A Million Little Pieces, One Big Chicago Snub

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on May 7, 2008 4:15PM

Maybe we're reading too much into this, but we couldn't help but notice that James Frey has left Chicago off his upcoming book tour. Frey will be touring and reading in support of his new novel, Bright Shiny Morning. (Wait. Can it really be considered his "first" novel if...screw it, we're not going to reopen that can of worms.) Maybe he just couldn't fit us in. Maybe Ann Arbor is a bigger literature magnet than we ever realized. Or maybe he's going to add Chicago at a later date. Whatever the case, it still struck us that Chicago is the largest major city on this route that he left off the list. Of course, there is one possible explanation. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair to promote his new book, Frey and embattled publisher Nan Telese claim the Big O "duped" him into appearing on That Episode by luring him under false pretenses. Thing is, we actually liked Frey's books, true or not. And someone should have informed Oprah that this was not the first time a nonfiction writer has gotten in trouble for lying in their work. Whatever the reason, we'll just consider ourselves lucky that Frey-Oprah has not escalated to Tupac-Biggie proportions. Yet.