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This addiction memoir opens with the author's awakening on an airplane with a broken nose, a hole in his cheek, and four missing teeth--and no knowledge of how he received tho...Read more
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Simply a poorly written and poorly edited book
by:elegante_art
Perhaps people have forgotten how to read, but “A Million Little Pieces” is a poorly written and poorly edited book.
Mr. Frey cheats the reader from the first pag...Read more
Mr. Frey cheats the reader from the first pag...Read more
GREAT book (must NOT read it as a memoir!)
by:prime_sales
[[UPDATE: Rating change from 5 stars to 4...
I found this book to be very good, extremely great in many spots, but I was APPALED to hear that the best parts are in ...Read more
I found this book to be very good, extremely great in many spots, but I was APPALED to hear that the best parts are in ...Read more
Million Little Pieces by James Frey (2005, Paperback)
Author: James FreyPublisher: Anchor BooksLanguage: English
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Synopsis
This addiction memoir opens with the author's awakening on an airplane with a broken nose, a hole in his cheek, and four missing teeth--and no knowledge of how he received those injuries or, indeed, of how he got on the plane or where he's going. James Frey writes candidly about his monumental problems with drugs and alcohol, his terrifying experiences, and his relationships with the fellow-addicts he encountered over six weeks of detox at a Minnesota clinic. Many readers (including Oprah, who in 2005 made A MILLION LITTLE PIECES the first nonfiction selection for her Book Club) have praised the book for the raw and real-seeming quality of its reminiscences. However, allegations have since arisen that many of the events in the book were either extraordinarily exaggerated or entirely fabricated, including the author's personal involvement in a tragic car accident in high school and his three-month incarceration. The book's defenders, in turn, claim that a memoirist's perspective often involves a skewing of the facts, and the quality of the book is what counts, not its factual basis.
Publisher's Note
A memoir of drug and alcohol abuse and the rehabilitation experience examines addiction and recovery through the eyes of a man who had taken his addictions to deadly extremes, describing the battle to confront the consequences of his life.
Industry Reviews
"Frey has said that he wanted his book to lay bare the torment of recovery in all its excruciating detail, and there is an audacity to the way he allows himself to appear so unlikable and seldom leavens the proceedings with humor or intimations that everything will turn out all right. But an unwelcome narcissism creeps through, too--it's evident that the sober Frey still digs the supertough, supersick baddie he was."
New York Times Book Review - David Kamper (06/08/2003)
"Frey captures with often discomforting acuity the daily grind and painful reacquaintance with human sensation that occur in long-term detox....Our acerbic narrator conveys urgency and youthful spirit with an angry, clinical tone and some initially off-putting prose tics...that ultimately create striking accruals of verisimilitude and plausible human portraits. Startling, at times pretentious..., but ultimately breathtaking." (starred review)
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/2003)
This addiction memoir opens with the author's awakening on an airplane with a broken nose, a hole in his cheek, and four missing teeth--and no knowledge of how he received those injuries or, indeed, of how he got on the plane or where he's going. James Frey writes candidly about his monumental problems with drugs and alcohol, his terrifying experiences, and his relationships with the fellow-addicts he encountered over six weeks of detox at a Minnesota clinic. Many readers (including Oprah, who in 2005 made A MILLION LITTLE PIECES the first nonfiction selection for her Book Club) have praised the book for the raw and real-seeming quality of its reminiscences. However, allegations have since arisen that many of the events in the book were either extraordinarily exaggerated or entirely fabricated, including the author's personal involvement in a tragic car accident in high school and his three-month incarceration. The book's defenders, in turn, claim that a memoirist's perspective often involves a skewing of the facts, and the quality of the book is what counts, not its factual basis.
| Key Details | |
| Author: | James Frey |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Anchor Books |
| Series: | Oprah's Book Club |
| Format: | Paperback |
| ISBN-10: | 0307276902 |
| ISBN-13: | 9780307276902 |
| Size | |
| Length: | 430 pages |
| Thickness: | 1.2 in |
| Weight: | 11.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
At the age of 23, James Frey woke up on a plane to find his front teeth knocked out and his nose broken. He had no idea where the plane was headed nor any recollection of the past two weeks. An alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three, he checked into a treatment facility shortly after landing. There he was told he could either stop using or die before he reached age 24. This is Frey's acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab.
A memoir of drug and alcohol abuse and the rehabilitation experience examines addiction and recovery through the eyes of a man who had taken his addictions to deadly extremes, describing the battle to confront the consequences of his life.
