johnrossbowie

So, fine. A Million Little Pieces is hooey. And while I feel bad for Frey -- lying can be as bad a compulsion as meth or booze, there's an illicit thrill in it -- there is some great writing circling his carrion.

On the serious tip: Here's a free copy of Frank Rich's piece in the Times. (Yeah, I'm a douchebag that way. The Times means The New York Times. If I meant the LA Times, I'd say "The LA Times." I'm in Los Angeles 4 years now, but old habits die hard. cf above, my elitist, DC-denying reference to the New York Post). Rich wisely points out the Frey is the symptom and Alito is the disease. Sample:

"Yet David Kirkpatrick of The Times reported then that “some colleagues and friends of the elder Mr. Alito, who died in 1987, said they had never heard some of the stories his son has recounted, including the episode about his support for the black student and the fact that his father immigrated from Italy as a child.” No matter. If such questions couldn’t stop an Oprah Book Club selection, they certainly wouldn’t stop a nominee to the Supreme Court."

Now, then. Read Jerry Stahl's piece in the LA Weekly. You remember Stahl - he wrote Permanent Midnight, his own 'narco-memoir." It might help to be familar with Frey's kinda turgid prose first, but then it's the first laugh out loud read of the 06.