A Million Little Pieces: FAKE!!!
by Elisabeth
I knew it!!! When I finished reading James Frey’s book “A Million Little Pieces” a few days ago, I couldn’t shake the feeling that, somehow, it just didn’t add up.
(**SPOILER ALERT**).
Not that I have any particular expertise on how to detox in a rehab populated with gangsters and rock stars, or what it feels like to get a root canal without any anesthetic, or even what it would take for me to rip off my own toenail in a blinding rage, but as much as I was captivated with James’ heartbreaking journey towards sobriety, I was never fully convinced that he was for real.
Maybe what gave James away to me was his insistence that he didn’t need the 12 step Alcoholics Anonymous program to give up drinking and drugs (he, very nobly, declined to replace one addiction (chemical) with another (religious/behavioral)), but that he was strong enough that all he needed to do to quit his addictions was to drive to the nearest bar (or, as it turned out, ask his brother to drive him to the nearest bar) immediately upon being released from rehab, and ask the bartender for a pint of whiskey. And, true to his word, fresh out of rehab (where he repeatedly refused to follow the treatment plan developed for him by trained counselors), he just sat there at the bar, looking at the whiskey in front of him without taking one sip. And then, voila!, after years and years of alcohol and drug addiction, staring at that pint of whiskey, James was cured forever. Huh?
Anyway, maybe this does correspond with someone’s actual story of recovery, but it just didn’t add up for me (besides, what person would take his brother to a bar on the drive home from the rehab clinic???). Not to mention the stories about the girlfriend (sweet as they were), and the family therapy sessions (yes, I admit, I cried when James told his parents, in gruesome detail, of all the horrible things that happened to him over the past ten years while he was addicted to drugs. Apparently, they had no idea, but, apparently, these stories are FAKE, so his parents should feel a bit better about it), and, of course, the stories about the friends James made in rehab – Leonard, the kindly, misunderstood gangster (Tony Soprano, anyone?), and Miles, the federal judge who miraculously fixes James’ prison sentence from three years to three months. Well, these stories were all just too good to be true (turns out James DID serve time in jail, but time closer to three hours rather than three months/years) – and all wrapped up nicely in a predictable Hollywood ending (I rolled my eyes when I read in the Epilogue what happened to the gangster and the rest of James’ rehab friends). Too predictable. And a bit too convenient.
So, I was going to post something on the book here – trying to make sense of it all – before I got scooped by none other than The New York Times. Drat.
Unsurprisingly, many people don’t care that “A Million Little Pieces” is a fake book, and I have to admit that it’s still a pretty good read, fake or not. But, next time I have that sneaking suspicion that someone’s “true story” is, in fact, fiction, I’m going to say something about it – BEFORE The New York Times picks it up.
Poor Oprah. Yet another blow to Oprah’s Book Club. (Somewhere, Jonathan Franzen has to be laughing about this).
Posted on January 9, 2006, in Books, Pop Culture and tagged Elisabeth. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
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I will resist the temptation to bring up Bannergate. In fact, I won’t say a word about it.
LOL! Thanks, Rusty, for resisting.
Here is The New York Times article about the book.
This is the expose at The Smoking Gun website.
How funny. I was just reading bits of it to my husband the other night. It did seem rather too sensational.
I tend to not fully believe any memoir anyway. It’s all based on someone’s memories, and I know how unreliable my own memory is, why should I trust anyone else’s?
Take Frank McCourt’s book, Angela’s Ashes. I haven’t read it for a long time, so my memory may be off (ha!), but I could swear he writes about stuff happening when he was 3. Uh huh.
Susan – I agree. I originally picked up the book because it was on sale at Sam’s Club in Utah, and I needed some reading material for the plane ride back to Boston. It seemed a sufficently interesting (and mindless) read to keep me occupied for six hours.
I enjoyed reading it, but only because the story kept on getting more and more unbelievable, and I had to keep reading to see what he’d come up with next.
But, now that I think about it, it’s a pretty dangerous book to be taken seriously – since he holds himself out as a success story DESPITE the treatment at rehab. He seems to be saying “hey, who needs rehab? Who needs AA? All you need is to make a choice not to drink and abuse drugs, and you can kick the habit all by yourself.”
And the story about his rehab girlfriend getting thrown out in a trash bag? C’mon.
Haha. I’d forgotten about that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, though.
The parts I read to my husband were the parts where he talks about how he’ll never do the twelve steps. Never! Ever! Haha. But I knew my husband would like his attitude. Which he did.
JT Leroy is a fake too. The New York Times got completely snookered by that one.
E,
At least you can get a refund.
Wow, hey, thanks, John! And I still have my receipt – yeay!.
I think there’s a difference between memory and making things up. If two people recall the same event that happened years ago, they’ll probably differ in their telling of the story. Memiors tend to be highly personal and that needs to be taken into consideration when reading a memior. But simply making up events in a memior is lying and unacceptable. It’s too bad Frey had to do that. He was a talented writer.
Abel – wow – you’ve got an awesome website! Loved your post on this book. I think you SHOULD write a novel about “Lost” – judging from the popularity of the show – it would undoubtedly be a best seller (and may even get you on “Oprah”).