Industry Reviews
New York Times Book Review - David Kamper (06/08/2003)
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/2003)
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Simply a poorly written and poorly edited book
Created: 01/07/06
) Perhaps people have forgotten how to read, but “A Million Little Pieces” is a poorly written and poorly edited book.
Mr. Frey cheats the reader from the first page, but where was the editor?
Could an unaccompanied, unconscious man, covered with urine, vomitus, and blood, with a hole in his cheek, a broken nose, and four freshly missing teeth, be allowed onto a commercial flight? Not likely, but let’s say it did happen. Shouldn’t the editor have said, “James, ten percent of our readers won’t believe this. So, take out that you were covered with urine, vomit, and blood. Just say you woke up and found yourself bandaged, aching, and nauseous. Clearly the pain medication could have knocked you out for a while.”
(Is it unreasonable to ask whether the “Doctor and two men” who brought him onto the plane wouldn’t have also found Frey clean clothes? And if we wonder further, who paid for the ticket, the doctor?)
I have no problem that a friend in Ohio, or somewhere, called Frey’s parents to arrange for them to meet him at the airport. But Frey says his parents lived in Japan and were in the United States on business, staying at “a hotel . . . in Michigan.” How did his friend locate them in a hotel, in a city, in a country where they do not live? To compound the miraculous, Frey, himself, only learned that his parents were in the States after they pick him up at the airport. Shouldn’t the editor have said, “Let’s remove this little part about Japan, the business trip, and the hotel. ‘A friend called my parents and arranged to have them meet the plane.’ That works.”
On Frey’s first day at Hazelden, Doctor Baker prescribes Librium and Diazepam explaining, “You’ll be taking them every four hours, in decreasing doses for the next five days.” On Frey’s second day, the Doctor gives Frey “your last dose of Diazepam.” Did Frey recover that quickly? Or, maybe, this discrepancy is too hard to catch or edit.
On pages 7-8, Frey is told during the intake process that Hazelden houses 200 to 250 patients in 6 units, which is 33 to 41 patients per unit. Sixteen pages later, his counselor tells him that there are 6 units with 20 to 25 patients per unit. Again, no problem if Frey estimates that there were about 125 men and 100 women in the cafeteria at lunch, or 300 or 500, but 65% is a big difference between the two Hazelden staff estimates. Perhaps the differences are due to the vagueness of memory as Frey recounts his experiences while detoxifying; except that he is able to recall that there were 567 questions on the MMPI. Of course, Frey might have looked up the number on the Internet, and it is 567; but then, why not be consistent with the other numbers?
Most writers get things wrong in early drafts; there are redundancies, continuity errors, favorite words—favorite colors or numbers or names. Writers edit and rewrite in part to find and excise them. Editors, too, are expected to look for those things. This is long before we might talk about fact checkers, police reports, felony charges, or jail time. It is a cheat when neither writer nor editor cares to get things right, especially easy things to catch and to correct—it is as if they are saying, “Our readers are too dumb to notice, so why spend more time.”
I did not go looking for these unravelments, they unfolded as I read, growing out of my wariness of the first paragraph. I’ll let someone tell me what happened after page 41. No ever said good writing is easy.
Mr. Frey cheats the reader from the first page, but where was the editor?
Could an unaccompanied, unconscious man, covered with urine, vomitus, and blood, with a hole in his cheek, a broken nose, and four freshly missing teeth, be allowed onto a commercial flight? Not likely, but let’s say it did happen. Shouldn’t the editor have said, “James, ten percent of our readers won’t believe this. So, take out that you were covered with urine, vomit, and blood. Just say you woke up and found yourself bandaged, aching, and nauseous. Clearly the pain medication could have knocked you out for a while.”
(Is it unreasonable to ask whether the “Doctor and two men” who brought him onto the plane wouldn’t have also found Frey clean clothes? And if we wonder further, who paid for the ticket, the doctor?)
I have no problem that a friend in Ohio, or somewhere, called Frey’s parents to arrange for them to meet him at the airport. But Frey says his parents lived in Japan and were in the United States on business, staying at “a hotel . . . in Michigan.” How did his friend locate them in a hotel, in a city, in a country where they do not live? To compound the miraculous, Frey, himself, only learned that his parents were in the States after they pick him up at the airport. Shouldn’t the editor have said, “Let’s remove this little part about Japan, the business trip, and the hotel. ‘A friend called my parents and arranged to have them meet the plane.’ That works.”
