A Million Little Pieces of Truthiness

So, many fans of aerobil have been awaiting her remarks on the James Frey Million Little Pieces brouhaha (because Dr R is vewwy, vewwy smaaht when it comes to narrative and autobiography and suchlike). The conversation continues, should you wish to weigh in, as well. Postmodern questions regarding truths and realities aside, a rhetorical question arises: what are or were audiences expecting when they read this book? What happens when Oprah, a woman undoubtedly at the epicenter of self-help in this country, puts her stamp of approval on a memoir? What about marketing and the high-stakes publishing industry, particularly in light of the fact that Frey originally tried to sell this book as a novel?

New York Sun book critic Adam Kirsch considers these questions and more in his conversation with On the Media's Brooke Gladstone. The story is well worth a listen. Then you can add your two cents to the conversation about memoir and truthiness. Particularly crisis memoir and truthiness.