Frey owns up to this fiction: HarperCollins to publish ‘Bright Shiny Morning’

After imploding his career—profitably—with his alleged memoir, ‘A Million Little Pieces,’ James Frey continues his—profitable—success with the sale of his novel to HarperCollins. The book is scheduled for publication in summer, 2008. Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher at HC, said in a corporate news release, “James Frey is an immensely talented writer who has written a truly extraordinary and original novel, one of great breadth and ambition.” Gosh—sounds just like his first “novel” packaged as a memoir, doesn’t it?

American publishing knows no boundaries when it comes to making money. Remember Clifford Irving—faker of the Howard Hughes biography in 1971? Irving actually did time in a federal prison for his scam. Frey gets a new book deal and praise from his publisher.

The saddest thing about Clifford Irving is what makeup artists did to Richard Gere when filming the movie about Irving, ‘The Hoax.’ I literally could not even look at Gere, made up so poorly he brought to mind the image of Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine fame.

Well, we all have our ups and downs, I suppose. Can you fathom musings about my own success? What if I were to claim my next book has just been acquired by a mega-publisher who wined and dined me recently in New York, offering a $2 million advance for my brilliance in penning an account of my life as personal poet to Diana, Princess of Wales. I might tell you I include stories of our teatimes together. I might conjure how we shared everything —finger sandwiches, Earl Grey tea (loose leaf, of course) and even Prince Charles. And how when Di wanted a poem, I composed one on the spot. “Formal or free?” I’d ask—“a sonnet, perhaps?”

I confess she preferred free. I think I’ll use the pen name Jamie Frey for my “memoir.” Nonfiction, they say, is a great way to break out on the best-seller list, even if your book is as we say on the street, a pack of lies.

A Long Way Gone (Ishmael Beah): a memoir that stays with you

The phrase “boy soldier” seems like an anachronism to an American. We know young boys were caught up in our own Revolutionary War and in the War Between the States. But those wars conjure another place and time long distant from the present.

Not so in many parts of the world today. Ishmael Beah recounts his journey to redemption in 'A Long Way Gone', beginning with the destruction of his village in Sierra Leone by rebel forces. The book opens with descriptions of his life in a village where many are employed by foreign companies but where families still cling to agrarian customs and practices. He plays soccer, he goes to collect firewood,he likes hip-hop but he still enjoys listening to elders tell time-honored fables about his culture. His parents parted when he was young; he lives with his father and stepmother. One day he leaves with several friends to take part in a talent show in a neighboring village. That day would be the end of normal life for the author.

Rebels assault Beah’s village; victims could choose life and support the rebels or risk death by fleeing. Beah describes the predicament:

“…the rebels began shooting their guns at people instead of shooting into the sky. They didn’t want people to abandon the town, because they needed to use civilians as a shield against the military. One of the main aims of the rebels when they took over a town was to force the civilians to stay with them, especially women and children. This way they could stay longer, as military intervention would be delayed.”

‘A Long Way Gone’ pulls the reader along as Beah becomes a child soldier, dependent on drugs, comrades and adrenalin to survive. He finds himself doing the very things that destroyed his own family—killing others as a product of being brainwashed by the government army that has conscripted him.

Beah’s journey from tormented soldier to accomplished Oberlin College graduate and New York writer plays like a video in the reader’s mind. The author witnessed and participated in horrible acts. That he made it out of a civil war alive and intact is a miracle.

There's a remarkable photo of the author on the back cover. He has a beautiful smile in his eyes and on his lips that despite all he's been through, suggests hope.

I’d highly recommend this memoir to any reader; it’s eloquent and memorable. It is a vivid reminder of the character of war, the assumption of pain by people who just want to live their lives but are unable to because political factions prize power over decency.

This is the second memoir I’ve read that really stays with me. I believe Ishmael Beah’s ‘A Long Way Gone’ and Jeannette Walls’s ‘The Glass Castle’ should be nominated for the National Book Award. We’ll see what happens.

The Glass Castle a page-turner memoir

After learning Jeannette Walls would be keynote speaker for the ASJA conference this year, I picked up her book "The Glass Castle." I put it on top of the pile, planning to read it once I finished Steve Berry’s new book "The Alexandria Link" and Victor Davis Hanson’s "The Soul of Battle." When my husband is out of town, I read a book each night. I’m strolling through Daniel Hoffman’s "Zone of the Interior" and several of his poetry books concurrently because I plan to write about him.

So I selected Walls’s book the other day to occupy my mind while I had lunch. I wasn’t really excited about reading another memoir. There are many of them these days. But she was speaking at the conference and I aimed to be able to put her in context.

I regret starting her book. Because once I did, I didn’t want to put it down. After lunch I hurried through the piles of paper and assignments on my desk, hoping to finish the book before my husband’s plane arrived late last night. I finished "The Glass Castle" about 1:30 a.m. It’s the sort of book that makes you feel a sense of loss when you turn the final page.

Walls makes her memories come alive by means of strong characters. There’s plenty of action, but the unfurling of her family members’ life stories propels the action. Walls had what you might call an “alternative upbringing.” Her parents were brilliant intellectuals, but at times, their parenting skills horrify the reader. Both her parents were wanderers in life, choosing a lifestyle that on the one hand, offered the children a look at art, literature, science, mathematics and philosophy that few can experience. On the other hand, the family experienced hunger, poverty and no small amount of pain.

A particularly wistful moment comes in a college classroom as a professor is talking about homelessness. Walls is afraid to share her own history with the class but she gets across the point her parents chose homelessness, because she learns as an adult her mother owns land worth millions of dollars. The professor asks what Walls could possibly know about homelessness. It’s a priceless moment in the memoir.

Walls’s narrative style is rapid fire, like a series of punches to the gut.

At poetry readings, I often remark my childhood was gloriously dysfunctional. I think Walls would identify with that description.

I’d recommend this book to any reader. It’s an enlightening journey for the reader, and it is never dull. The book sets a benchmark for any memoir I might select in the future. I am definitely looking forward to hearing her speak.
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