On Frey’s first day at Hazelden, Doctor Baker prescribes Librium and Diazepam explaining, “You’ll be taking them every four hours, in decreasing doses for the next five days.” On Frey’s second day, the Doctor gives Frey “your last dose of Diazepam.” Did Frey recover that quickly? Or, maybe, this discrepancy is too hard to catch or edit.
On pages 7-8, Frey is told during the intake process that Hazelden houses 200 to 250 patients in 6 units, which is 33 to 41 patients per unit. Sixteen pages later, his counselor tells him that there are 6 units with 20 to 25 patients per unit. Again, no problem if Frey estimates that there were about 125 men and 100 women in the cafeteria at lunch, or 300 or 500, but 65% is a big difference between the two Hazelden staff estimates. Perhaps the differences are due to the vagueness of memory as Frey recounts his experiences while detoxifying; except that he is able to recall that there were 567 questions on the MMPI. Of course, Frey might have looked up the number on the Internet, and it is 567; but then, why not be consistent with the other numbers?
Most writers get things wrong in early drafts; there are redundancies, continuity errors, favorite words—favorite colors or numbers or names. Writers edit and rewrite in part to find and excise them. Editors, too, are expected to look for those things. This is long before we might talk about fact checkers, police reports, felony charges, or jail time. It is a cheat when neither writer nor editor cares to get things right, especially easy things to catch and to correct—it is as if they are saying, “Our readers are too dumb to notice, so why spend more time.”
I did not go looking for these unravelments, they unfolded as I read, growing out of my wariness of the first paragraph. I’ll let someone tell me what happened after page 41. No ever said good writing is easy.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our GREAT book (must NOT read it as a memoir!)
Created: 28/01/06
[[UPDATE: Rating change from 5 stars to 4...
I found this book to be very good, extremely great in many spots, but I was APPALED to hear that the best parts are in fact embellished stories and/or fabrications that are trying to be passed as reality. It was a good read, dramatic and powerful, but Frey should stick with telling the truth or at least not con people into believing the book is completely true!
UNDERSTAND that if you do read the book (which I recommend) - go into with knowing that it is NOT, I repeat NOT, a memoir - Frey has admitted (live, on Oprah) that parts of the book were basically lies. I'd say read the book with the view that it is a great piece of fiction based on a true story - otherwise you'll be second guessing everything you read and it will ruin it for you (if it already hasn't been)
And onto my review of the book (my first impression)....
James Frey has written a riveting book. It is at once a horrible inside look at drug and alcohol addiction, and a review of detox and what a body and soul go through. I can still feel his pain and torture and will for a while.
James Frey's first chapter grabs you and puts you in the middle of his life. I could feel and still can feel the cold, awful trembling of fear when I glimpse a little of what his life was like. How horrible to be kept in the middle of nothingness- wanting that next fix, that next drink, not caring about anyone or anything, at least not conciously. Not wanting the human warmth but wanting it so badly, and not knowing how to obtain it.
James Frey forms some friendships while in detox- a mobster, a fighter, a man who's wife has given birth to twins and he finds out he has HIV; a young woman, Lilly, addicted to crack and various and sundry other characters. They are all real and come to life under Frey's pen. He has a great writer's pen,and this book is an undeniable great book. It is a hard read. I had to put it down several times and shake myself free of the grit and pain for a bit. But I took the book up again and read it through. Some critics think the book is too long, but it seems that James Frey needed this space to fully explain all that had happened and all that he explored. It is 400 pages and sometimes appears repetitious, but that is ok, it is James Frey's story and so well told, we need to forgive the length. To all who thought that drugs and alcohol were glamorous, read this book. A Tylenol now seems too excessive. Read, ponder, not an enjoyable book, but a thoughtful one. Discuss with your friends, family, colleagues and children- no one will go away unchanged. Heartily, heartily recommended.
I found this book to be very good, extremely great in many spots, but I was APPALED to hear that the best parts are in fact embellished stories and/or fabrications that are trying to be passed as reality. It was a good read, dramatic and powerful, but Frey should stick with telling the truth or at least not con people into believing the book is completely true!
UNDERSTAND that if you do read the book (which I recommend) - go into with knowing that it is NOT, I repeat NOT, a memoir - Frey has admitted (live, on Oprah) that parts of the book were basically lies. I'd say read the book with the view that it is a great piece of fiction based on a true story - otherwise you'll be second guessing everything you read and it will ruin it for you (if it already hasn't been)
And onto my review of the book (my first impression)....
