An Infamous Author Wrote a Novel About His Town. What Do the Neighbors Think?
Best known for the memoir ‘A Million Little Pieces’ and the ensuing controversy, James Frey now has a sizzling beach read about the misdeeds of the rich
James Frey’s book group was meeting to discuss the new novel by the notorious author James Frey.
Though he has written six books, Frey is best known for “A Million Little Pieces,” the 2003 bestseller about his drug-and-alcohol addiction. That title, marketed as a memoir, turned Frey into a pariah when it was revealed he falsified or exaggerated parts of his story. Oprah scolded him on TV. His agent dumped him.
Now he’s releasing a sizzling gossipfest about the misdeeds of the rich called “Next to Heaven,” which revolves around an elite swingers party in a town based on New Canaan, Conn., the moneyed enclave where the author lives. Against that backdrop, the book can seem like reality disguised as fiction, as opposed to the fiction disguised as reality that led to his literary scandal two decades ago.
“If I write a book that is published as nonfiction, everybody tears it apart trying to figure out what in it is not true,” the author, 55, said. “If I write a book that’s fiction, everybody tears it apart trying to figure out what is true.”