Word: frey
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Your report "The Trouble with Memoirs" described the controversy over how much of author James Frey's "memoir," A Million Little Pieces, is made up and how much is real [Jan. 23]. Frey's shamelessness after being exposed for having embellished parts of the book is symptomatic of a much larger problem in American society. As your article pointed out, fiction doesn't sell nearly as well as nonfiction, and Frey couldn't find a publisher when he tried to market his work as fiction. So it was called nonfiction. Making a ton of money is apparently more important...
...outraged that Frey's critics think A Million Little Pieces is only the work of a liar. Frey put into words the horror of addiction to drugs and alcohol. Who hasn't described a personal experience with color and drama? Frey has my respect for his selfless confession...
...time when memoir writers have become ever more extravagant in their claims (calling James Frey), you wouldn't think Liz Perle's confession that she had never balanced her checkbook would cause a ripple. But Perle, the author of Money, a Memoir, has a résumé that commands attention in the publishing world--and among the fiscally responsible. At various points in her career, Perle has been the publisher of Prentice Hall, Addison Wesley and William Morrow/Avon. Given how high she rose in the book business, how could she be so neglectful of her personal finances...
...feel now that the author of an investigative story in L.A. Weekly believes that Nasdijj is a fraud and actually a white writer named Timothy Barrus? Vindicated? Well, sure. I dream of leaving "I told you so" messages on many voice mails, although unlike James Frey's publisher, who initially supported his lies and moral evasions about his exaggerated memoir, A Million Little Pieces, Nasdijj's publisher dropped him because of personality conflicts even before the L.A. Weekly story came out. Of course, Frey has sold millions of books and will probably sell a few million more. Nasdijj hasn...
...only hope that Nasdijj's readers will look to Oprah for inspiration. After initially defending the essential truth of Frey's memoir, a selection for her book club, Oprah changed her mind, admitted that she had been duped, invited Frey back onto her show and called him a liar. When was the last time a public figure like Oprah admitted to being wrong? When was the last time a powerful person like Oprah issued a genuine public apology? I think all the people who profited from Nasdijj's fraud should take heed of that lesson and issue public apologies...