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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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February 6, 2012
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 16, 2006
/ 16 Teves, 5766
Throwing the book at reality
By
Meghan Daum
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
For those of us with too much time on our hands, last week's brouhaha surrounding "A Million Little Pieces," the bestselling, Oprah-sanctioned memoir by James Frey, was the most fun we'd had since the Milli Vanilli scandal. In case you missed it, last Sunday, the website "The Smoking Gun" published a screed alleging that much of Frey's blood-and-vomit-drenched recollections about his prodigious substance abuse, lengthy jail time and wrenching stint in rehab are about as true as Harry Potter's exploits.
By Wednesday afternoon, a rumor was circulating that Random House, which oversees the imprint (Nan Talese) that published "A Million Little Pieces," would be refunding readers the $24.95 they'd spent on a book they believed was the G-d's honest truth. Sure, the memoir genre has become a major industry, and it seems increasingly debatable how much veracity readers expect inside the pages of "true" stories. But for a while last week, it looked as if the whole nonfiction roman a clef empire was about to fall.
Later that evening, though, Frey appeared on "Larry King Live," and King stated that the refund rumor was untrue. (Moreover, Oprah herself called in to reaffirm her commitment to the title.) Phew, that was close.
I started trying to write this column shortly after the story broke. I was in Nebraska, where I used to live, and every time I got on the Internet, the Frey story had taken on a new dimension, forcing me to start the piece all over again. The night Frey appeared on Larry King, I became even more frustrated. My friends in a book club I once belonged to 10 women from their mid-30s to their mid-50s had rescheduled their monthly meeting in honor of my visit. I couldn't very well cancel on them because I had to watch CNN.
But as it turned out, the book club wanted to watch Frey too. So we gathered up our cheese, crackers and bottles of wine and trundled to the basement to sit in front of the television set. Within the first 15 minutes of Frey's appearance, much of the cheese had been thrown at that TV set. I don't know what my fellow writers and journalists in the big city made of Frey's nervous equivocations, but I can tell you that my girls in Lincoln were not impressed.
Here are some snippets:
James Frey: "We initially shopped the book as a novel. It was turned down by a number of publishers as a novel or as a nonfiction book …. When Nan Talese purchased the book…. we talked about what to publish it as, and they thought the best thing to do was publish it as a memoir."
Barb in the basement: "When I see that something says 'memoir,' I expect it to be true."
Larry King: "But you were willing to publish it as fiction."
James Frey: "I don't think it's fair to classify it as fiction."
Mary: "It makes me angry because there are so many good stories and writers out there that don't get published."
Larry King: "The Smoking Gun says the closest [you] ever came to a jail cell was a few unshackled hours in a small Ohio police headquarters waiting for a buddy to post $733 cash bond. True?"
Penny: "Haven't we all done that?"
Mary Ethel: "Not in Ohio!"
James Frey: "We're dealing with a very subjective memory."
Melinda: "Oprah is going to hang him!"
Sharon: "I don't care what books she picks anyway."
Meghan: "You guys have picked Oprah books."
Everyone else in the basement: "But not because they're Oprah books!"
Unlike Frey, I have not changed the names of the women in my former book club. And unlike what the publishing world seems to believe, not all American book buyers rely on Oprah's endorsements. Still, my friends were shocked and disappointed when Oprah called in to say she stood behind the book.
But Oprah also said that she "relied on the publishers to define the category that a book falls within and the authenticity of the work." That, ultimately, is the point here.
Since this story broke, all I could think was that it's not Oprah or Frey who has let us down but the publishing business. By pandering to our culture's increasingly perverted sense of voyeurism, by knowingly taking material that's not good enough to pass as fiction and packaging it as a tell-all that can be parlayed into a sordid companion guide for the self-help movement, the book business has proved that it's just as concerned with the lowest common denominator as the television business. Hollywood has figured out that it's more economical to sell reality programming than to craft fictional stories that require real writers, directors and actors, and publishers know that making a bad book seem good involves not rewriting and editing but merely marketing it as a reality show without pictures.
Though I don't in any way condone the Faustian bargain Frey made, he's hardly the first desperate writer to sell his novel down the river. He may, however, be the first successful writer to show us just how far publishers are willing to go to feed our culture's urge to gawk at human suffering. And even if Oprah's book club doesn't draw the line between fact and fiction, the book clubs in the living rooms (and basements) of America do.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Meghan Daum is an essayist and novelist in Los Angeles.
Comment by clicking here.
12/05/05 In-your-face journalism
9/12/05 May Bob Denver, like, rest in peace
© 2006, Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate
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