"... a memoir is, indeed, a loose and slippery genre - as loose and slippery as memory itself. And there's a difference, even in publishing, between the lies we tell about ourselves and the lies we tell about others." So opined The New York Times in an editorial on the controversy surrounding James Frey's book A Million Little Pieces. The book claims to be a memoir, and many readers believed it to be a true account of Frey's life. Now it's emerged that Frey made up bits of the best seller - inclusing a jail sentence he apparently never served. At least one reader wants to sue the author, whose book has sold many copies on the back on Oprah Winfrey's endorsement. Frey has defended it on the grounds of "emotionall truth" and distinguished what he has done from journalistic writing. For her part, Winfrey says the complaints are "much ado about nothing". Even if it was Frey's intention to defraud his readers - and that's by no means proven - he seems to have given them a good read for their money. And something to think about.