A Million Little Pieces

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: What a stunning debut. It was a brutal, graphic, heartbreaking illustration of the life of an addict and one man's quest to be something more. I liked that Frey illustrated unblinkingly what he'd done without trying to make himself seem likeable and endearing.

Rating:
Summary: So cliche
Review: More self-indulgent drug literature relying on shock value alone to attract a readership. Please, it's time to grow up people. Everything that can be said about drugs has already been said. Frey is simply treading a path that's already been explored to its utmost. So enough already. Redundancy is not an art form no matter how "cool" it might appear.

Rating:
Summary: Fair read
Review: This book made me think of everyone's addictions. We all seem to have them to varying degrees. MLP seemed to show that everyone's addiction is different. We all just seem to escalate to the end at different rates.

Rating:
Summary: I'm so horrible, everyone loves me
Review: Although I'm not an addict, I was the editor of an journal for addictions counselors for many years. As such, I read hundreds of stories about the agony of addiction. This one is a standout, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. Like most, it has all the requisite excretory delights: the blood, the spit, the snot, the urine, the vomit (and vomit, and vomit, and just when you think it's over ... more vomit) described in excruciating detail. It's got the rock-bottomed protagonist, the pathetically helpless loved ones, the heroic counselors, the supportive fellow addicts, even a tragically codependent love interest. What sets this tale apart is something that makes me both like and dislike the author. I was compelled by the fact that he eschews all things AA (especially the "higher power" nonsense, which I always had a problem with myself). His determination to go it alone in recovery is a nice twist from the usual "let go and let god" proslytizing. However, at the same time, I was repelled by the author's ludicrously childish tough-guy act. Frey would have us believe that he was beating and torturing people almost from the time he could walk, to the point where he ascribes to himself an almost-psychotic anti-social personality disorder. He admits throughout the book that he has done unspeakably abusive things to everyone who's ever come within 10 feet of him, and yet, they can't get enough of him. His parents fall all over themselves to win his acceptance even though he has to fight off going into a rage if they so much as try to hug him. A mobster he befriends in therapy wants him to be the son he never had. The counselors and psychologists all develop a deep admiration and respect for him despite the fact that he ridicules and belittles their work and everything they stand for. At the end, you find yourself doubting that someone this immature and angry could possibly have a single person in his life who wouldn't flee in horror at the sight of him, let alone maintain a successful recovery.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Read
Review: At age 23, James Frey's life was broken into a million little pieces. He had skipped bail in four states, he was an alcoholic, drug addict and had managed to alienate pretty much everyone who ever cared for him. Yet, those who cared never fully gave up on him, because perhaps they could see the nugget of genius that gave us this powerful memoir. While I cannot speak to those who have lived through the horrors that Frey recounts as he goes through detoxification and rehab--this book may have a different effect for them and I have seen some reviews here who just aren't buying what he has to day--to most who pick up this work--this will be an amazing read. Frey's recount of his time in rehab is almost hypnotic, is addictive in itself. The writing is different, almost disjointed, but it works. At the beginning of the book, he recounts his experience getting root canal without pain killers--it is a powerful and evocative passage. There are several other sections of this book that I don't think I will ever forget, simply because of the power of his writing. I don't normally read memoirs--I picked this one up on a lark. It's a quick read, not quick because it is "easy", but quick because you will need to know how James got through rehab.

Rating:
Summary: Angry book by an angry man
Review: I hated this book. I wanted to read it because a have a couple of family members with addiction problems who recovered on their own without AA. The author's style of writing is terrible and I think his story could have been told just as well without the choppy sentences and probably a record number of F words in any book I have ever read. I also don't beleive the story of the dental procedures done without any novocane. Sounds like something from "Marathon Man". If he had had a ruptured appendix, would they have removed it without any anesthesia? A person can go into shock from pain and I have never heard of the use of novocane triggering any relapse in an addict. After all, it is injected into the nerve, not the bloodstream.

Rating:
Summary: Evolution of a person
Review: MLP is a glimpse into a person willing to walk us through a transformation in real time. Frey opens himself to tell us that he is a jerk, that he is spoiled, that he has screwed up his life, and more importantly, that he is willing to recognize it is up to him to change. While everyone seems to be looking for some sort of external self help, Frey shows us that ultimately, it is the individual's choice to make change happen. A powerful lesson vividly and honestly told.

Rating:
Summary: nasty unapologetic jerk reveals all without apologies
Review: What's missing from this memoir of "recovery" is a sense that the protagonist anti-hero made any sort of recovery from his additions at all.He is still a volatile , angry, blaming , controlling manipulative wrtetched jerk - or is there something I am missing- perhaps in the sequel we will see something positive emerge? That will be the recovery tome, not this. Are the graphic tales of the pain he went thorough supposed to endear us to him?Ick. There is simply nothing likeable about this man- sober or straight.His endless lists of all the people he has hurt in the myriad of ways from early childhood almost makes me think that he might be a clinically cerified sociopath.. So happy not to have met him! There is no compassion, warmth, joy, or anything positive - no light at the end of the tunnnel at all.
I couldn't understand his grand mal confession at the very end- pure murderous rage- and follow through, provoked by an unasked for hand on his knee.As if we didn't understand already that he "did some pretty bad things". Yeah- he bad- but who cares?

Rating:
Summary: Straight Forward and Unflinching
Review: There are distinct elements of Running With Scissors, Dry, and My Fractured Life that erupt from the pages of A Million Little Pieces. All are exceptional books and compliment Frey well. Ultimately what makes Frey's A Million Little Pieces different is its straightforwardness. In My Fractured Life, Rikki Lee Travolta literally mirrors the nightmarish working of an addict's brain. In Running With Scissors and Dry, Augusten Burroughs tempers the stains of addiction with comical musings. In A Million Little Pieces, Frey drills the story home without flinching despite the gore and pain. His words are determined and with a self-loathing honesty that makes them addictive to read. In terms of comparison, Frey takes a slightly different road of delivery with A Million Little Pieces, but the end product is as richly rewarding as My Fractured Life, Running With Scissors, and Dry.

Rating:
Summary: Without Apology
Review: A MILLION LITTLE PIECES is not a book I would give to my mother to read, but it is one I personally thoroughly enjoyed. Like MY FRACTURED LIFE and RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, it deals with addiction without apology. The character is a drug addict and tells of life from his perspective. It is fascinating to read and get lost in. Many people call Los Vegas "sin city" but it is fairly clean compared to the escapades of the people in these books.