A lot of people get angry when they read a book or article and find out some of the things in it are lies. I’m sure this happens often with people because authors are so prone to doing it. How many autobiographies are embellished for the sole reason that nobody wants to read about a boring life?
The optimists of the world might look at the situation and think, “If I never knew this was a lie, it would have never bothered me.” I think that’s the best way to look at it. Many people are accusing the writer, James Frey, of fabricating his book, “A Million Little Pieces.”
Why does it matter whether it’s fact or fiction, as long as it’s a good book? If Frey had published the book as fiction, readers would only ask themselves what parts of the book were real. I can understand how people might feel cheated and mistreated, but who knows how many nonfiction books have been ornamented with lies, and the readers just never found out about them? As for Frey’s comments, he told thesmokinggun.com, “So let the haters hate, let the doubters doubt. I stand by my book, and my life, and I won’t dignify this B.S. with any sort of further response.”
Another word for embellishment could be ornamentation. When most people hear the word ornament, they think of Christmas ornaments, which usually bring about good feelings. So why can’t people look at embellishing a story as adding pretty ornaments to an ugly tree?
Sure, lying is wrong; everyone learned that when they were 5 years old. But what about those times when your mom or dad spends hours in the kitchen making a new dish; if you didn’t like it, would you honestly tell him or her that after he/she worked so hard? Normally, this would be called a “little white lie,” and those are usually forgiven if they are told to make something better.