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    A Million Little Pieces
    A Million Little Pieces
    A Million Little Pieces
    Audiobook (abridged)10 hours

    A Million Little Pieces

    Written by James Frey

    Narrated by Oliver Wyman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A searing and controversial story of drug and alcohol abuse and rehabilitation, told with the charismatic energy of Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the revelatory power of Burroughs' Junky.By the time James Frey enters a drug and alcohol treatment facility, he has so thoroughly ravaged his body that the doctors are shocked he is still alive. Inside the clinic, he is surrounded by patients as troubled as he: a judge, a mobster, a former world-champion boxer, and a fragile former prostitute. To James, their friendship and advice seem stronger and truer than the clinic's droning dogma of How to Recover.James refuses to consider himself a victim of anything but his own bad decisions. He insists on accepting sole accountability for the person he has been and the person he may become-which he feels runs counter to his counselor's recipes for recovery. He must fight to survive on his own terms, for reasons close to his own heart. And he must battle the ever-tempting chemical trip to oblivion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateApr 14, 2003
    ISBN9781598872378
    A Million Little Pieces
    Author

    James Frey

    James Frey is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He is the bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard, Bright Shiny Morning, and The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. He is married and lives in Connecticut. He has sold more than twenty million books and his work is published in forty-two languages.

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    Reviews for A Million Little Pieces

    4/5

    281 ratings157 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 1/5
      Loved Bright Shiny Morning, however this book lacks reality - it all seems to farfetched, there is nothing dull and seeming anything less than hyper dramatic. Overkill and lacks real, genuine substance.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Despite not being 100% auto-biographical, this is a vivid and in-depth portrayal of the psychology of addiction. It is an excellent book for those in recovery, family members, and professionals.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      On the back-cover the Observer describes this as 'memoir', which surprised me as the look-at-me style of writing and the parade of characters with interesting back-stories read more like literary fiction to me.The constant repetitions, lack of punctuation and random use of capital letters irritated me but worked brilliantly to showcase 'James Frey' the character: individual, arrogant, cool with a fierce addiction. Similarly the constant use of the present tense and the minute detail was a powerful literary device and spotlighted the narrator's ego and self-obsession.I have no first-hand experience of being 'in recovery'. From what I gather from an addict this side of the pond, her meetings tend to be largely populated by feckless, inarticulate and angry individuals who are also poor. But of course they wouldn't have access to the expensive, residential care depicted here, which attracts judges and mafia bosses.Having been to the dentist the morning I read that scene, the minute detail made me squirm, to be honest I concentrated on anything but what my dentist was doing, so bravo for James for paying attention.The style of writing did annoy me but then again it was perfect for the subject-matter. And the seemingly moment-by-moment thoughts and feelings displayed enlightened me to the loathing/fear/self-absorption of someone trying to free themselves from addiction.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I thought that knowing this was mostly fictional wouldn't bother me, since this novel did have a great deal of popularity before the scandal.I was wrong.Most of this book seemed like one long ego-trip to me. The main character is portrayed as a hero, while those who are trying to help him (the people who work at the treatment center, mostly) are portrayed as rigid rule-followers who only care about their program and not the people they are trying to treat. James, however, doesn't need their rules and does just fine without them. He seems to know better than these people even though he's been an addict since about ten years old and hasn't been able to help himself before. A lot of stuff seemed exaggerated, and I kept thinking, "Well, that's probably not real" throughout the entire thing because of the controversy.However, A Million Little Pieces isn't completely terrible. Many don't like the writing style, but I really liked it and thought it fitting for the subject matter. The format is sloppy and random words are capitalized. I thought this was good, because as a recovering addict and as someone who has proclaimed that he's "f*d up" most of the time, the format shouldn't be neat and pretty. The words that are capitalized are the ones that are important and the ones that the narrator is focusing on. I think a decent analysis could be done just with the writing rather than the story itself.Overall though, I didn't like this novel. The main character irritated me with all his bravado, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy. Had these aspects been toned down, I might have enjoyed the read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      At first I found myself getting irritated with his writing style but as I got further into the book it grew on me. I thought this book was a very compelling read and didn't care that it was in part fictional. It kept me wanting to flip the page and I think that's what's relevant.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I read this a few months before the scandal broke. I hardly agree with the author that the embellishments were minor. I do see why Oprah chose it - it is a very motivating piece about how one man reclaimed his life from his destructive habits - empowering for anyone who struggles with any sort of addition or destructive cycle. Also written in a very unique style. Given what we know now, I feel it does diminish the power of the book

