Product Description

James Frey wakes up on a plane, with no memory of the preceding two weeks. His face is cut and his body is covered with bruises. He has no wallet and no idea of his destination. He has abused alcohol and every drug he can lay his hands on for a decade – and he is aged only twenty-three.

What happens next is one of the most powerful and extreme stories ever told. His family takes him to a rehabilitation centre. And James Frey starts his perilous journey back to the world of the drug and alcohol-free living. His lack of self-pity is unflinching and searing.

A Million Little Pieces is a dazzling account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice. (20040322)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1464 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Amazon.com
When he entered a residential treatment centre at the age of twenty-three, James Frey had destroyed his body and his mind almost beyond repair. He faced a stark choice: accept that he wasn’t going to see twenty-four or step into the fallout of his smoking wreck of a life and take drastic action. Surrounded by patients as troubled as he, Frey had to fight to find his own way to confront the consequences of the life he had lived so far, and to determine what future, if any, he has. A Million Little Pieces is an uncommon account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed.

Evening Standard
‘Frey really can write. Brilliantly. And if you don’t think so, f*** you’

Review
‘Excellent ... Frey's storytelling feels compulsive, involuntary ... poignant and tragic. The forthcoming film will almost certainly be a cult hit ... The good thing about Frey is that he writes as if he needs to; I hope his new compulsion thrives’ (William Leith, Spectator )

‘James Frey’s utterly mesmerising account ... [is] easily the most remarkable non-fiction book about drugs and drug taking since Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ... As a memoir, it is almost mythic. You can imagine it made epic by Martin Scorsese, the auteur of wayward American maleness in all its extremity ... Utterly compulsive’ (Observer )

‘Frey really can write. Brilliantly. And if you don’t think so, f*** you’ (Evening Standard )

‘Clear sighted and intellectually honest’ (Literary Review )

‘A heartbreaking memoir ... inspirational and essential’ (Bret Easton Ellis )

‘This book is definitely going to be huge ... There is no question that he’s a good writer. As soon as you start reading the book, Frey’s voice rings out. It’s clear and sharp and turbocharged ... We love rehab memoirs. This is a good one. It might even be a great one’ (Independent )

‘An extraordinary and deeply moving book that will make you think about family, friendship, love, religion, death and perhaps most of all, the human spirit’ (Irish Sunday Independent )

‘Startling and ultimately breath taking’ (Kirkus Reviews )

‘Horribly honest and funny ... Read this immediately’ (Gus Van Sant )

‘Harrowing, poetic and rather magnificent’ (FHM )

‘James Frey spent ten years addicted to alcohol and crack before going into rehab at the age of 23. This unrelenting memoir of his recovery spares no detail. Luckily, he is a good writer – indulgent and uncompromising’ (Metro )

‘Frey is selfish, egocentric, violent and pompous . . . What redeems this insufferably bad mannered book is that, at the end of the day, Frey can write. Brilliantly’ (Scotsman )

'Frey's writing style vividly conveys the horrors of addiction ... dark humour and sharp observations are evidence of a keen intelligence and an unusual strength of character ... a totally absorbing book' (The Magistrate )

‘Harrowing and unflinching ... This is not a book about drugs but about their aftermath ... Though definitely not for the faint hearted, Frey is often darkly and self deprecatingly funny. This is, in essence, a story of redemption and an incredibly moving one. This is a great book’ (Waterstone's Books Quarterly )

'This book is a raging, brilliant debut.' (Waterstone's Books Quarterly )

‘Crafted from genuine, raw emotion.’ (Irish Examiner )

‘Blisteringly written ... The prose is superb’

(Daily Express )

‘James Frey propelled the memoir of dysfunctional life to the top of the bestseller lists’

(Daily Telegraph )

‘Frey’s book combined high quality drug porn with memorable characters and a strong narrative arc that describes a modern version of Rake’s Progress.’

(Druglink Magazine )

‘The last remarkable book I read... I couldn’t put it down.’

(Q Magazine, Dave Matthews )

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Customer Reviews

Adolescent fantasy
I got clean and sober by going through rehabs. It took me several attempts. None of them were anything like James Frey's picture. He seems to have missed the point completely. This book is just a fantasy about being 'heroic'. If he ever was a 'real' addict/alcoholic, things are not looking good for him. Recovery requires honesty. Frey is completely dishonest. If you want to find out what rehab and recovery are really about, read 'No Big Deal' or 'Addiction and Recovery for Dummies'.

Good 'story' from a pompous man
I agree with one of the reviews on the inside cover of the paperback edition which calls Frey selfish, egocentric, violent & pompous. I sensed from the off that something wasn't quite right about the tale Frey was telling. Ultimately he seems more concerned with telling a good story than saying anything that may benefit other recovering addicts. His stubborn rejection of the 12 step programme made him seem like an idiot. As an adult he recalled a childhood 'prank' of him locking his pal in a box. He showed no remorse and said that he still found it funny. The passage of time had not taught him any sense of humility or to care for anyone other than himself. This recollection occured as he was reluctantly working through the early stages of the 12 steps, which he selfishly agreed to do in order to get released from rehab. I regret spending good money on this book and adding to the wealth of this odius man. I would not pay to read the sequel 'My Friend Leonard'

Lynne Truss he ain't
I just wondered whether anyone else was irritated by the terrible grammar? In particular, the Random capital Letters. They can't be Dismised as a Writing Style, can They? It gives the book a childish feel. It must be on purpose. Why? Am I the only one who cares? (Probably!)