Synopsis
This addiction memoir opens with the author's awakening on an airplane with a broken nose, a hole in his cheek, and four missing teeth--and no knowledge of how he received those injuries or, indeed, of how he got on the plane or where he's going. James Frey writes candidly about his monumental problems with drugs and alcohol, his terrifying experiences, and his relationships with the fellow-addicts he encountered over six weeks of detox at a Minnesota clinic.
Many readers (including Oprah, who in 2005 made A MILLION LITTLE PIECES the first nonfiction selection for her Book Club) have praised the book for the raw and real-seeming quality of its reminiscences. However, allegations have since arisen that many of the events in the book were either extraordinarily exaggerated or entirely fabricated, including the author's personal involvement in a tragic car accident in high school and his three-month incarceration. The book's defenders, in turn, claim that a memoirist's perspective often involves a skewing of the facts, and the quality of the book is what counts, not its factual basis.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2004-05-01 | | Edition Description: | Reprint |
| Size | | Length: | 430 pages | | Height: | 8.0 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 11.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
At the age of twenty-three, James Frey woke up on a plane to find his four front teeth had been knocked out. His nose was broken and there was a hole through his cheek. He had no idea where the plane was headed or what had happened over the preceding two weeks. He had been an alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three. When he checked into a treatment facility shortly thereafter, he was told he could either stop using or die before he reached twenty-four.
A Million Little Pieces is Frey’s acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab; fiercely honest and deeply affecting, it is one of the most graphic and immediate books ever to be written about addiction and recovery.
Industry Reviews
"Frey has said that he wanted his book to lay bare the torment of recovery in all its excruciating detail, and there is an audacity to the way he allows himself to appear so unlikable and seldom leavens the proceedings with humor or intimations that everything will turn out all right. But an unwelcome narcissism creeps through, too--it's evident that the sober Frey still digs the supertough, supersick baddie he was."
New York Times Book Review - David Kamper (06/08/2003)
"Frey captures with often discomforting acuity the daily grind and painful reacquaintance with human sensation that occur in long-term detox....Our acerbic narrator conveys urgency and youthful spirit with an angry, clinical tone and some initially off-putting prose tics...that ultimately create striking accruals of verisimilitude and plausible human portraits. Startling, at times pretentious..., but ultimately breathtaking." (starred review)
Kirkus (02/01/2003)
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