In A Million Pieces...James Frey

Wow! Just finished this book today! Would love any feedback and or your thoughts if you have read it!!! Eve

I was thinking of buying this for my son,who is 30, for Christmas. Do you think it would be enjoyable for him? He likes true life books. Thanks, Betty

ran across this article, thought it was interesting.... CHICAGO (Reuters) - Author James Frey confessed to bottom of Form Oprah Winfrey on Thursday that he made up details about every character in his memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and the talk show host apologized to her viewers, saying she felt "duped." In 19 years in television "I've never been in this position before," said Winfrey, whose praise for Frey's book in September helped make it the top-selling book on nonfiction lists in the United States last year. "I really feel duped," Winfrey told Frey on her television show. She said he had betrayed millions of viewers. Winfrey began by apologizing to viewers for a telephone call she made to CNN's "Larry King Live" show on January 11, while King was interviewing Frey about the controversy. In the call Winfrey said that even though the facts were being questioned, the book "still resonates with me" and called the controversy "much ado about nothing." "I regret that phone call," she told her viewers on Thursday. "I made a mistake and I left the impression that the truth does not matter and I am deeply sorry about that. That is not what I believe." Sitting with Frey in side-by-side easy chairs, Winfrey quizzed the author point-by-point about his book that described his drug-and-alcohol addiction and the people hurt by it. "All the way through the book I altered details about every one of the characters," Frey said "Every one of the characters was altered," including himself. He spent two hours in jail, not 87 days, and the account of his breaking up with a woman who later committed suicide happened in a much shorter period of time, with their separation occurring while he was taking care of personal business in North Carolina, not while he was in jail, he said. She committed suicide by slashing her wrists, he said, not by hanging herself. Asked if The Smoking Gun Web site which first questioned the book had accurately characterized the discrepancies, Frey said "I think most of what they wrote was pretty accurate," adding they did "a good job." The Smoking Gun said it could find no evidence of his having spent that much time in jail and that an auto accident he wrote about consisted of running his car up on a curb. Frey said he had developed an image of himself for the book as "being tougher than I was, badder than I was" as a "coping mechanism." Winfrey asked if that was to make a better book or to make him a better person. "Probably both," he answered. "To everyone who has challenged me on this issue of truth, you are absolutely right," she said, adding that the inspiration the book brought to so many people had clouded her judgment. Frey's book had been chosen by Winfrey for her reading club -- an honor which often turns books into best sellers. Published by Random House's Doubleday division, the book sold more than 1.77 million copies last year after being chosen by Winfrey. On January 17 Winfrey chose Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel's "Night" as her latest selection, sending the book, first published in the United States in 1960, to the top of best-seller lists. Random House is a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsman AG.

Jackie, this is my personal opinion as I am sure you as well, have your opinions on this. (I would ask that people reading this post not flame me as this is MY personal opinion and I am not forcing it on anyone.) Thanks for the article. I actually watched Oprah last night! Very interesting to say the least. Boy, once people sink their teeth into something, they just won't let it go. Too juicy i guess! Frankly, this author wrote a book. He lied in it! Big Deal! It was HIS book. Ya, he should have made it a fiction novel instead of a memoir but come on.....get over it people! Get over it Oprah! As much as I love and admire Oprah, she is making a big deal out of nothing! It was James' recollection of his past. If he remembers being in jail for 3 months (but really only for a few hours), so be it! If he remembers his girlfriend hanging herself (but actually slit her wrists),so be it....come on. Really! Does it really make a difference? He is not the first person to write a book that had lies in it and won't be the last! Websites like "The Smoking Gun" are pathetic low lives looking to make a quick buck! "Let's see who we can defame today?" PLEASE!! There are more things in this world we could be fighting for like people going hungry on our streets, the homeless, hurricane victims, the war in Iraq and so many many more issues that we all could give our attention to! It was a good read! I enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down for days! I can't remember the last time I read a book like that! Thank you James Frey! Eve p.s. I personally do not condone lieing, but there has to be some kind of perspective. Who do you know that will not embellish their past to make it more sensational! More juicy!! Remember, just my opinion!

Hi Evie, I enjoyed reading your input. A couple of my friends have been reading the book, and they enjoyed it very much. I think they are a little upset that some of it turned out to be fictional though. They have both have said they would have read it anyway if they had known some of it was fiction, because it is about perception. I think the book would have still been a best seller if the author had been a bit more honest in representing the book, not changing anything, just letting everyone know that things might have been a little exaggerated.....hey sometimes being in jail for a couple of hours can seem like months....I totally understand that exaggeration! The bottom line for me, is I hope this encourages more people to read! Bests, Jackie

Wow!! I usually don't rush out and buy a book because Oprah says to, however, in this case I did. Of course , don't you know, the one time I would , the book would be a fraud!!! Can you believe it? I mean it was a good read, but I thought it was real. I love true stories. I read all kinds of stories, thiugh. What do you all ead. Pam B.

Dont all artists flower the facts once in a while? Thats what makes them artists.