I've been trying to explain to Hunter that this is the kind of thing that sells books, but he won't listen to me. This guy allegedly made up his memoirs (I, on the other hand, would NEVER do such a thing...never...ever...maybe I embellish a little here and there), and it's a bestseller. Not only that, but he's gotten on Oprah...and we all know that's the be-all/end-all of writers' dreams everywhere.
C'mon Hunter...get with the program...
Aston West , James Frey , Novel
Ugh. I don't know if I want to see this guy messily and publically exposed...or if I'm just so tired of hearing about him whining about everything, that I wish it would all go away.
ReplyDeleteI will say, I'm disappointed that his publishing house continues to stand behind him. Although, at this point, what the heck else could they do?
To (almost) quote a famous philosopher, "Start drinking heavily."
ReplyDeleteThis thing with Mr. Frey and his Oprah book club endorsement and everything else that goes along with his sudden fame and glory really depresses me. I read so many well written books by top notch unknown writers. Where is their Oprah endorsement? It's nowhere. And what happens to the books sent in by hopeful unknown writers and publishers? Nothing. Does anyone read them? NO. No, Oprah's team chooses a scam story. But am I surprised? No again. Excellence and honesty should be rewarded but rarely is.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing that's come out of this (IMO) is the spin machine on other memoirs. I've heard and read a couple bits lately where authors say "I told you - didn't you read the forward - that there are bits where I 'fill in the blanks' to the best of my recollection" as in Augusten Burroughs' interview about Dry - quote: "Besides being clearly, disturbingly well written, what is also fascinating about Burroughs's book, is that some of his memories are made up. There's a tiny blurb in the beginning that reads: This memoir is based on my experiences over a ten-year period. Names have been changed, characters combined, and events compressed. Certain episodes are imaginative re-creation, and those episodes are not intended to portray actual events."
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