I was disappointed to hear about Frey’s fabrications and subsequent “memoir” defense.

To use the idea that a memoir is, by nature,subjective and that personal memory can be imperfect, as a justification for passing off blatant fiction as fact is dishonest and disturbing.

I’d have much preferred that he told the truth, which seems to be that he origionally shopped this as a novel, found no takers, and in his desire to be successful, made a decision that he didn’t think would hurt anyone or come back to haunt him.

He may be unwilling to do this for legal and financial reasons, but I for one think it would help his credibility.

I thought it was a great book. I, for the first time, went to a booksigning and waited hours just to meet him. What I respected most about the book was his integrity. I’d like to see him show some now.

I was disappointed to hear of Frey’s fabrications and subsequent “memoir” defense. To use the argument that “personal recollections are subjective and personal memory is not always accurate” as a justification for passing off blatent fiction as fact,is downright dishonest and I believe compounds the problem.

I’d much prefer to see him come clean than to hide behind this distastefull defense.

I,for one, would respect him much more if he just said that he origionally tried to shop this as a novel, had no takers, and in an effort to get published marketed it as non-fiction “memoir”.
Doing this may have some legal and financial ramifications, but if he really is all about “the truth”, then he should practice what he preaches.

I am disapointed by the news of Frey’s fabrications,and even more disturbed by his explanations.
He says that this is a “memoir”, based on one’s “personal recollections”, and therefore “an imperfect animal”. As The Church Lady used to say on SNL, “How Conveeeenient”.
Are we supposed to believe that his “personal recollection” is that he spent 3 months in jail fighting on a lunch line with a 300 pound inmate named Porterhouse, and then reading him novels every day to pass the time (as he stated in his second book “My Friend Leonard”), when in reality he was held for a few hours (at best), posted bail and left?
Or that his “personal recollection” is that he hit a cop with his car, and then took on half the police force, when none of this actually happened?
I’m sorry,that it a pathetic and dishonest response. This is not a case of fuzzy memory about a few minor details, this is pure fabrication, and I’d respect him more if he’d come clean about it, and stop hiding behind this
“memoir” defense.
I’d like to see him come clean about what seems more probable at this point-he wrote a novel, based on a real life experience, had trouble selling it, and did whatever he could to get it published. Marketed it as non-fiction and got it out there. Got popular, got scrutinized, and now
the facts are coming back to haunt him. That type of admission I could understand, respect, and believe.

Jack Marshall, I agree with you 100%. You have expressed how I’ve felt since yesterday. 

You’ve got to wonder to why the great, wise nobody’s fool and worldly Oprah, herself, (who tried to slough off responsibility on to only publishers during her call to Larry King), did not herself ponder the truthfulness of some of Frey’s learly dubious passages.

She and all involved are

Frey is not Hunter Thompson. He is offering what amounts to a solution to drug and alcohol addiction in the form of a shallow, vulgar, fictional version of his life.  Oprah is supporting this as a valid means to fight addiction. Sorry I don’t buy this for a second.  Addiction is a serious condition and neither Frey nor Oprah are being honest in supporting this garbage as a valid remedy to dependency. 
Hunter wrote Fear and Loathing as a pseudo-memoir.  It was gonzo journalism at his best and it was not written to provide therapy to the masses.  So for those who are comparing Frey to Hunter, well that simply isn’t so.

NYWW - I copied this excerpt from the net; it seemed appropriate for purposes of this discussion. And because I’m in agreement that James Frey’s book A MILLION LITTLE PIECES does what it was meant to do - it moves people, it touches hearts.
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http://www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com/courses_jcc.html
New York Writers Workshop @ the JCC: Winter Courses 2006

Creative Nonfiction  
Truth, Fabrication, and Telling Your Story: Autobiographical Fiction/Memoir Sarah Van Arsdale
Do you have to stay with the truth when writing autobiography? How much can you draw on real people for your fictional characters? And what will your mother say? We’ll study the basic elements of fiction (character, setting, plot, etc.) to create terrific works of memoir, fiction, or some blend of the two. Bring in your work for group critique, and we’ll do writing exercises to jump-start your writing.

The Personal Essay Peter Bricklebank
In this workshop we’ll explore the possibilities of this versatile form, one that combines personal experience and vision with the use of fictional techniques to attain a blend of fact-based but imaginatively rendered insight into ourselves and our world. We’ll examine issues of structure, the efficacy of dialogue and scenes, and the importance of selection, magnification and compression in moving from raw data to emotional truth. And along the way, we’ll gain an understanding of the writing process and enjoy ourselves.

Frey is a fraud, and Oprah inherits the “truth doesn’t matter” mantle from Al Sharpton’s Tawana Brawley performance. The book was originally offered to publishers as fiction. As fiction, it is an indifferently written, sordid mess. Its only justification for success was that it was supposed to be true. Frey admits to lying about the crime and jail part of his story; I’m betting his drug and alcohol details are similarly exaggerated. So what’s there to be inspired about? Oprah’s “emotional truth” argument is pathetic. He lied. He isn’t the person he says he is. Oprah says that because some readers have been “inspired” by his story believing it to be true justifies his dishonesty. Wow…now there’s a rationalization if I ever heard one. Translation: “I don’t have the guts to admit I was conned by this guy and used my own reputation to let him con others and get rich doing it.”
The hero of this affair is Random House, for offering refunds. Don’t expect any money back from Frey…if that is indeed his name.