Book Club Drama
Oprah went crazy on James Frey. She is bitter because she was "duped." I have a hunch it something to do with her being a bit of a sucker too. Just like most of us who read memoirs. Do we really know they are recounting everything truthfully? How would authors of some autobiographical materials actually remember their lives in such perfect detail.
I read "A Million Little Pieces" last month as our book club selection. I was impressed with Frey's recalling, in great detail, his intensive drug rehabilitation. Especially the early days of his withdrawal and the intricate details of the characters. But it didn't really bother me. I assumed maybe he had been journaling or had very vivid memories. Guess I was duped too, but in some ways I don't mind so much. It was a good enough book. Held my attention for the majority of the almost 450 pages. His road to recovery was fascinating to me because of the mental stamina he showed in not using the twelve steps and just resolving to quit. This part is not in debate.
When I heard the first critical remarks several weeks back I imagined it was some AA counselor wanting to discredit his method of treatment so as not to encourage other addicts to give it a whirl. In reality they were questioning the validity of some of the criminal charges he claimed to have obtained and some of the information about the characters. Turns out the writer had done their homework and the result was Oprah making this guy squirm in his seat. I didn't see this last interview but it sounds like Oprah was really trying to make it certain to her audience that she is not a "LIAR!" like Frey. Sure, she was embarrassed. Not only did she promote this book to the best sellers list but she defended this guy in the media after the details of the lying broke. Poor Oprah.
I am not defending this guy. I guess he deserves it after making huge amounts of money off of Oprah's endorsement and then letting her defend him when he knew he was in the wrong. I just can't help but think that their are many other author's out there who could have found themselves in his position had their work been the one in the spotlight.
Well, they are both still rich and famous. He is still a recovering addict who has overcome a great deal in his life. Just makes me sick to think that Oprah feels the right to degrade someone on public television out of spite due to her reputation being questioned. In reality I don't think her leagues of ladies really care about her involvement, but Oprah had to be sure to disassociate herself from such a lying lowlife. I hear she went a tad overboard.
All of the participants in my book club pretty much agreed that Frey made quite a buck on some lies, but the basis of the book is truth. Oh, and we don't always read Oprah books, it just happened that way last month. I actually recommend the book she has on her list for this month, "Night" by Elie Wiesel. I was incredibly moved by this book a couple of years ago, and I doubt anyone can discredit this tragic memoir of a Holocaust survivor.
Oh, and I can't figure out how to italicize words in blogger. In case you were wondering...
I read "A Million Little Pieces" last month as our book club selection. I was impressed with Frey's recalling, in great detail, his intensive drug rehabilitation. Especially the early days of his withdrawal and the intricate details of the characters. But it didn't really bother me. I assumed maybe he had been journaling or had very vivid memories. Guess I was duped too, but in some ways I don't mind so much. It was a good enough book. Held my attention for the majority of the almost 450 pages. His road to recovery was fascinating to me because of the mental stamina he showed in not using the twelve steps and just resolving to quit. This part is not in debate.
When I heard the first critical remarks several weeks back I imagined it was some AA counselor wanting to discredit his method of treatment so as not to encourage other addicts to give it a whirl. In reality they were questioning the validity of some of the criminal charges he claimed to have obtained and some of the information about the characters. Turns out the writer had done their homework and the result was Oprah making this guy squirm in his seat. I didn't see this last interview but it sounds like Oprah was really trying to make it certain to her audience that she is not a "LIAR!" like Frey. Sure, she was embarrassed. Not only did she promote this book to the best sellers list but she defended this guy in the media after the details of the lying broke. Poor Oprah.
I am not defending this guy. I guess he deserves it after making huge amounts of money off of Oprah's endorsement and then letting her defend him when he knew he was in the wrong. I just can't help but think that their are many other author's out there who could have found themselves in his position had their work been the one in the spotlight.
Well, they are both still rich and famous. He is still a recovering addict who has overcome a great deal in his life. Just makes me sick to think that Oprah feels the right to degrade someone on public television out of spite due to her reputation being questioned. In reality I don't think her leagues of ladies really care about her involvement, but Oprah had to be sure to disassociate herself from such a lying lowlife. I hear she went a tad overboard.
All of the participants in my book club pretty much agreed that Frey made quite a buck on some lies, but the basis of the book is truth. Oh, and we don't always read Oprah books, it just happened that way last month. I actually recommend the book she has on her list for this month, "Night" by Elie Wiesel. I was incredibly moved by this book a couple of years ago, and I doubt anyone can discredit this tragic memoir of a Holocaust survivor.
Oh, and I can't figure out how to italicize words in blogger. In case you were wondering...
posted by Tracey at 10:39 AM
1 Comments:
Don't you have a husband to tell you these things? You italicize by putting a < i > before the word (without the spaces of course) and a < / i > after the word (again, no spaces).
Thanks for the background. I'd heard of this James Frey scuffle in passing, but didn't really know what it was about. And I didn't know you were in a book club! That's cool.
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