Frey, Oprah, Truthiness

[Atomsk Iscariot]

So it's backstory time: it was revealed earlier this month by The Smoking Gun that some thousand pieces of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces: A Memoir were entirely fabricated/altered.

Now, given that the book had no literary value whatsoever (okay, so I've merely read excerpts, but it doesn't take much reading to see that James Frey's a talentless hack praised essentially for the fact that "memoir"'s in the title), everyone's a little up in arms about all of this, particularly the super-hip lovers of The Lovely Bones that make up roughly 90% of Oprah's Book Club.

It escalated to the point where, just a few days ago, Oprah interviewed him about the allegations and he admitted to practically all of them. And even though she defaulted to the uber-understanding, plasic daytime television personality that she usually exhibits by the end of the interview, seeing her piss-mad in the middle may have been worth this whole fiasco. But I digress.

So if everyone realized along with me that James Frey sucks major literary balls when it comes to writing (and part of me really thinks they did), the whole backlash seems based on the idea that the truthfulness of Frey's words were the only redeeming part of the book. Or, at the very least, it was a very large factor in the overall enjoyment of Frey's ejaculations.

So, yeah, what are your opinions considering the element of truth in the general population's acceptance of art/trash? Or does it even fucking matter? Or should we just all agree on the proven fact that James Frey sucks shit?

[Nak Nak]

I haven't read him, but since his book was in Oprah's book club I can safely assume that he is truly awful.

[Kinbote]

I've encountered a number of people who "like to read" but stick to magazines and memoirs and biographies because "why should I waste my time on stuff that isn't even true?"

One needn't even know James Frey was an Oprah Book Club Fellow to know he's trash - one need only examine the sort of person (every third fucking person, incidentally) seen on the subway reading his book.

[Nak Nak]

Originally posted by Kinbote
I've encountered a number of people who "like to read" but stick to magazines and memoirs and biographies because "why should I waste my time on stuff that isn't even true?"

One needn't even know James Frey was an Oprah Book Club Fellow to know he's trash - one need only examine the sort of person (every third fucking person, incidentally) seem on the subway reading his book.

I haven't come across it in person. Don't think it has hit the shores of my fair country. No doubt it will and my mother will probably try and talk to me about it.

[Kinbote]

On the general subject of books and truthiness, I was relieved to learn that JT Leroy does not in fact exist.

[Jackal]

As a white middle-class housewife, I haven't done my duty to the Queen of Daytime TV by reading mass amounts of her literary choosings.

I've read 2 or 3. I wanted to see what Oprah thought was must read material. They were ok, as ok as any books I've blindly picked myself.

I guess what keeps me from reading them is my refusal to be seen as Oprah's bitch as I check out.

Tons of new authors are getting screwed and overlooked. I think it's sick that millions of people buy these books to be part of Oprah's cult. Do they feel so lonely that they want to linger on her fame and lifestyle that much?

I particularly look for women who have thoughtlessly overspent on Uggs, RL sweaters, J-Lo velvet outfits, and other "favorite things". I think they are shallow and ignorant.


James Frey sucks shit because he's a liar.

But it's too late for it to matter because thanks to Oprah, and her cult, he's probably already a millionaire.

[Atomsk Iscariot]

Originally posted by Kinbote
On the general subject of books and truthiness, I was relieved to learn that JT Leroy does not in fact exist. Oh thank God.

[Osceana]

I think that Ayn Rand said it best by lamenting the fact that literature (novels, in particular) is being produced as often as magazines these days, and that the books hold about as much significance. She said that in the '50s, but it more aptly applies these days than it did then.

James Frey, ironically enough, would be right at home in The Fountainhead. There are actually two characters who write just complete shit and become the most renowned literary figures in their time.

Oprah actually reminds me a lot of Elsworth Toohey. She had no real reverence for this man's work. She merely marketed him so she could be one step closer to winning the Nobel Prize. She's just an over-priced sycophant; she's the personification of the McDonald's sign: A billion lives saved. Please drive through for our latest self-help happy meal.

