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January 12, 2006
Does it Matter?
There is a comment on my last post from tay hota asking if James Frey's untruths really took anything away from the essence and importance of A Million Little Pieces.
I think the answer is yes, although it is a provisional yes.
One of the problems is that by being dishonest about certain events in his past Frey calls into question the veracity of everything in the book, and in My Friend Leonard for that matter. Can you trust a liar when they insist they are telling the truth. Also, by expanding on events that did happen, Frey is discarding the importance of the truth. His life had reached a terrible point, I believe that. Is his life that much more horrible because he was arrested for a lesser charge, or spent days not months in a jail cell? My answer would be no.
His real story I am sure is great, it would be inspirational and important to many people. I am not as sure that it would sell the number of books that his version sold.
Another problem that I believe is caused by A Million Little Pieces, is that in comparison to Freys "life" most people's are rather tame. The question of my addiction and the consequences attached to it compared to Frey---do I need to quit, having not reached that point. I am sure that there have been readers either battling their own addiction or in relationship with people who are battling addiction who call into question their own relationship with drugs and alcohol based on what Frey reports happen to him.
I think this is a disservice to the changes that Frey has made in his life and indeed could be dangerous for readers.
I believe that this book has helped people, I want to be clear about that. I know that people have read this book and reached out for help.
Sadly I think, and I have no proof except for my own history and I hope I am wrong in this assumption, that the revelation that James Frey is a liar/exaggerator/ memoirist will in a sense give permission to those following his approach, just hang on, of recovery to use again. That would be a very sad thing indeed.
Therein lies the reason for the tradition in AA of maintaining anonimity at the level of press, radio and film.
I have made light of the saga of A Million Little Pieces and James Frey on this blog, because it has never been my intention to use this space as a serious sounding board, it is more of a pleasant escape. But I do take recovery seriously and am greatly saddened by all of this. Well enough of that tomorrow, back to the boys!
Posted by JimG at January 12, 2006 12:12 PM
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Comments
The Frey apologists are trying to have it both ways. The insist that the work still has value, but if it had value, then wouldn't it still have had value had it been originally presented as the fiction that it really is?
Posted by: KipEsquire at January 12, 2006 03:27 PM
On the subject of "the truth"... You might really enjoy a book called "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. Its a memoir or a Vietnam veteran, but its more about the ambiguous nature of "the truth" and "what really happened." He takes the opinion that sometimes everything is relative, and sometimes things that didn't really happen are more "true" than what did.
I've never thought I'd enjoy a Vietnam book... but it was really interesting how he deals with all the exaggerated war stories.... much like all the exaggerated addict stories. An interesting parallel, to be sure.
Posted by: Eric at January 12, 2006 07:20 PM
And apparently Ms Winfrey is still 'standing by the author' after hearing her whine on the phone to Larry King...
Posted by: Nicholas at January 13, 2006 04:46 AM
Thanks for responding in such a responsible, thorough, and public manner. I'm honored that you thought enough of my initial comment to respond at such length. Because I was not as brief in response as I'd intended, I've posted the response on my site.
Posted by: tay hota at January 14, 2006 12:49 PM