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Traumatic,controversial,heart breaking

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I read this book before Oprah added it to her Book Club. It matters not to me if it is fiction or non-fiction, as I found it to be a fascinating read. Oprah lost big points when she chose to ambush James Frey on her television show and claim that he "deceived her." Get over it, Oprah. Cry into a million dollar bill. It seems conceivable that James Frey was persuaded to make his book non-fiction by his publisher. With writers having so many other things to worry about, as a reader, I chose to draw my own conclusions.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Okay, so the guy lied about his experiences. But it still made for an interesting and emotional read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I never comment on books but this book is amazing and anyone who has ever been through hard times in life this is a book to read
    • 3/5
      The Notorious Oprah dust up. Fact or Fiction? Memoir or Bio? I was half way through this when the whole affair blew up. I didn't believe it before the truth came out. It was just too far-fetched.
    • 2/5
      2.0 out of 5 stars I could not finish this book because it was too annoying, September 7, 2008I had heard about (but not read) the Smoking Gun article before I read the book. I had also watched A Scanner Darkly (a movie based on a semi-biographical book by a former meth addict) the week before. Although I'm not a former drug addict or rehab patient, I've spent time with people who are, and the difference of the "feel of authenticity" between "Scanner" and "A Million Little Pieces" is striking.The book reads as though the author is trying to communicate immense emotion, but doesn't quite have the writing chops to pull it off. So instead, he substitutes lurid detail, and exaggerates so we'll get the point. The problem with this approach is that since the story doesn't fit the "mythological truth" of well-crafted fiction, nor the "logical pattern" of fact, an informed reader is constantly being interrupted by a nagging "that doesn't sound right" impulse. I got 80 pages into the book before deciding that I needed to look up the smoking gun article, which more or less says that James Frey made the whole thing up. I found this assertion to be the more believable. I'm not so terribly bothered by this (after all, he did get caught, and I find large-scale frauds that involve the media amusing) but I am bothered by the experience of reading.It is rare that I'll give up on a book, and I was disappointed to have to give up on this one because I had been looking forward to it. I probably also had trouble with the writing style (although I'm generally pretty adaptable, I got through Riddley Walker all right). To be fair, it is not the worst book I ever read. But I found it intensely irritating and honestly cannot understand why people like it.
    • 4/5
      Despite the controversy surrounding this "memoir," it turned out to be an excellent read. The author, James Frey, describes his real life experience in rehab, after a life of alcohol and drug abuse, especially crack addiction. It is poignant and gripping, and the author uses a particularly effective style of writing that resembles a "stream of consciousness." He also pointed out repeatedly that addiction is not a disease, but is a series of bad choices; he really emphasized personal accountability which is refreshing in today's culture. I will eventually read the post-rehab sequel, "My Friend Leonard." The controversy with the memoir arose after The Smoking Gun exposed inaccuracies in several of Frey's accounts, especially those related to his prior arrest record. According to the evidence, Frey exaggerated and outright fabricated a couple of sections of the book. Regardless, I would still recommend it to anyone dealing with addiction, either personally or within their circle of family and friends. If the embellished nature of the memoir is bothersome, pick up Brown's "A Piece of Cake" instead; it has similar subject matter that has been shown to be accurate.
    • 1/5
      I don't quite get why portions of the book were fabricated. I can understand changing names to shield those involved, but embellishing prison stays and drug binges? It only alienated me. We're supposed to feel something for Frey, but I really don't. He comes across as a d**k in his story, and in real life.If I was an addict, I don't think this is the type of book I'd want to read to help me. The descriptions of his escapades would only trigger a person in recovery.I can't recommend this book at all.
    • 4/5
      What struck me most about this book was the use of language. It is composed of short sharp repeating phrases, which embody a desperation, a loss of direction. Everything is either one way or the other.
      The prospect of death is always just one step away. There is no chance it will happen immediately; we know that because we are not at the end of the book, so we are drawn towards the character's fate. What will he do? It could end on the next page. We could read the entire book only to reach his overdose suicide on the last page.
      The female character provides us with an alternative. Her's is a natural addiction. Addictive personalities are defined as the cause of her destructive addiction. This is done early on, so we are also faced with the transition to an essay, interestingly balancing the transition to female.
    • 3/5
      Interesting read. This book rejects the Twelve step program and makes getting "straight" the addict's responsibility.
