A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces
by James Frey

3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book due to the immense amount of press surrounding it and the author. Since there was such outrage over the fact that not all the contents in this "memoir" were true, it seemed as though people became so emotionally involved in the book that the subsequent controversy became actual betrayal to the reader. I had to see for myself.

What I found was not great literature, but an interesting character study nonetheless. James Frey's story moves quickly, for sure - I read most of the book in large 2-3 hour sittings. However, his hubris became somewhat annoying halfway through the book, but offered a lot of insight into Frey as a person. I was left with the overwhelming feeling that Frey wished he was this character he concocted - a real bad ass. To me, it was so obviously a cover-up for his own insecurity and emotionally fragility that it became almost pathetic.

Definitely an interesting read if you are curious about addiction and treatment. Probably not deserving of all the press.