James Frey Again (Despite My Better Judgment)
Tuesday August 19, 2008
So last year, when HarperCollins announced it was publishing James Frey's next novel, Bright Shiny Morning, I felt vaguely guilty for blogging it here. Hadn't he gotten enough publicity from the memoir debacle already? Wasn't I just further rewarding -- and benefiting from -- his bad behavior? And yet, I saw that my most beloved Guardian Online had interviewed him this month, and then a comment showed up on that Bright Shiny blog posting from way back in 2007. So people are reading the new book and then even Googling it. I was intrigued. Clearly people still wanted to talk about his work, at least, and maybe that's how it should be. In any case, I wanted to find out, and a poll seemed the perfect way to do it.
And if a poll isn't enough for ya', leave a comment -- and then, depending on what box you checked, read the Guardian's spoof on the new book.)
I am eager to see what his next book has in store for us.
i really enjoyed hios first to books i have read a million little peices or a dozen times the raw emotion and the easy to realte refrences he has to the concept of being out of control helps me a lot and my friend lenord was another great book or great read i love this auther im am anticipating another great book from this man.
I just finished reading “A Million Little Pieces” and “My Friend Leonard” for the second time. Both books are excellent, James Frey is an amazing author, writes with passion and heart.
I’ll be the dissenter here. I started Million Little Pieces, but never finished it. The genre of memoir makes an implicit appeal to historicity, and if a person makes a purposeful misrepresentation once, he can do it again. I’ll pass on Fray in the future.