James Frey, the Memoir, and Truth

[dalailamar]

By now, everyone in America has heard of James Frey's book A Million Little Pieces. If not, where have you been? He's the only thirtysomething memoirist that I know of who has recently appeared on both Oprah and Larry King, and if that won't make you a household name, I'm not sure what else will

Comments

[hosemedown]

There's no need to rethink your definition of storytelling. The issue is not storytelling, or even the power of a story well told. The issue is, if one says something is true, one is lying if he is unknowingly saying untruths. In memoir, it is accepted as a convention that an author will composite characters (to avoid confusion and protect identities) and compress or speed up time. But it is not acceptable or expected that the author will blatantly make shit up to make the story more compelling. It's a question of ethics.
I e-mailed my literary agent about this very thing, as I am writing a memoir, and she replied:

Every year there's a some author like Frey. This got so much publicity because the Oprah blook club raised his profile and had already made him a phenomenon. The book will keep selling, and sell gazillions. The guy's laughing all the way to the bank, and so is the publisher. But the next book may very well tank.Apparently, in publishing, it's accepted that authors take a little "creative license." But readers believe an

Fascinating

[dalailamar]

It's fascinating that people inevitably compare the experience of reading a memoir to the experience of dating. Obviously, I completely disagree with your idea of the nature of the memoir. If you're being mislead by marketing (James Frey WAS NOT in a position to place his book in the appropriate place in a bookstore), then you should consider the nature of the ways in which American companies market books. This should not be a conversation involving the author; the problem is in the way readers interpret the text. Again, not to be a jerk, but you obviously do not understand the meaning of the memoir.

But by the way, congratulations on finding a literary agent who obviously sees her field in strict capitalist terms. I wish my agent could be so demented. Determined. I mean determined.

Re: Fascinating

[dalailamar]

AHH! I love the New York Times, but I just read that terrible article you referenced. I'll get back to you tomorrow with a comprehensive refutation.

Re: Fascinating

[dalailamar]

Okay I retract the word "terrible." Michiko Kakutani is sometimes completely dead-on, sometimes completely wrong, and sometimes she's a little of both. I suppose that is what makes her such a good writer

Re: Fascinating

[wilhemina]

it seems you don't understand the nature of publishing.
frey was absolutely in the position to place his book.
hello, the author says whether their book is a novel or a memoir.
in this case, the editor encouraged him to package it as a memoir for marketing reasons.
there is an understanding that a) if the author agrees he will rewrite accordingly and b) the author and editor discuss the need for a disclaimer and which sort which frey repeatedly refused.
frey insisted to his editor that events were true. he lied. yes, it's ethics,
but the funniest part is how silly frey looks now.

Re: Fascinating

[hosemedown]

Agreed. Read my response, below.

It should be noted that I don't give a crap about Frey or his book, though I might read it now out of pure amusement factor. Who knows? I might like it.

I'm interested in the coverage simply because it opens up some interesting quetions.

Re: Fascinating

[dalailamar]

I refer you to something a friend of mine said regarding this

Re: Fascinating

[wilhemina]

i hear you but there are certain parameters within the genre known as memoir.
it's not a catch-all for any knid of writing.
what frey wrote is your typical first novel, fiction that is thinly autobiographical but fiction nontheless.

Re: Fascinating

[dalailamar]

But put the disclaimer up there, and voila! he's Dave Eggers writing a rehab memoir.

You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[hosemedown]

(James Frey WAS NOT in a position to place his book in the appropriate place in a bookstore)He most certainly was. Authors absolutely have a say in defining the genre their book is placed in. This is what their literary agent is for. Author says, "Publisher wants this to go in memoir, but it's fiction, even though it's based loosely on real-life events." Agent says, "I will talk to publisher." The publisher may strike the author down and market it how they want to, but the author is not at the mercy of their publishing house, as far as I know

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[dalailamar]

Again. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the argument you're making is this: If Frey had written a disclaimer, none of this would have happened, and no one would have cared. I think you're probably right about this, and I think he should have included a disclaimer. I'm certain that he will in the next edition

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[wilhemina]

at this time, there's certainly enough evidence to support the claim that frey deceived his editor, publisher and the reading public.
you seem to be saying that frey should not be held accountable.

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[dalailamar]

Show me this evidence.

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[wilhemina]

i would refer you to these 2 articles in the observer:

http://www.nyobserver.com/20060123/20060123_tom_scocca_pageone_coverstory1.asp

http://www.nyobserver.com/20060123/20060123_sheelah_kolhatkar_pageone_coverstory2.asp

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[dalailamar]

First of all, thank you for referencing these articles, which seem to reiterate all of the basic points in the Smoking Gun investigation.

The arrest records are the only substantive evidence of flat-out lying. This is not to say that the other charges leveled against him are not persuasive; they are. But I just wanted to call it like it is: the other charges are based on other people's testimony of their recollections of a memory. (Or, in some cases, other people's opinions on the improbability of an event they never experienced).

Re: You don't need to insult me to engage in this discussion

[wilhemina]

yes, its worth noting that those events which can be verified have failed the test. what does this say for those events which cannot, like those you've described above?