If she really didn't know the truth of about this the whole time, i would be surprised. And if that is the case, then it serves her right. Because she'll probably have him on the show again after he's commissioned to write his autobiography.

Why I Lied by James Frey. Oprah's newest pick!

[Atomsk Iscariot]

Comparing this situation to The Fountainhead is... I don't know, irony or something. Irony is such a misused term! And I'm pretty sure 90% of its misuse comes from me, Mr. I kinda know how to put sentences together but vocabulary pshhh.

What I'm really trying to say is that Ayn Rand sucks the shit out of my mouth.

[Nak Nak]

Originally posted by Atomsk Iscariot
Comparing this situation to The Fountainhead is... I don't know, irony or something. Irony is such a misused term! And I'm pretty sure 90% of its misuse comes from me, Mr. I kinda know how to put sentences together but vocabulary pshhh.

What I'm really trying to say is that Ayn Rand sucks the shit out of my mouth.

She could suck a nugget of shit down a garden hose.

[Kinbote]

She could, if held by the torso with her legs forked outward, be used to locate subterranean shit deposits!

[Nak Nak]

Originally posted by Kinbote
She could, if held by the torso with her legs forked outward, be used to locate subterranean shit deposits!

you mean to say that she'd locate a secret stash of signed copies of Atlas Shrugged?

[Kinbote]

Or of The Fountainhead. Or her photo albums. Who knows what incredible feces vaults lay out there beneath the sand.

[Jackal]

I'm sick of the idea that all great literature was written before (insert date here). Whatever.

Go to the bookstore dictate for yourself what is great instead of looking at best-seller lists and critics reviews.

If you believe every modern writer is a hack then you must believe the same about every modern artist, musician, film maker. etc.

[In Dust and Ashes]

huh. funny, I thought the book was sold as fiction. the characters in it seem to be exagerated in personality. not that I've read it, but I've heard parts of it paraphrased.

[In Dust and Ashes]

from CNN.com:
"In off-the-record interviews with us, Frey admitted embellishing facts in the book for dramatic impact," Bastone said, adding that Frey later backed off that stance and his lawyers have since threatened to sue.

ok, can someone help me out with this? I'm not too sure who's suing who there. the "his" is confusing me, is it refering to Bastone or Frey?

[Osceana]

Originally posted by hambakmeritru
from CNN.com:
"In off-the-record interviews with us, Frey admitted embellishing facts in the book for dramatic impact," Bastone said, adding that Frey later backed off that stance and his lawyers have since threatened to sue.

ok, can someone help me out with this? I'm not too sure who's suing who there. the "his" is confusing me, is it refering to Bastone or Frey?

It is kind of confusing. I would imagine that this was before he was on Oprah's show though and he was trying to maintain innocence.

[In Dust and Ashes]

ok, so the "his" is refering to frey?

...is that sentence even proper english? I was trying to map it out to figure out which was supposed to refer to what, but I can't make it out.

[Atomsk Iscariot]

ok, so the "his" is refering to frey?
It being located so close to "Frey," I think it would suggest that yes, those are indeed Frey's lawyers.

[In Dust and Ashes]

that's what I would have thought at first, but then Bastone is the subject of that sentence and Frey is the object and is part of a prepositional clause, no?
or.....
wait can the object be in a prepositional clause?
my word, I'm getting all my rules switched around.:cry:

[Atomsk Iscariot]

that's what I would have thought at first, but then Bastone is the subject of that sentence and Frey is the object and is part of a prepositional clause, no?
or.....
wait can the object be in a prepositional clause?
my word, I'm getting all my rules switched around.:cry:
I'm going to be honest with you. I don't remember any of the specific names for the grammar rules.

[Nak Nak]

I'm going to be honest with you. I don't remember any of the specific names for the grammar rules.

I don't think they are needed. You speak well the english anyway.