A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (2004)
James Frey has a huge chip on his shoulder. He's a drug addict but he doesn't want you to care or show him any kindness. You get the sense that if you showed him compassion he'd punch you in the face. His anger permeates the book and perhaps explains why he, unlike some other addicts, was able to get clean.
Thismemoir novel starts with the author's admittance into a drug treatment center. The treatment center is a big challenge for him. He needs help - a few more days out on the street and he's pretty sure he'd be dead - but he thinks the therapeutic aspect of treatment is bullshit. He made himself into a drug addict and only he can make himself sober. All the treatment mumbo jumbo is for the weak, and as he describes his stay in the treatment center, the characters he encounters, the challenges he is faced with, he lets you know he's not weak.
As he says it, Frey may just be the toughest criminal minded SOB you're likely to meet. I can't help but call bullshit on this. There are passages in this book dealing with his unflinching hard-assistude and tolerance for pain that suffice to say, are simply unbelievable. One passage deals with a trip to the dentist. As a recovering addict, he is prohibited from using any drugs, including anesthesia. I won't spoil it for you but when I explained the scenario to my dentist, he wasn't buying it either. Despite these flaws, I found the book hard to put down.
N.B. Oprah recently chose A Million Little Pieces for her book club so I guess despite all Frey's stated disdain for anything tainted with sentimentality or empathy, he's no fool. Rolling with the Queen of empathy is good for the bottom line. (And yes, if you must know, I read this well before Oprah got involved).
N.B.(2) I wrote this review before it was revealed that several significant aspects of A Million Little Pieces were fabricated, exaggerated and just plain lies. I had some suspicions though I certainly couldn't have guessed how extensive the lies were.
James Frey has a huge chip on his shoulder. He's a drug addict but he doesn't want you to care or show him any kindness. You get the sense that if you showed him compassion he'd punch you in the face. His anger permeates the book and perhaps explains why he, unlike some other addicts, was able to get clean.
This
As he says it, Frey may just be the toughest criminal minded SOB you're likely to meet. I can't help but call bullshit on this. There are passages in this book dealing with his unflinching hard-assistude and tolerance for pain that suffice to say, are simply unbelievable. One passage deals with a trip to the dentist. As a recovering addict, he is prohibited from using any drugs, including anesthesia. I won't spoil it for you but when I explained the scenario to my dentist, he wasn't buying it either. Despite these flaws, I found the book hard to put down.
N.B. Oprah recently chose A Million Little Pieces for her book club so I guess despite all Frey's stated disdain for anything tainted with sentimentality or empathy, he's no fool. Rolling with the Queen of empathy is good for the bottom line. (And yes, if you must know, I read this well before Oprah got involved).
N.B.(2) I wrote this review before it was revealed that several significant aspects of A Million Little Pieces were fabricated, exaggerated and just plain lies. I had some suspicions though I certainly couldn't have guessed how extensive the lies were.
No quotes for this fraud
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