Fact or fiction...what's the big deal?

It's getting a lot of press, always a good thing for a writer. I resisted reading James Frey's A Million Little Pieces despite numerous recommendations, mainly because I'm more of a Jane Austen fan than, say, a devotee of Jack Kerouac. I may have been wrong about the writing style—who can fault terse eloquence?—but now, halfway through the book, I'm starting to feel as if I'm caught in a Ken Kesey landscape - will James ever get out of the rehab centre?!

As for allegations that the memoir features fabrications, I'm not convinced we should care. Is the message worthwhile? Has the author engaged us and succeeded in taking us to a place we've never been? Do we enjoy the journey and learn something important along the way? Truly, what do we care if it's called fact or fiction, memoir or novel.