My Friend Leonard by James Frey (2005, Hardcover)

With all the controversy surrounding Frey's first book (which I loved), I decided to read this one as a novel and not get hung up on whether every single word of it was true. Whatever you say about the author's veracity, he writes well though untraditionally. I think Frey writes without punctuation when he is in a stream of consciousness mode and for me it is effective because it's how I find myself thinking sometimes.
I enjoyed reading about the character Leonard and liked the way Frey makes him a mystery. We know that Leonard is probably a gangster and we guess that he makes his money in unsavory ways but the reader can't help but be charmed by Leonard's love for Frey ("my son, my son") and his absolute generosity.
I also like how Frey writes about meals. In the book everyone has such a good time when Leonard is footing the bill. I kept getting hungry as I read about their monstrous buffets!
As with any good mystery, there are clues about Leonard throughout the book for those readers clever enough to pick up on them (I wasn't). Frey keeps us guessing and his ending is both sad and satisfying at the same time.
Read this book on its own merits. It's well worth the time.