Hmph.

Remember a few posts back when I recommended A Million Little Pieces? Well, guess what NPR featured last night? James Frey just might be a fraud.

Hmph. That's all I have to say. Hmph.

Okay, maybe I have a little more to say. Which is: Aren't you tired of this? This notion that the truth is liquid, flexible, not really something to stand on? I am. I really am. From Stephen Ambrose to all those reporters in the late 90's either plagiarizing or just making things up. Either way, it's so disappointing.

It's not that I'm sad that Frey wasn't as "bad" or didn't suffer as much as he claimed to. It's not even that I'm angry that I was taken in (which I am, because I was). It's that every time an author publishes what isn't really his, or misrepresents his work as truth when it's fiction, or makes up sources, or embellishes his resume, we all suffer. One more little hole is created in the fabric of society. One more pillar of trust falls. One more clause is invalidated in our social contract.

I'm glad the truth came out, in this case. I hope it serves to strengthen the power of truth-telling everywhere. And I'm still open to the possibility that Mr. Frey has a reasonable explanation for all of this. While the article at The Smoking Gun is very convincing, it's always possible that it does not completely represent the whole story. So I'll be watching for further developments. But I must admit that things don't look good for James Frey today.