January 9th, 2006
If you haven’t yet seen this incomparable full-scale demolition of James Frey’s credibility, go to it. Frey is the Oprah-approved author of the bestselling nonfiction memoir A Million Little Pieces, words that aptly describe the state of Frey’s reputation now that this is out.
Frey’s book is an apologetic memoir of his days as a raging drug addict and incarcerated criminal. His life, he claims, was deeply affected by the tragic death of a close friend in a train accident. Turns out, Frey never spent more than a few hours in jail and had no connection to the victim of a well-known train accident that he has appropriated and distorted for his own dramatic purposes. Along the way, he appears to have made up scores of little lies to fill out his tale as a bad boy who turned his life around.
The article, which must be five or six thousands words long, is actually a model of the form. The commentary is but lightly snide and never digressive. Here’s to The Smoking Gun!
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