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The Wavy Rule, a Daily Comic by Paul Morris: All That and a Side of Frey
Filed under: The Catbird Seat: Friends & Guests Tagged: books, cartoons, comics, fiction, James Frey, The Wavy Rule
In today’s “Wavy Rule,” Paul addresses the question: What does a James Frey novel smell like? Click to enlarge!
More by Paul Morris: Our very own upside-down question-mark naming contest! Plus, “The Wavy Rule” archive; a very funny webcomic, “Arnjuice”; a motley Flickr page; various beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale and free download at Lulu.
Comments
Do I understand from this that you are reading James Frey novels? What on earth for?
Or, put another way, Are they any good?
I tried, Martin. I came to it with an open mind –but I don’t feel that Frey treats Los Angeles with an open mind in his new novel, Bright Shiny Morning. But I didn’t read the whole thing or even past Chapter 1. I just couldn’t. It’s ridden with tired clichés about LA: all Angelenos want to become actors, the freeways are all clogged, Midwesterners come to the city to become famous actors, the virtuous Mexican-American housekeeper, etc. etc. As a lifelong Angeleno, I know the city is more than just that. I think Frey is a fairly good writer. He just needs better themes and to write honestly for once.