Random Refunds....Wow.

This is bad. According to the NY Times, Random House, the publisher of James Frey's "memoir" A MILLION LITTLE PIECES, is offering refunds to all who purchased the book directly from them! Yikes. That's bad.

My Take?
This speaks volumes of how the publisher's taking the scandal. I wouldn't be surprised if they pull it out of print altogether. After all, this has become BIG news. CNN, MSNBC, etc. I saw last night that they all covered it and are continuing to report on it today........And according to the Times' report, even Hollywood's balking at an adaptation now, fearing movie stars will shy away from taking a roll in a movie based on a "memoir" now being referred to as A MILLION LITTLE LIES.

I imagine Oprah will be addressing this at some point. It seems inevitable. It'll be very interesting to hear what she'll have to say. I just hope, as I'm sure most are too, that it won't encourage her to pull the plug once again on her book club. That would truly be a shame.
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UPDATE: Tonight's Larry King Live---Larry stated that Random House isn't offering refunds after all.....Gee. Wonder how that misinformation got started. If indeed it is misinformation. Oprah called in at the very end of the show and basically said she stands behind the book for the central message and purpose it serves to help drug addicts. She said that she, like most all readers, relies on publishers to appropriately categorize their publications, and that she's disappointed with the "so called controversy". She had nothing negative to say about James Frey. I'm sure that even as I blog this, reporters are typing up their stories featuring Oprah "breaking her silence" on Larry King. ;-)

UPDATE (again): What'd I tell you? Syntax of Things has an excellent and detailed recap all ready for your reading pleasure!

UPDATE (yep, again): Now the NY times reports that a reader is sueing the publisher of A MILLION LITTLE PIECES. What will a judge say? Perhaps the case will quickly be dismissed - then again - this could get a helluva lot more interesting than it already is. Stay tuned, folks! Here's a snippet from the report:

Saying they were acting on behalf of Pilar More, a mother of two, who felt cheated by the revelations about the truthfulness of ``A Million Little Pieces,'' the Chicago law firm Dale and Pakenas filed suit in a Cook County, Illinois, court against the book's publishers, alleging consumer fraud.

The suit seeks status as a class-action lawsuit and lawyer Thomas Pakenas said it might take up to 60 days to get a decision. The suit seeks unspecified damages. He added, ``If somebody sells you a cashmere jacket and it turns out to be polyester, you would feel cheated, right? And even if the collar and lapels were cashmere, it still would be consumer fraud. To defend the book as telling the quote 'emotional truth' is just crap.''