Member Reviews

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  3 of 3 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “When I first got this book, I opened it on a random page and started reading. The writing style was so annoying that I put the book down and let it sit on my shelf for six months. It kept nagging me though, so I decided to give it another try and began to read from page one.
  
  How brilliant! No wonder the writing style annoyed me in a random page read. It was so perfectly suited to the narrator's frame of mind and circumstances, which I didn't get until I started reading from the beginning. What I dismissed at first as mediocre writing at best began to show its promise as I read on. The author makes subtle refinements in style the more clearheaded the narrator becomes. There is an amazing lyrical passage describing the woods and the lake that brought me to tears. What a way to use language to show the narrator's mental state.
  
  Given that I've never had any trouble with addiction of any kind, this book illuminated an aspect of human experience from inside out that I would never otherwise understand.
  
  And the plot is as instricately woven as any commercial novel. I'm going to be getting this book in hardcover as a permanent addition to my library and I hope that the author continues to thrive in his sobriety.
  ”

  AM wrote this review Thursday, January 10 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
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  2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 3 stars

  “I work with clients who are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and this book really hits home for some of them on an emotional level. I liked it b/c it helped me understand from the gut what some people go through when they are trying to stop using. Yes, the book was miscategorized (I can think of other books that are supposed to be "true" that aren't, perhaps his biggest mistake was getting busted out by Oprah) but it is still powerful and has a good message--"Just hold on."”

  Joanna P wrote this review Sunday, January 20 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
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  2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “Screw Oprah. I don't care if Frey stretched the truth or not. Literature for me is about language, and how the melody of that language changes you or opens your eyes to some new way of seeing, speaking, hearing, doing. This book changed me, and for that reason it remains one of the best books I've ever read. ”

  Amy W wrote this review Wednesday, January 2 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “well i am a recover'd addict alcoholic and the book was 100% on the nail,i too was amaz'd that when it was known a hoax i was'nt that upset @james he gave me more to live for. ”

  poetic-mojo wrote this review Sunday, December 30 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 3 stars

  “I hadn't heard about the controversy behind 'A Million Little Pieces' until I joined Shelfari! It was a good book and Frey deserves his praise regardless of the fact that he may have "embellished" a little. There were some times when I felt like it wasnt all truth anyway”

  A B~more Reader wrote this review Tuesday, September 18 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 1 stars

  “If one is a drug addict, surely it is vulgar to write about it in such self-obsessed and narcissistic terms as this?”

  Frabjous Day wrote this review Tuesday, April 8 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 4 stars

  “Good story and an enjoyable read- so what if most of it should be filed under the heading of 'Fiction'. And who hasn't tried to make our own history flattering to ourselves? Saying that, if James had been more truthful in it's marketing there wouldn't be so many hurt feelings amongst his readers.”

  Trevolyn H wrote this review Saturday, January 5 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 4 stars

  “What a mesmerizing, incredible, haunting book.
  
  James Frey has written a book full of such horror and so much hope that it was impossible to stop reading. Funny, sad, poignant, gripping, heartfelt, horrifying, uplifting, this is a book that touched me deeply.
  
  The true account of Frey’s return from the brink of death due to alcohol and drugs, this book is written in a stream of consciousness, without any quotations marks that seems to suit this staggering story. Although I have never spent time in rehab, I have a family member that did, and many of the thoughts and processes portrayed here a very true to life. I do wonder, however, how he can possibly remember so many things about this time in his life, when he was so obviously out of it for so long. Nevertheless I recommend this book very highly.
  
  Addendum: Read before the truth about this book came out, I still would recommend reading it, but as a novel.
  ”

  Ladyslott wrote this review Tuesday, January 1 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “I know it's "cool" to hate this book and this guy, but I really loved this book regardless of how made up or embellished it is/was. Anyone who pisses off Oprah to that degree is ACES with me. ”

  patch406 wrote this review Wednesday, November 28 2007. ( reply | permalink )