James Frey has written a riveting book. It is at once a horrible inside look at drug and alcohol addiction, and a review of detox and what a body and soul go through. I can still feel his pain and torture and will for a while.
James Frey's first chapter grabs you and puts you in the middle of his life. I could feel and still can feel the cold, awful trembling of fear when I glimpse a little of what his life was like. How horrible to be kept in the middle of nothingness- wanting that next fix, that next drink, not caring about anyone or anything, at least not conciously. Not wanting the human warmth but wanting it so badly, and not knowing how to obtain it.
James Frey forms some friendships while in detox- a mobster, a fighter, a man who's wife has given birth to twins and he finds out he has HIV; a young woman, Lilly, addicted to crack and various and sundry other characters. They are all real and come to life under Frey's pen. He has a great writer's pen,and this book is an undeniable great book. It is a hard read. I had to put it down several times and shake myself free of the grit and pain for a bit. But I took the book up again and read it through. Some critics think the book is too long, but it seems that James Frey needed this space to fully explain all that had happened and all that he explored. It is 400 pages and sometimes appears repetitious, but that is ok, it is James Frey's story and so well told, we need to forgive the length. To all who thought that drugs and alcohol were glamorous, read this book. A Tylenol now seems too excessive. Read, ponder, not an enjoyable book, but a thoughtful one. Discuss with your friends, family, colleagues and children- no one will go away unchanged. Heartily, heartily recommended.
4 of 10 people found this review helpful.
SO SKETCHY WHEN YOU ARE ADDICTED!! BUT `HOLD ON ` SOLID
Created: 12/01/06
O.K! COMING FROM A NOW! RECOVERING ADDICT!! THIS GUY IS AWESOME!!...YOU SEE WHAT THE `GENERAL`POPULATION OF SOBER, PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE, DON`T SEEM TO GET, IS THAT OUR ADDICTION!!...IS AN ONGOING SOAP-OPERA!! THE AFFLICTED ADDICT IS THE PRISONNER AND THE SUBSTANCE OF CHOICE! IS OUR MUSE! OUR ONLY REASON FOR BEING!!....SO WE FORGET LOTS OF SHXXT!!! YA KNOW!! I`M VERY UPSET ABOUT THE LATEST CONTREVERSY SURROUNDING POR JAMES!! I MEAN REALLY WHO CARES IF HE SPENT 1 DAY OR 30 DAYS IN JAIL!!!...IT WAS LIKE 13-15 YEARS AGO!! LET THE GUY WRITE AS HE REMEMBER`S THE EVENTS!!...WHY WOULD HE MAKE IT UP!!!...AND IT`S NOT LIKE HE WROTE THE DARN BOOK FOR OPRAH!!...SHE CHOSE IT!!...LOVED IT AND WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH THE WHOLE FREE WORLD!!!!...I SAY GOOD FOR HIM!!!...AND WITH THE RISE OF THE METH EPIDEMIC IN NORTH AMERICA!!!.......I SAY BRAVO OPRAH!!...GIRL , YOU KNOW HOW TO SHOW THINGS TO MILLIONS OF VIEWERS DAILY!!...BE IT PEACHES AND CREAM!!...OR CHILD PEDOPHILES!!....OR YOUR FAVORITE THINGS!!!!.........THANK GOD FOR MISS WINFREY!!!...MY MENTOR! AT NUMBER 1....O.K. SO WHILE I`M ON THE SUBJECT I WOULD LIKE TO SEND SHOUT OUT`S TO MY TOP 5 GIRLS!!!...MUCH LOVE FOR ALL YOU DO!!!...OPRAH....MARIAH CAREY ( GOD! HOW I WOULD LOVE TO PICK YOUR BRAIN FOR AN AFTERNOON!!...YOUR LOVE FOR MUSIC, AND SONGWRITTING INSPIRES MY DAILY LIFE ON A LEVEL THAT I CAN`T EXPRESS!!...ENJOY EACH MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!!....IN MUSIC...MADONNA, MADONNA, MADONNA...WELL I`M SPEACHLESS!!!...YOU HAVE SHOWN ME SO MANY THINGS OVER THE YEAR`S!!...LIKE HOW TO USE THE FXXX! WORD....HOW TO LAUGH...ENJOY FASHION!!!...AND BE A SOLID PERSON!!( HEY MADGE CAN WE GET TOGETHER I REALLY WANNA BE WITH YOU!!- YOU HELP ME NOT BE HUNG UP- ON METH ANY LONGER!!...AND I ALWAYS REMEMBER TO `DANCE AND SING , GET UP AND DO MY THING-ON A DAILY!!)