Author admits faking best-selling memoir

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Los Angeles (dpa) - The author of a best-selling memoir about his inspiring victory over drug and alcohol addiction has admitted making up parts of the book, including a pivotal three-month prison term in which he claimed to have been the victim of brutal violence.

James Frey, whose work "A Million Little Pieces" has sold almost 4 million copies and was the best-selling book by any American author last year, made the admission late Wednesday after investigative website thesmokinggun.com exposed multiple inaccuracies in the text. Apart from the fictitious prison stint, other embellishments include tales of arrest, involvement in several deaths and numerous cases of outrageous behaviour.

"I've acknowledged that I changed things," Frey said on the CNN talk show Larry King Live. Frey claimed that the events he changed comprised less than 5 per cent of the book's content, and "within the realm of what's appropriate for a memoir." He insisted that he "stands by the book as being the essential truth of my life".

In response to the allegations, publisher Random House said it would offer a full refund to buyers of the book, but also insisted that "the power of the overall reading experience is such that the book remains a deeply inspiring and redemptive story for millions of readers".

According to the Hollywood Reporter Thursday, a planned film of the memoir is now in doubt as top talent lined up for the movie could be scared away by the controversy.

One big name undaunted by the revelations was Oprah Winfrey whose touting of the book on her daytime chat show was the major factor that turned it into a bestseller.

"Although there are some factual questions," said the talk show queen, "the underlying message of redemption still resonates with me and many others."

"What is relevant is that he was a drug addict ... and stepped out of that history to be the man he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves."