Amazon.com info for 'A Million Little Pieces (Oprah's Book Club)'

---

Back to reviews and details of A Million Little Pieces (Oprah's Book Club)

Amazon.com reviews:

Rating: 3 Summary: Not as good as Burroughs, but a good addiction story!
Comment I set a high bar for stories like these. After reading Dry by Burroughs, it is hard to find a story/memoir that measures up. I enjoyed Frey's adventure/struggle in rehab, but it left me longing for more of what got him there.

The story takes you through a nice love story and along the way you find yourself attached and rooting for Frey's success, which seems to be up against all odds.

If you happen to be an addict as well, this story will drag you along some very familiar streets. Those who have felt these same feelings will be able to see where it all can end.

In the end I found myself looking forward to the quotes and secular wisdom that Frey found from his little book of Tao and had me cheering for the simplicity and wisdom he was able to draw from it.

Frey may be a one in a million case, or maybe he is just a good writer; either case he has done well and you will be a slightly better person for reading this book (you will not want to fall this deep into addiction).

Finally, the last page will rip your heart out as you see the truth behind the 15% statistic that is quoted too often throughout the book and why Frey truly is one in a million.

Rating: 4 Summary: I broke down because I had to know what all the hype was about!
Comment After years of protesting this book and DETESTING what James Frey did in creating and promoting this book...I broke down. Too many friends said it was a riveting read, and I figured, I'm going into this KNOWING it's fiction, and I read it as such. That's not to say that I'm still not a big fan of Frey, but after reading this book, I can say I admire his courage and strength to preservere through life.

That being said...this is a good book. A lot of things caught me by surprise, one was his writing style. It's unique, although at times annoying. Frey has a tendancy to write run-on sentences or to just skip punctuation. Although I did like how the book was spaced, at times there was one paragraph on a page, to maybe signify an important matter or a passage of time. I was also surprised in reading how events unfolded. I won't give anything away, but suffice it to say that there was something that I kept "waiting" for and it didn't happen. Surprises in books are good. Lastly, I was happy to find that I found the periferal characters very engaging and intriguing. When I got to the end I was glad a note was added that let us know where each person is at this point in time.

I am not an alcoholic so I cannot speak as to how this might help one. I can imagine it would provide inspiration or at the very least, a feeling of not being alone in the fear and struggle.

I suppose I would recommend this book to someone else. Honestly, I didn't WANT to enjoy this book. I didn't want to LIKE Frey's character. But, it was inevitable. I figured after years of being stubborn I didn't want to be left as the only one who hadn't read this book. Plus, I borrowed it from a friend, so I didn't spend my own money on it, or contribute to his earnings. That helps, right?

Rating: 1 Summary: A million little lies
Comment I cannot believe that so many people that have reviewed his book and he still has over 4 stars! What is going on? How do lies sell like hotcakes? It is so obviously far from the truth it is sickening. There is nothing like the pains of detox except the lies of someone pretending to "play" detox and banking off it. How warped can you be? Standing in front of people like the golden child as if you deserve some respect from the public-HA! i want my money back Frey! You owe it back to all of us that were cheated!!!

Rating: 5 Summary: Moving read
Comment I enjoyed this book a lot. I felt very connected and found myself going through all of the same feelings. I don't care if the story isn't true because it is a book and I believe it is technically classified as fiction so no one is really lying to you if it was made up. It is a good book about addiction and what it can do to lives, friends, and families. I would also have to say that I would find one disturbing thing about this book would be that it would seem to encourage addiction recovery as something that you can do alone which in most cases (if not all) is not possible.

Rating: 1 Summary: More than a liar, but a hypocrite.
Comment I read this book fully knowing of the controversy. I never planned on purchasing it, but a local book store was closing and I saw it half off. I would never pay full price for a Memoir of Lies. Nonetheless, I read the book and enjoyed large portions of it. His writing is fairly mundane and a bit confusing since he feels no obligation to punctuate and use quotations.

Confusion aside, the book is powerful. The Fury, the Hold ON, Say NO, all this resonates as true. Addiction is a choice, not a disease is great. Telling the truth and seeing through lying rock stars who lie about their addiction IS bull...... WAIT.... whaT?????

James Frey went on and on about wanting to massacre a famous rock muscian with golden album hits because he lied about his addiction and his backstory. He LIED...... To Frey this is the WORST thing you can do. So he didnt just embelish as he likes to say. He didn't exaggerate as you can quote him saying. He didn't even simply lie. He went against every principle he talked about.

James Frey is a hypocrite. Anyone who reads this book needs to realize that point more than anything.

Beyond being a liar, Frey is a hypocrite. This is what turns this great story into a million little bastardized words typed out on paper. None of it is REAL. Real as in what he really is trying to say. The entire theme of HOLDING ON and ADDICTION is ruined because of his own hypocrisy.

I hate Frey for this.. I hate him for making me hate this great story.

I do not believe Lily, Miles, Leonard, or most of the charcters in this story existed.