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James Frey: A Million Little Pieces

dreamseeker said:
Has anyone read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey?

If so, I would love to discuss it...:)

All the best!
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I just Gooooooooooooogled this. Hm. I might have to give it a try. I've recently been reading novels along similar lines as this.
 
I read the first chapter and was really put off by his self-aggrandising sense of entitlement. Just then I happened to read an interview with Frey in the NY Observer (last year, when the book came out), and he really is an arrogant bastard, which pretty much killed the book for me.
 
novella said:
I read the first chapter and was really put off by his self-aggrandising sense of entitlement. Just then I happened to read an interview with Frey in the NY Observer (last year, when the book came out), and he really is an arrogant bastard, which pretty much killed the book for me.
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Is the first chapter on line anywhere?
 
Oh well - I don't think I will be reading this after all. I don't like writers who don't use quotation marks for dialogue, and what's with all the capitalisations?
 
I'm not a fan of the style at all. The dialogue doesn't seem to flow very well, although it is realistic... perhaps that's the problem. I do like the opening and I was drawn in, wanting to read more. But after a while the style just became annoying, not knowing immediately what was said and what was a thought. I think I'll be skipping this one.
 
I've actually read this book in it's entirety. A friend gave it to me ages ago (long before Oprah sank her claws into it) after she was done with it. I can certainly see Novella's point of view, and I honestly almost gave up on it after a chapter or two. It did get better throughout. The writing style wasn't my cup of tea, but I felt that it was really part of the story, so I suffered through. In the end, I was glad I read the book. It gave me some insight into something I see on a daily basis but have never given much thought to. There were some snags and I think the book could have been better at 2/3 its current size. I won't be buying My Friend Leonard, but if someone passes a copy along, I'll read it.
 
I did have this down on my TBR list, but I'm not so sure that I'll read it now. I'm also put off by lack of speech marks, and I'm not really keen on the style of writing. I might do a little bit more research on it before I decide to pick it up.
 
Hey. dreamseeker. I just wanted to say thanks for your post anyway. I hope these negative comments won't put you off posting further! :)
 
Yes, me too. My comments on the book are no reflection on you at all. Your post is most welcome!
 
CDA said:
Oh well - I don't think I will be reading this after all. I don't like writers who don't use quotation marks for dialogue, and what's with all the capitalisations?
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i bought a copy of this book but the lack of quotations was definatly a big con. i've read a book in this style before though.
 
WoundedThorns said:
. i've read a book in this style before though.
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So have I - but I think for me to put up with it, the writer has to be really good at making sure the reader knows what's going on. And from what I read, I don't think this is going to one of those books.
 
This was a great book. It took me a few reads of the first couple of chapters before I finally felt comfortable with it, but it was well worth the effort. I can understand those who are turned off by the style, but the bottom line is that this is a great story, and that is what counts.

Spoilers may follow...

A few elements of the story were especially good: the narrator's theological triumph; the immensely interesting characters he interacts with at the clinic; the arduous process of reconciliation with Mom and Dad; and the whole incredible experience of recovering from his addiction, which we as readers get to share.

I never read any interviews with the author in the press. If, as novella said, he came off as pompous in a newspaper spotlight, I would prefer not to know. He didn't sound arrogant in the story, and I don't really care about the background of every author whose book I read - though I can understand those for whom that's important. One must also keep in mind that it was Frey's defiance that brought him success, and that's a big part of the story's message.

Now I'm trying to get my mom to read this so she can appreciate what a good son she has.:p
 
CDA said:
So have I - but I think for me to put up with it, the writer has to be really good at making sure the reader knows what's going on. And from what I read, I don't think this is going to one of those books.
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I agree but I think Roddy Doyle gets away with it especially with the Barry town Trilogy when he is not being too serious. Not quite so keen on it in his two most recent books though.
 
Kookamoor said:
I'm not a fan of the style at all. The dialogue doesn't seem to flow very well, although it is realistic... perhaps that's the problem. I do like the opening and I was drawn in, wanting to read more. But after a while the style just became annoying, not knowing immediately what was said and what was a thought.
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I found the book interesting, although I agree the style does get tedious at points. I know the author did this so we'd see it from the real perspective, and its very intense and engaging. But after a while it simply becomes too intense, and you're waiting for an upbeat moment to break the constant stream of almost melodrama [ not that I'm trivializing anything the author went through, of course ]
 
I hated the book. I was excited to read it and was so very disappointed. I found myself rolling my eyes at most parts. I had a hard time believing a lot of what was happening – it seemed so cliché. The ex boxer, mob guy, black judge. To me he came off as a spoilt brat, not someone I felt sorry for or admired. And he becomes the most loved, toughest patient ever. I think he watched One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest one too many times I laughed, I Walked to the trashcan, I Opened the trashcan, I threw the Book in the trashcan. Book in trashcan. Book in Trashcan. I laughed, I laughed, I laughed. Book in trashcan.
 
I read the book all the way through not so long ago.
I started out thinking I was going to be reading a factual account of a journey through a rehab program to kick a drug habit. Some of the characters sounded amazing to meet in a drug center, but hey why not? I've never been there, knock wood! However, when his description of the agonies of cold turkey withdrawal didn't come anywhere close to what I have occasionally read elsewhere, and much better, I began to lose faith that it was a factual story (so maybe I am slow). Finally I concluded it was a so-so fiction as the story lines began to wind up, but with two good scenes -- with the clergyman and with his parents -- already mentioned in a previous post. Now, in retrospect, I have to conclude that his claim that he could kick the habit, by going through a drug program where he refused to follow almost every part of it, is simply non-credible.
Peder
 
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