James Frey isn’t like other writers. He’s been called a liar. A cheat. A con man. He’s been called a saviour. A revolutionary. A genius. He’s been sued by readers. Dropped by publishers because of his controversies. Berated by TV talk-show hosts and condemned by the media. He’s been exiled from America, and driven into hiding. He’s also a bestselling phenomenon. Published in 38 languages, and beloved by readers around the world. What scares people about Frey is that he plays with truth; that fine line between fact and fiction. Now he has written his greatest work, his most revolutionary, his most controversial. The Final Testament of the Holy Bible.
What would you do if you discovered the Messiah were alive today? Living in New York. Sleeping with men. Impregnating young women. Euthanizing the dying, and healing the sick. Defying the government, and condemning the holy. What would you do if you met him? And he changed your life. Would you believe? Would you?
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. It will change you. Hurt you. Scare you. Make you think differently. Live differently. Enrage you. Offend you. Open your eyes to the world in which we live. We’ve waited 2,000 years for the Messiah to arrive. We’ve waited 2,000 years for this book to be written. He was here. The Final Testament of the Holy Bible is the story of his life.
“My goal was not to retell the story of Christ. That has been done, and done well. My goal was to create a new mythology. One that is relevant in a world with nuclear weapons, advanced physics, the internet, genetic testing and manipulation, one where we know homosexuality is not a decision. My goal was to create a mythology, to tell a story, to make a work of art that made sense in a world where we know things that people, and writers, 2000 years ago could never have known or imagined. Whether I was able to do it or not will be determined by readers, and by time, and by history.” James Frey
James Frey is the author of a million little pieces and my friend leonard. After battling with alcohol addiction and spending time in rehab, he wrote a million little pieces which was published in 2003 in America and the following year in the UK to critical acclaim. He wrote the sequel, my friend leonard about life after rehab, which was published in 2005 in the US and the year after in the UK.
James Frey now lives in New York with his wife, daughter and dog. He is still writing. Most recently he has published bright shiny morning, and his new book the final testament of the holy bible will published in April 2011 and is available for pre-order now.
From: The Guardian
The Best Books of 2011: Alison Flood anticipates the literary delights of the coming year…
Christian-baiting has, of late, become something of a fictional trend. Philip Pullman goaded believers last year with his take on the New Testament, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, which gave Jesus a manipulative twin brother. And Michel Faber’s novel The Fire Gospel saw Jesus die ignominiously on the cross with the entreaty: “Please, somebody, please finish me.”
But literary aficionados know that if it’s real controversy they’re after, there’s no one better than James Frey. His bestselling 2003 memoir, A Million Little Pieces, contained various fabrications about his life as an alcoholic drug addict; his new novel, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible, is out this spring, and looks likely to prove equally headline-grabbing. The book imagines what might happen if Christ returned to Earth, and was living in 21st-century New York, and having plenty of sex – with both men and women. Read the full article here
Filed under: Book Trailer, Contemporary Literature, Fiction Tagged: | a million little pieces, bright shiny morning, James Frey, my friend leonard, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible, The Fire Gospel, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
This is not a real blog. You’ve cut and pasted this copy straight from the author’s website. Surely this is in breach of copyright – it should be credited at the very least!
We are a bookshop blog. We sell the books we promote. The authors are very happy to have us promote and sell their books. That is how they make money.
James Frey tows the line like so many others before him: muzzle the voice that bothers conscience, drag down into the mire anyone who is not one of the boys. A cowardly attempt at being brazen…he should try writing, ‘The Final Testament of the Koran’ and see if he is celebrated.