A Bad Joke, In Book Form
Well, it appears that the churned-out-in-month book spoofing James Frey's A Million Little Pieces is now public and the media circus has begun. I've not read it, nor will I, because, frankly, who has that kind of time? The premise, though hacky and trite, is not a terrible one. However, as with dozens of Saturday Night Lives sketches expanded into terrible movies, what works well as a punchline usually does not hold up in a longer form. Spoofing Frey plays well as a disposable reference. But a 208 page trade paperback? Perhaps prisoners denied any other form of written word will read it.
But, really, the biggest problem with the book is that the whole James Frey episode is already a spoof of itself. This book wasn't necessary because the participants in this tragicomedy already satirized themselves. The purpose of satire is to actually make commentary on a serious subject, and to bring about change. Again, the Frey situation has already run this course, making this book redudant.
I think Weird Al Yankovic should have done a song about Frey....that's what all this really deserves.
