James Frey, Million Little Pieces and the publishing industries' coming Million Little Lawsuits

I am, I must admit, somewhat stunned that Random House has caved to demands for refunds in the face of litigation. [N.B. I am a recovering attorney, I tend to support creative/experimental uses of the lay...but not abjectly bogus ones...] I am the first to admit that I do not read things like Frey's, "A Million Little Pieces." I'm disinclined to do a great deal of navel examination as to my own life...reading other's tales of self discovery/redemption makes me a bit...er...glazed. That said, that aspects of his "memoir" were fabricated is tacky...but functionally irrelevant.

I learned, around 10 or so, that just because something is in print does not mean it is "true." So he added tales to deepen/broaden the tale of his life...does it actually change the substance/impact of his story? Maybe...maybe not, but have I been "harmed?"

Legally, the substantive issue would seem to me to be one of "damages." What is the harm? So I bought a book that was supposed to be a memoir but it included fictional/fictionalized passages. How am I harmed?

How many books have you picked up finding quotation after quotation stating that the book is "one of the great books of the 20th century", "thrilling", "brilliantly written", etc., etc. Yet, when read it turns out to be abject crap. Has RH opened the door for a slew of "you said is was X...but it was Y" suits under the guise of "fraud." [I read with bemusement of another who is currently seeking an attorney to file a class action against the Catholic Church and others over the Bible.]

It is one thing when a piece of non-fiction is found to be plagiarized and/or based on spurious data, etc. Even then, it is just written off as being dreck of one flavor or another...it is just a "bad book"...to be read with a careful eye or not read at all, as one sees fit. In no other case can I find people suing for "fraud." [Mind you, there are countless suits for invasion of privacy, defamation and the like.]

There are times when, as a defendant, you simply pay to avoid the annoyance/cost of litigation. There are times, however, when you must fight a stupid fight because the collateral damage of a settlement carries too high a cost. I'm a bit concerned that RH's desire to put this Frey matter to rest has made them shortsighted as to the implications of caving. Time will tell.