A Million More Copies of A Million Little Pieces
Since this has been blogged about by everyone over and over, I'm not going to get into the whole fiction/non-fiction debate. I've read the book, I understand the anger and frustration. But, having written memoir-esque short stories, I understand the manipulation of time and space that's sometimes needed to creat a coherent story. Most non-fiction involves some form of this. Having said that, James Frey went way beyond bare-bones manipulation (OK, so apparently I am getting into it) and deserves the negative attention he's receiving.
BUT, my original point of this post has a different angle. I like to check the New York Times best-selling books every Monday (I also always check Billboard's music charts and box-office numbers...maybe this list obsession is a guy thing, like in High Fidelity?). I noticed that for the week ending January 7th, Frey's A Million Little Pieces was still at the top of the non-fiction paperback list, and his follow-up, My Friend Leonard, had inexplicably jumped from the bottom of the Top Ten to No. 1 on the non-fiction hardcover list. Even weirder was how the hardcover edition of AMLP resurfaced on the same list at No. 15. Why would people start shelling out more money for the hardcover now, months after Oprah chose it for her Book Club, when the paperback was available? The hardcover didn't make an appearance even when Oprah originally chose it, so why now?
Before I could figure out the answer, the now-famous Smoking Gun report came out on January 8th. As usual, I checked the best-seller lists this week, this time ending January 14th, which takes into account sales after the report made headlines nationwide.
Lo and behold, not only is the paperback AMLP still No. 1 on its chart, but the hardcover has only fallen three spots to No. 18 and MFL only fell to No. 3 on their chart.
I didn't expect sales to plummet down to zero, especially after Oprah called in during Frey's interview with Larry King on January 11th and continued endorsing the book, but why are so many people still paying more for the hardcover?
I know some people might hear about all this controversy and think, "Hmm, this book is getting a lot of attention. Maybe I should read it so I know what this is all about."
Or,
"Hmm, this guy is getting all this negative press and Oprah still supports him. Oprah must really like this book a lot. Maybe I should find out why she insists on supporting him so wholeheartedly."
Or,
"I'm an addict (or recovering addict) and I need all the help I can get. Oprah and James and James' mom all say this could help me, so why not? Every little bit helps, right?"
The first reason? Fine. Choosing to inform yourself by reading the book that's causing so much heated debate makes sense. It's better than mouthing off on the topic without knowing what's really being talked about.
The second reason? Fine...I guess. I admit, I read this book after I decided that maybe I should read one of her Book Club selections to see what they were like (not counting the classics that I had already read before she chose them). But the fact that this book's credibility has been ripped to shreds should maybe tell you something that others who read it beforehand couldn't know. And of course Oprah still endorsed it - she can't admit that she was duped and therefore convinced her millions of fans to spend money and time on a fraud. She eclipsed responsibility (and helped Frey eclipse it, too) by blaming the publishers for blurring the lines of novel and memoir.
The third reason? That's when it starts to become dangerous. As writers at Slate, Huffington Post and others have explained, this book might hurt addicts more than help them. It would be hard to criticize a book for offering addicts hope, yet Frey's approach to recovery involves criticizing the approach of AA and other programs. If his approach is based on lies, how could he expect to inspire confidence and hope in his readers? If he lied about what brought him to attempt recovery in the first place, why should anyone believe anything else he says?
There might be other reasons that I haven't thought of (Readers? Any guesses?). But none of this explains why people are not only still buying his books in droves, but still buying tons of the hardcover edition.
Even as I write this, the paperback is still No. 2 on today's Amazon.com best-seller list (second only to Oprah's new Book Club choice, Night by Elie Wiesel), but the hardcover edition has actually jumped from No. 297 yesterday to No. 261.
Since AMLP's gravitas has been deflated, maybe people feel ashamed to buy the book yet still want to read it, so they choose to pay more for the hardcover so they can take the cover off and read it discreetly? Maybe the mere fact that it's a hardcover lends the book a more academic, intellectual, serious quality (and, therefore, less deserving of shame)? But that doesn't make sense, because if people were ashamed to buy this book now, the paperback wouldn't still be flying off the shelves.
Maybe people just want something heavy to hit Frey in the face with.
Basically, I just don't get it. So help me out. Readers?
