Yahoo: “On Thursday, the book’s publisher, Doubleday, announced that Frey was writing a brief author’s note for future hardcover and paperback editions. Spokeswoman Alison Rich would not say what would be in the note.”
DISCLAIMER #1: “The following events have been considerably fabricated, because the author wants to be ‘the best writer of his generation.’ More importantly, he wants to sell a lot of books and be showered with attention for a tale of survival that’s nowhere nearly as crazed and troubled as he makes it out to be.”
DISCLAIMER #2: “The characters and events were once fictitious, because they initially started out as a novel. But this being the publishing industry, we’re well aware that ‘Based on a True Story’ sells a book almost as swiftly as the fear of God. Forgive the author and the publisher’s opportunism. It’s been a rough year.”
DISCLAIMER #3: “Yes, we were exposed by a website. We’re not happy about this. And neither is Oprah. But if entertainment’s your game, James Frey’s your name! Buy and read this book anyway. We promise that we’re withholding certain royalties from Mr. Frey.”
(via Babies are Fireproof)
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (