Book Review: A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

I am quite late to the bandwagon on this one, purposely. I tend to avoid highly popular book trends until enough time has blown over for the quality reviews to float to the top. I don't like to read books that are not intellectually entertaining. There was a lot of buzz about A Million Little Pieces when it was released and then for many months to follow. The early reviews praised it and the author for such a vivid description of a dark life, drug addiction, prostitution, fighting, and more. I think people liked it so much because it did tell a story of the other side, a place you can't understand until you've been. Oprah was one of many celebrities extolling acclaim. Then, the news that Frey was a fraud. This shattered the pedestal Frey had been put on. Everywhere people were throwing their copies of the book across the room. But really, did you like the book because it was quality storytelling? Or because you felt bad for the person who went through the ordeal and wanted to exault his bravery at telling such a tale?

The book is a solid piece of fiction. It provides strong images and a great understanding of the workings of the main character's mind. The writing style was a little hard to get through at first. It is written in a very choppy style, almost mimicking the workings of a messy mind. I enjoyed the book cover to cover. I found myself wondering how James was going to make it through treatment and if he would be able to manage on the outside. I was rooting for his relationships and hoping that all would work out. These feelings I had as I read the book were not dependent on whether it was a work of fiction or not. People across the world were duped into thinking that James Frey went through the ordeals detailed in his book. Whoops, fooled once. The only people who should have lasting resentments or prejudice against the book are those that make up the best seller lists or those who perhaps didn't earn a spot on the non fiction list because A Million Little Pieces was parading around as a memoir.