Queen Midas poo-poos the controversy surrounding James Frey’s (fictional) memoir, A Million Little Pieces. The story came to light recently from the Smoking Gun that Frey’s best-selling non-fiction book, propelled to fame from joining Oprah’s book club list, and thus converted to gold, contained a few, well, inaccuracies. Oprah calls a few lies “much ado about nothing,” citing the powerful message of hope in the book. Quite telling is the fact that Frey “originally tried to sell his book as fiction.” When publishers failed to bite, a simple switch to non-fiction was all that it took. Frey’s actions have drawn ire from other non-fiction writers, been parodied in the Foxtrot comics, but with Oprah refusing to back down from endorsing the book, appears to have just as much life as lying politicians forgiven again and again by voters and the media.
So, is this really “much ado about nothing?” Two other recent scandals also have surfaced. Fake Navaho writer, Nasdijj won awards for brutally honest portrayals of Native American hardships. JT Leroy, another media darling, appears to be an entirely made up persona created by two writers, using a relative as a front for media appearance. Could this be the tip of the iceberg? Can readers now really trust non-fiction as truth? Memoirs are tricky, as most of the deal with events happens years in the past, usually with little or no verifiable records. And yet, somehow all these pieces need to fit within the constraints of a story. Even if that that story is supposed to be true, the narrative must flow in order to sell and market the book.
If writers at major publications such as The New York Times and The New Republic can manage to sell lies, why not major publishers? In the end the truth does come out, and just as Nixon shook the faith of the American public, and showed that politicians are in general lying crooks, even among those at the top (especially those at the top), these scandals should act as warnings. Be careful of what’s packaged and sold. Oprah, that purveyor of populist hope, gives not a fig for thr truth. What’s import is the effect of the message, not the content.
As far as this reader goes, truth does matter.