    • 4/5
      I knew that Oprah had this book on her Book Club list; I knew she had interviewed James Frey three times; I knew that there was controversy; I knew that the supposed memoir wasn't actually that; I was curious . . . so I read the book. I am glad that I did. From the start, it didn't feel like a memoir, it felt like a novel with intriguing characters who had significant flaws. At the end of the book, I felt that James Frey had taken all his experiences, those he had witnessed and those he imagined and gave them to the characters he met in rehab and to his main character. I really loved all the characters, and I enjoyed the telling of his thoughts during his recovery. His philosophy gave me a chance to think, and I find myself continuing to think about the book and what it is saying now that I have finished it. I am not overly concerned about the controversy or what is real in the book - I liked it.
    • 4/5
      Frey is a good writer and his story is hard to put down. This is one of those watching a train wreck kind of experiences - it's impossible to take your eyes away from the disaster of this man's life. I still haven't read about the controversy of what's true and not. The value I found in the book is how it inspires and fosters compassion and sympathy, rather than pity and horror.
    • 5/5
      This was such an intense book! Loved every bit! Glad I got to read it!
    • 5/5
      very interesting
    • 2/5
      The book is positioned as a true account/a life story. So I come down on the side that knowingly adding 'enhancers' is fraudulent. I think the book would have been powerful and a good seller without adding the extra, so it's a shame for the guy. There are a number of parts that seem obvious to me that are 'made-up'. There are pretty proscribed doses of alcohol and drugs that are lethal, and he's listing quantities in here that are unlikely to be accurate (because if they were he'd be in the Top 10 consumers-without-dying ever). His whole grab-someone-by-the-throat/stick 'em in the throat thing is not as effective as he makes it out. If it was so great more people would do it; the fact is that many can keep or get your hand off them which then devolves into them pushing you backward or off your feet. So to me the book was hard to read because of the inflation of the guy's crimes, dosage tolerances, tough-guy attitude, etc. I'd recommend avoiding the book on principle.
    • 4/5
      True or not, this is a wild read. What else can one say about a book that brings you to tears on your commute from work?
    • 1/5
      This book was presented as autobiographical and it's 100% pure baloney. Don't honor this author with a purchase.
    • 4/5
      I read this one not so long ago when it was sent to me as a bookring. I wanted to see what all the hype was about, and apart from a few rather gory parts (and I love reading those!) this was like any other memoir I have read on drug abuse and alcoholism. Overall, regardless of what parts are true or fictional, it allows us to peer into a part of life that we would probably enver otherwise see.
    • 5/5
      I love James Frey!!! I don't care whether or not it's a true story, point is he's an amazing story teller and writer! Every single line I read in any of his books, makes me feel like I'm right there watching it live and in living color! I love how descriptive he is especially in this book! If you loved, "A Million Little Pieces", as much as I did then you absolutely MUST READ "My Friend Leonard" if you hadn't already, it sums up a few things that were left unanswered in A Million Little Pieces and also sheds a Whole New Light on Leonard and makes you see a totally different person!! They are awesome, JAMES FREY IS AWESOME!!! Please write another addition to these stories Mr Frey!?!
    • 4/5
      Despite the controversy surrounding this book (I read it before all the shit hit the fan), I really loved it. Sure, there were parts in which I found myself rolling my eyes, but I could relate to much of the book and found it very inspiring. So who cares if he's a big liar. He's a good one!
    • 4/5
      Knowing the controversy surrounding the book, I read this as a fiction novel. In fact, I wish it had just been published as a fiction novel so we could be discussing it for its literary merit rather than debating its truth. I'm sure James Frey wishes that too.The stacatto writing style was executed well and suited the subject of the book. It was easy to get "sucked in" to the interesting story. Frey was irritating at times because of his persistance, but all in all it was highly enjoyable.I would not recommend this to individuals facing addiction- quitting is not, I imagine, as Frey says, as easy as "deciding not to" and the idea that it is a good idea to put yourself in the way of temptation is absurd and dangerous.I enjoyed reading the book, and I am excited to read "My Friend Leonard" next.
    • 4/5
      Frey writes really well in this book. His writing is short, clear and concise and there is a lot of reading between the lines. Good stuff.
    • 4/5
      When you pick up this book and read the first word, you are lost in James' world through his time at rehab. Meaningful and funny and sad and alive and true and painful.
    • 4/5
      While I did enjoy this book - I really wish the controversey didn't exist. While I knew about the whole situation before I read the book, I treated it as a novel rather than a biography, so that helped.I had to give it 3 and a half stars as I did enjoy it quite a lot, however, if 100% true, this easily would have made it to 4 and a half.