking it just sounded so much better to think he endured the procedures cold. Well, now I'm left cold, too. What a crock, I'm glad I got it at Costco at a discounted price of just under $8.00. I have no problem with authors loosely basing books on fact, but I do have a problem with someone avowing they're work is true, then to find out it's not. It will be interesting to continue to watch this unfold.

[lambikins]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060110/...puted_memoir_7

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
1 hour, 7 minutes ago



James Frey, whose best-selling memoir about substance abuse, "A Million Little Pieces," has come under intense scrutiny for alleged fabrications, will appear Wednesday night on "Larry King Live," a CNN spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

Bridget Leininger of CNN said Tuesday that Frey would not be interviewed for the entire hour-long program, but otherwise did not discuss details. Alison Rich, a spokeswoman for publisher Doubleday, and Frey spokeswoman Lisa Kussell both declined comment.

Frey's book has sold millions of copies and made him a hero among recovering addicts, but an investigative Web site has alleged substantial inaccuracies, with inflated claims about his criminal record and about his involvement in an accident that killed two high school students.

"Police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources have put the lie to many key sections of Frey's book," according to an article that appeared Sunday on http://www.thesmokinggun.com.

Frey's memoir was published in 2003 and became a sensation last fall after Oprah Winfrey picked it for her book club. He has defended his work, writing on his web site last weekend that "I stand by my book, and my life."

Also Thursday, Doubleday issued a statement of support, saying that memoirs are "highly personal."

"In publishing Mr. Frey, we decided `A Million Little Pieces' was his story, told in his own way, and he represented to us that his version of events was true to his recollections," according to Doubleday.

"Recent accusations against him notwithstanding, the power of the overall reading experience is such that the book remains a deeply inspiring and redemptive story for millions of readers."

Doubleday's Alison Rich acknowledged that the publisher was in "constant communication" with Frey, but declined to discuss the content of those conversations or any specific allegations about his work.

[horsnhound]

Actually, horsnhound, you quoted me and what you said was:



when really, I'm perfectly within my right to form an opinion about Mr. Frey's appearance on Oprah (which is all that I was purporting to give) by in fact that I had seen him on Oprah. I stated in my first post that I hadn't read the book, and listening to him made me much less inclined to purchase it. Reading what the Smoking Gun has to say, I'm even more convinced that I don't want my hard earned cash turning into royalties for Frey. I don't need Oprah or anyone for that matter telling me what books I NEED to read. I am just as entitled to my opinion that he was a jerk on a tv show as anyone who read his book and also saw him on a tv show.

L.G. Absolutely you are free to form any opinions about anyone you choose. Having not seen the Oprah show, I was simply letting you know that he did ackowledge those in his life and give thanks in his book. More importantly the issue I had was with your seeming digust with anyone taking credit for their own recovery, and moreover in a non conventional way. I am in 100% agreement that to purchase this book would be a complete waste of money. And I certainly don't think you NEED to purchase it. But having read the book does provide one with a more comprehensive understanding.
I am in total agreement with you that the man appears to be a complete jerk.

[ClosetRTWatcher]

When I found out that he told a million little lies in this book, I returned that book back to Barnes & Nobel and got my money back.

I wish I still had my receipt. I read this book last week and then heard yesterday about all the hooplah surrounding it. I can't say that I'm surprised. Like many of you there were parts of the book where I was thinking something along the lines of "No way would they allow him on a plane in that condition" or "how did he get thru college in that condition" or that the characters were nearly too colorful to be plausible. I am disappointed. I still think it was a good book, but for me knowing whether a book is fact or fiction up front changes the way I view it as I am reading. I just wish I had read it knowing up front that it wasn't true.

