Thursday, May 24, 2007
James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces could end up costing him millions – By Melinda Carroll
In the continuing lit scandal of 2006 that rocked Oprah and the lit world into ‘a million little pieces’, James Frey may have to pay restitution to his readers proving that it doesn’t pay to lie. Also proving that Oprah and the American public don’t like to be duped.
MSN reports that:
“Readers who bought James Frey’s fabricated memoir A Million Little Pieces may get a refund. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell has tentatively approved a settlement in the case against Random House, Inc. and James Frey calling for them to spend $2.35 million to fully refund readers who bought the best-seller before Jan. 26, 2006, the day Frey and his publisher acknowledged that he had made up parts of the book. Claims would have to be filed by Oct. 1.”
(Read the full article)
In the big confrontation between Oprah and Frey in January 2006 when asked, “why he felt the need to lie,” Frey stated: “I don’t think it is a novel, I still think it’s a memoir,” even though his book had originally been offered to and rejected by publishers as fiction.
Which makes one wonder if Frey was merely defending the popular industry memoir genre that allowed him to sell his book when he couldn’t sell it as fiction. And what affect does genre labels have on literature? With the popularity of the memoir we realize that readers want the gritty true-life details of a person’s story more than a literary fiction novel. In Frey’s case, is it a novel? Or is it a memoir? Frey sold it as a memoir because that is what is popular in the literary market today. But when the truth of his embellishment and fabrication came out, did that destroy the credibility of the memoir?
Time will tell. But for now the memoir is not dead.
In the wake of Oprah’s and the American public’s outrage for being duped by Frey he’s been dropped by his literary agent, dropped from a two-book seven figure deal by his publisher, and had disclaimers printed and/or placed in all of the copies of A Million Little Pieces and may now have to refund 2.35 million to his readers. But none of that has affected his book sales which goes to show that controversy sales.
MSN reports that:
“Readers who bought James Frey’s fabricated memoir A Million Little Pieces may get a refund. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell has tentatively approved a settlement in the case against Random House, Inc. and James Frey calling for them to spend $2.35 million to fully refund readers who bought the best-seller before Jan. 26, 2006, the day Frey and his publisher acknowledged that he had made up parts of the book. Claims would have to be filed by Oct. 1.”
(Read the full article)
In the big confrontation between Oprah and Frey in January 2006 when asked, “why he felt the need to lie,” Frey stated: “I don’t think it is a novel, I still think it’s a memoir,” even though his book had originally been offered to and rejected by publishers as fiction.
Which makes one wonder if Frey was merely defending the popular industry memoir genre that allowed him to sell his book when he couldn’t sell it as fiction. And what affect does genre labels have on literature? With the popularity of the memoir we realize that readers want the gritty true-life details of a person’s story more than a literary fiction novel. In Frey’s case, is it a novel? Or is it a memoir? Frey sold it as a memoir because that is what is popular in the literary market today. But when the truth of his embellishment and fabrication came out, did that destroy the credibility of the memoir?
Time will tell. But for now the memoir is not dead.
In the wake of Oprah’s and the American public’s outrage for being duped by Frey he’s been dropped by his literary agent, dropped from a two-book seven figure deal by his publisher, and had disclaimers printed and/or placed in all of the copies of A Million Little Pieces and may now have to refund 2.35 million to his readers. But none of that has affected his book sales which goes to show that controversy sales.
Labels: A Million Little Pieces, controversy, James Frey, literary world, Memoir, Oprah
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