....CYNDI LAUPER!! YOU WE`RE RIGHT ALL ALONG `MONEY DOES CHANGE EVERY THING`...WHEN THE HECK YOU COMING BACK TO THE SPECTRUM IN MONTREAL!! I SAY YOU LIVE ON APRIL 4TH 2004!!...A DREAM COME TRUE!! YOU BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN!!!...I SAY YOUR `TRUE COLOURS`...YOU ARE A REAL PERSON!!...AND A POP CULTURE ICON!!!! YOU BOP, I BOP!!!!......AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE ONE AND ONLY!!! MISS RUPAUL!!! LOVED YOU SINCE DAY ONE GIRL!!!...THOSE DOLLS YOU GOT OUT RIGHT NOW AIN`T GOT NOTHING ON BARBIE!!!....BUT I`M DARN SURE KEN WOULD LIKE TO GET INSIDE YOUR BOX!!!...OHH!!...THAT IS A GOOD ONE!!!...THANKS FOR ALWAYS REMINDING ME TO LOVE MYSELF!!! I FORGOT HOW TO FOR A WHILE, BUT THEN I REPEAT YOUR WORDS OF WISDOM!!...NO NOT, YOU BETTA WORK!!!...BUT, `LOVE YOURSELF, LOVE YOURSELF, CUZ` IF YA CAN`T LOVE YOURSELF !!...HOE THE HELL YA GONNA LOVE SOMEBODY ELSE!!!...AMEN YA`LL!!!...SO BY NOW YOU MUST BE WONDERING WHAT IN THE HELL ALL THIS BLABBER IS ABOUT, AND HOW IT HAS ANY THING TO DO WITH JAMES FREY OR HIS BOOK `A MILLION LITTLE PIECES`...NOTHING!!...YA SEE!! THAT`S WHAT DRUGS WILL DO TO YA!!!!!..........REALITY IS DIFFERENT!!! I BELEIVE AT LEAST 90% OF HIS STORY!!!....AND IF THE OTHER 10% IS A BLUR OR SLIGHTLY UNTRUE!!!....IT`S STILL A HELL OF A READ!!! JAMES I`M STILL HOLDING ON!!!...HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YA`LL!!!
7 of 27 people found this review helpful.
Million Little Pieces- James Frey
Created: 05/02/06
) Dispite the controvesy on Oprah's Book Club, James Frey wrote an incredibly real memoir of his battle with drug and alcohol addiction and gave us a brave insight into the Twelve Step program. The few lies that unfolded to the public have no impact on the basis of this experience or it's outcome. Shame should go to the editors and Oprah's show for not accepting the responsibility of fact-finding, and marketing this book as an all true story when the author made both aware before it's release.
Two thumbs up!!
Two thumbs up!!
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.
an inspirational story definitely worth reading....
Created: 18/09/06
Unlike most people I've talked to, I had never heard of this book and was intrigued by the story line, so i thought i'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did... the story was inspirational and so full of truth. I was intrigued because growing up, I was the good, quiet kid who never touched or came near any drugs. I had never seen somebody high on anything, and besides television's often inaccurate depictions of drug addicts and the drugs used, I knew nothing. Reading this book really gave me insight into the world of an addict and i was intrigued. Frey's story of survival, and particularly how he survived by NOT following the 12 steps that his counselor's swore were the only way to ensure sobriety and abstinence, and survived on his own terms by simply not doing them whether he wanted to or not, is powerful. It's a great lesson that a reader can take with them. It proves that in the face of probably one of the hardest choices, YOU ultimately make the decision and YOU need to do what you feel is best. Only you can control your life and your decisions. The very end of the book left me reeling... of all the people and characters he ran into along his journey and held close to him, only a few survive and it made me so sad to see that. But the last line was perfect and I loved his story. I really can't say I didn't like any aspect of this story. I read this book with the mentality that I CAN'T dislike it because it's Frey's true story, and it's his account of what happened to him, and who am I to pick any of it apart? The layout made it a little hard for me to read sometimes. I'm an avid reader and very used to indentations and quotes when there's dialogue, so that was a difficult adjustment on my end, but made the book's uniqueness and memory that much stronger. The book was a little long, also, but I felt such a sense of accomplishment that I made it through his story, almost as if I'd lived it myself. Any story where the writer can make you feel as if you just survived the story when you close the back cover is definately work a good read.
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