I saw his appearance on Oprah while I was reading the book and I read the whole SG article earlier today. He has been portraying himself as the very worst of drug addicts, telling other addicts that he made through and if he - the very worst - can make it, so can they. Well what does it do for the people he has inspired to find out that he isn't who/what he said he was. That is really the part that I find so disappointing. When he was on Oprah, I thought he seemed rather unenthusiastic. I thought he probably just isn't a very "animated" kind of guy, but maybe he didn't expect the book to take off like this and now the guilt is catching up to him...

[Maveno]

I wish I still had my receipt.

Bummer that you didn't keep it. Here is information on the unprecedented refunds.

Readers offered refund on Frey memoir
Author is accused of exaggerating the story in ‘A Million Little Pieces’



NEW YORK - Random House will offer a refund to readers who bought James Frey’s drug and alcohol memoir “A Million Little Pieces” directly from the publisher, a move believed to be unprecedented, after the author was accused of exaggerating his story.

Readers calling Random House’s customer service line to complain Wednesday were told that if the book was bought directly from the publisher it could be returned for a full refund. Those who bought the book at a bookstore were told to try and return it to the store where it was bought.

“If the book was bought directly from us we will refund the purchase price in full,” one Random House customer service told Reuters, adding that readers would have to return the book with the original invoice. “If you bought it at a book store, we ask that you return the book to the book store.”


Asked why the publisher, which normally sells books directly to consumers as non-refundable, would offer refunds, the agent said, “because of the controversy surrounding it.”

Several other Random House customer service agents called by Reuters reporters also agreed to pay refunds.

Frey’s memoir of alcohol and drug-induced mayhem sold 1.77 million copies last year after being chosen by Oprah Winfrey’s book club in September. But investigative Web site The Smoking Gun Sunday reported the book, published by Random House’s Doubleday division, was full of exaggeration and inaccuracies.

Frey gets defensive
Frey, who will appear on “Larry King Live” to discuss the controversy for the first time, has called the accusations “the latest attempt to discredit me.”

“I stand by my book, and my life, and I won’t dignify this bulls--t with any sort of further response,” Frey wrote this week on his personal Web site, bigjimindustries.com.


Publishers Weekly Senior Editor Charlotte Abbott called the Random House refunds unprecedented, and said neither she nor her colleagues “had ever heard of something like this before.”

Doubleday suggested on Tuesday it was unconcerned about the book’s accuracy. “Memoir is a personal history,” the publisher said in a statement. “By definition, it is highly personal.

“He represented to us that his version of events was true to his recollections,” Doubleday said.

Central to Frey’s book, published in 2003, is his assertion that he was charged with assaulting an Ohio police officer with his car, with inciting a riot, with possession of crack cocaine and felony drunk driving — charges that he wrote resulted in a three-month prison term.

The Smoking Gun, owned by Court TV, reported that most of those claims were not borne out by police records or by interviews with police and court officials. The Web site published the police officer’s report of the key 1992 incident which shows Frey was found drunk in his car without a driver’s license but did not, as he wrote, serve time the incident or behave in the outrageous manner portrayed in his book.

Smoking Gun editor William Bastone told Reuters, “In off-the-record interviews with us, Frey admitted embellishing facts in the book for dramatic impact.”

Frey has since threatened to sue The Smoking Gun.

Movie in flux
The flap also was having repercussions in Hollywood.

The Hollywood Reporter said that a planned film of Frey’s memoir could now need a rehab of its own. The controversy could keep Hollywood “A”-list talent away from the project so as not to taint their careers, the paper said.

Warner Bros. is developing the project with a production company owned by actor Brad Pitt and “ER” producer John Wells.

Frey’s book was published in hardcover in 2003 and then in trade paperback with the coveted Oprah’s Book Club endorsement in late September. Winfrey has not commented on the controversy surrounding the book.

Frey’s October appearance on Winfrey’s chat show made him an overnight literary sensation and his book sold more copies in 2005 than any other non-fiction book. Only Harry Potter sold more copies. Since the controversy, “A Million Little Pieces” has remained the No. 1 selling book on Amazon.com.

Random House is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.
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Original article found at MSNBC.com.