10 comments:
In a conversation I had with a couple friends, Friend A and I talked about how back in the day we both got suckered into reading The Celestine Prophecy. "That book," Friend A said, "sucked so much my ears popped." "Dude, I know," I said. "It might be one of the worst books ever written."
Friend B said, "Heck, I'd better read this book."
Friend B isn't functionally retarded; yet that's the only thing I could figure. And what makes it even more frustrating is that in other situations, like if I said "Hey, that stove top looks like it's hot enough to burn" or "That chili's been sitting out on the counter unrefrigerated all day" or "I bet milk and A1 together are pretty nasty" -- Friend B wouldn't immediately touch the stove, eat the chili, and drink the milk. Yet when Friend B is told by respected people that TCP may be one of the most toxic things ever written, then she's gotta jump in.
Which means I think the choice is a stupid combo of the first and the second. It's lack of trust and blind obediance.
And it scares me.
Number 3 is the reason, aside from the whole blatantly lying thing, that I find the situation so upsetting. I could go on and on, but even before the lying thing came to be known, it concerned me greatly that he is a spokesperson for some sort of sobriety. "Holding on" is about as easy for most addicts as "just say no," if there's any difference, and especially now that his entire story is in question, I fear for anyone out there who has chosen to put their faith in him as any kind of sober model.
I guess I just don't understand all the brou-ha-ha about this book. Since it was marketed as a "memoir" as opposed to an autobiography, I took that to mean that it is "based on" real experiences, but isn't necessarily factual. Maybe I'm just being naive in likening it to how the movie Big Fish was based on read events. I haven't read this book, nor do I have any plans to read it, I'm just astounded by how upset people are about it. I think we put a lot more responsibility for truth in the written word than we do in movies / TV shows / our government.
Mike, Friend B sounds...interesting. I have to agree that there might be a bit of "This milk smells gross...smell it" going on with the book now.
Yeah..."hold on." If it works, great. But does it work?
Sandy, I agree but only to a certain point. It wouldn't be so bad normally, except:
1) People questioned the book's facts as soon as it came out (like how could he remember all this stuff if he was so fucked up?), and Frey would defend the facts by saying he kept multiple journals and had police reports, documents, etc. Now he's backtracking and saying those facts don't matter as much, it's the "essential truth" that's important.
2) Frey and Oprah both used this book kind of as a get-better manual for addicts. While they both said, "this doesn't work for everyone," they also used him as an example of a recovering addict to look up to. So I think a lot of people who were using his story feel betrayed.
3) This book has sold around three million copies and is an Oprah Book Club choice and will therefore receive much more attentiont than almost any other book out there right now.
Oprah has way too much effect on books' popularity. No one is talking about A Million Little Pieces over in England. Want to know why? No one gives a rat's ass about Oprah and it is so refreshing. My French boyfriend had never even heard of her. Couldn't you just hug him? That being said, I'd rather have people reading Oprah's book club books than not reading at all....
I'm at a loss, too. But I do love your theory about removing the jacket so they can read it with discretion. That never occurred to me, but now I'm thinking that sounds dead-on. Nice work, Detective Don.
TD
Augusten Burroughs is in a similar dilemma with his memoirs and upcoming movie. A lawsuit involved?
I haven't read AMLP.
I've never watched Oprah. I generally avoid self-help and sisterhood themes, or whatever it is that she does.
Donny, I noticed in your blurb that you're now reading The Year of Magical Thinking. I finished that a couple weeks ago. Can't wait until we can discuss.
TD
Lauren, I'm surprised Oprah has no effect in England, as I thought a lot of American TV gets attention over there, but that is refreshing. And Stephane, so pure and untarnished, make sure he never watches Oprah so he can remain that way.
Sereena, I saw that about Buroughs, but I'm not buying it as much. I bet they're just pissed that they were portrayed for the crazies they are, but the outcome will be interesting.
Trish, I just started so I'll let you know as soon as I'm done.
I heard on NPR on my drive home from the el last night that Oprah had James Frey on her show again yesterday and this time she wasn't nearly as supporting or friendly. Apparently she apologized to her audience for being duped by Mr. Frey. And once he came on she told him she felt that he had conned her and she started grilling him on which parts of the book are fact and which are fiction. Does this change your Oprah opinion at all? Or (like me) do you think she just did this to save face?
Post a Comment