O Fer Christsakes, Knock it Off! Pt. 2
Just caught the highlights of Oprah’s confrontation with author, James Frey. I thought this story had run its course. Boy was I wrong! Why CNN dedicated a sizable block of time this A.M. to Oprah and Frey, I don’t know — it’s not like it’s a slow news day given some of the relevant events that have happened over the last couple of days. According to my trusted sources who’ve actually read the Frey memoir, the book is mediocre. Chances are that the book sales would have petered-out long ago had Oprah not endorsed it. Oprah scolding Frey and his publisher on national T.V. is such a joke. If Frey sinned, it was a minor and forgivable sin. Frey’s embellishments only pretained to himself. The publisher’s main responsibility was to insure that Frey didn’t commit libel. Since, by definition, a writer cannot libel himself, the publisher had a limited responsibility in this case. If anyone deserves scolding here, it’s the media for embellishing the importance of Frey’s embellishments. And while we’re at it, let’s blame Oprah for praising mediocre books that should have been remaindered to the dust bins long ago.
