A Million Little Pieces [Book thread]

[Del Lardo]

James Frey wakes up on a plane, with no memory of the preceding two weeks. His face is cut and his body is covered with bruises. He has no wallet and no idea of his destination. He has abused alcohol and every drug he can lay his hands on for a decade - and he is aged only twenty-three. What happens next is one of the most powerful and extreme, and honest, stories ever told. His family takes him to a rehabilitation centre. And James Frey starts his perilous journey back to the world of the drug and alcohol-free living. His lack of self-pity gives him an unflinching, often searing honesty. "A Million Little Pieces" is an uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice.


I really don't want to give too much away but quite simply if you like reading then buy this book. It is a fantastically well written, honest and thought provoking look into the mind of an alcoholic and drug addict who has hit rock bottom in such a way that I doubt very few of us could even conceive let alone experience.

It’s the only book I’ve ever read that has brought a tear to my eye and for me his utter refusal to believe in the 12 Steps is very refreshing.

The way that the guy thinks really hits home for me as while I’m certainly not an alcoholic or a drug addict I do enjoy both substances often to excess and while I can’t even say “there for the grace of God” a lot of his thought processes ring true for me and it’s fascinating reading about a guy who has basically given up on life.

[Pebs]

Cooool! A book thread! Thanks for the heads up, will look for it next time I'm in Waterstones :)

I'll recommend Face of Death by Cody McFayden. I love crime thrillers and this is the first one in a while that really got my heart racing. Pretty nasty stuff though, not for the faint hearted.

[Belmit]

Ah, this must be the book that the South Park episode 'A Million Little Fibers' is based on. I'll keep an eye out for it.

My recommendation is Making History by Stephen Fry. It's kind of sci-fi/history with a bit of gayness thrown in. Gives a great portrayal of the whole 'what if Hitler hadn't lived' theme.

[Wryel]

This has been sat on the bookshelf in my living room for some time. I'll read it as soon as I finish working my way through the first Dune trilogy!

[Lana]

I had the book and liked it, but I wouldn't read it if you are looking for true stories. it's pure fiction. This dude even managed to scam Oprah....now thats just not cool
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html

[Del Lardo]

I had the book and liked it, but I wouldn't read it if you are looking for true stories. it's pure fiction. This dude even managed to scam Oprah....now thats just not cool
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html

Scamming Opera makes me like him even more.

There is a forword at the start of the book that admits that he embellished certain details and why he did it. If the whole thing is a work of fiction (not done any research post reading) then it should go down in history along side the bible as one of the greats.

[Lana]

Scamming Opera makes me like him even more.

There is a forword at the start of the book that admits that he embellished certain details and why he did it. If the whole thing is a work of fiction (not done any research post reading) then it should go down in history along side the bible as one of the greats.

Scamming anyone makes me not like them quite so much, and please don't refer to the Bible as a work of fiction.
I'm not insulting the book, because I read it and enjoyed it too, but I'm just saying it isn't entirely honest and real because several of the events are made up or embellished.

[Del Lardo]

Scamming anyone makes me not like them quite so much, and please don't refer to the Bible as a work of fiction.
I'm not insulting the book, because I read it and enjoyed it too, but I'm just saying it isn't entirely honest and real because several of the events are made up or embellished.


As I said the version of the book I read has the forword where he admits that a few of the events are embellished and explains why and reading these events knowing this does little to dampen the effect of the book. To the best of my knowledge the main message of the book which is one mans struggle to overcome crippling addiction is true and for me that is the part that strikes home.


As for the bible comment.... I am sorry if it upsets you but my religious beliefs are that it is a work of fiction along with every single book on religion ever written and as long as I do not breach forum rules (which I do not think I have*) I will carry on stating this as often as I want to. I realise that this sounds like a very confrontational attitude but equally I will support any threads where you wish to extole the virtues of Christianity as that is your right.

We are heading into a very OT area here so I suggest that is you wish to debate this issue further you can PM me or we can start a thread in the Debate section.





*If I have breached the forums rules then I would appreciate it if a passing mod could bitch slap me into next week

[camerajuan]

Heard of it but never heard it gettin any kudos until now.

I'll fling in my reccomendation as anything by Danny Wallace, Dave Gorman or both.

Yes Man, Join Me, Are YOU Dave Gorman?, Googlewhack Adventure. 4 of the best.

[Goose]

Having just finished it, I found it a very hard book to put down. Fake or not, it's still a good read. The style is a little hard to read at times, but it does fit the subject.