When I found out Oprah had picked A Million Little Pieces as her new book club book, my first response was close to anger. I was particularly down on Oprah last week after her deluded Hermes incident, and to suddenly have her audience of cowlike suburban Oprah watchers reading a book that meant so much to me, just floored me. I had seen James Frey speak over the summer and I knew that he could be prickly and wondered how he would do on Oprah.
I watched the show where she announced the book, and completely agreed with all the good Oprah had to say about it. Especially moving was that James Frey had gotten his mother tickets to be on the show, and she was so moved that even I began to shed a tear. This woman is your typical Cleveland Mom/Oprah fan, and while I believe everyone's motives were entirely sincere, it also added a layer to the book that will make it more appropriate for the cowlike suburban Oprah watchers - this guy may be a bit of a jerk in this book, but his Mom is one of us!
As someone who occasionally reviews books and music, it is easy to forget sometimes that there are real human beings behind the art that we read and listen to. Human beings with families, personalities, foibles, etc. The first time I got a comment from an author to whom I'd referred in an article, it really jarred me. He read what I had written (luckily positive) and offered to send me an autographed ARC of his new book. The Oprah show brought me back to reality in a similar way - this is ultimately not "my" book, it is James Frey's book and his Mom's book and now it will be read, and possibly beloved, if for no other reason than because Oprah told them to.
So if you haven't read it, let me and Oprah tell you to go get it now!
posted by jamie @ 9:48 AM
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