I don't know how to shelve this book. Non-fiction? Nope. Fiction? Kinda. Memoir? Sort of.

This book is one of the greatest scandals in the literary world. A memoir that makes it big on Oprah only to discover portions were made up and exaggerated. Add in a live, televised confrontation between the author and Oprah, and the book's dramatic content pales in comparison to the drama it caused in the media.

For those interested, here's an NYT article on the scandal: Author is Kicked Out of Oprah Winfrey's Book Club

Full review to come.

I stopped reading about half way. There was so much about this book that I didn’t like.

I didn't like the way it was written.

The inconsistent use of capitalized nouns.

The lack of quotation marks.

One word sentences often written as a list.

It's repetitive:

Over and over, descriptions of his meals in the dining room.

Over and over, descriptions of him throwing up.

Over and over, descriptions of him showering.

Over and over, that he’s an Alcoholic, Addict, Criminal.

Over and over, how f*d up he is.

It's unbelievable:

"I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin. I lift my hand to feel my face. My front four teeth are gone, I have a hole in my cheek, my nose is broken and my eyes are swollen nearly shut. I open them and I look around and I'm in the back of a plane and there's no one near me. I look at my clothes and my clothes are covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood."

Really? They let someone in that condition board a plane without a traveling companion?

Root canal surgery without even a local anesthetic? What would have happened if he’d needed to have his appendix out?

He gets into an altercation with a member of the staff at the clinic, he trashes his room at the clinic, he breaks the rule of not speaking to female patients at the clinic, and he doesn’t get asked to leave?

The book is:

Long winded.

Dry.

Boring.

Unbelievable.

Tedious.

I see that many people who read this novel were disappointed (and rated it accordingly) because they were hoping for an eloquent piece of literary fiction about addiction. I think they couldn't appreciate the agonizingly disjointed and grammatically atrocious work in front of them as a deliberate representation of a sick mind and effed-up life.

Did James Frey himself intend to make A Million Little Pieces so excruciating to read? Doubtful, but I'll give him the credit for the careful crafting anyway. Just like Sapphire's Precious, it needed to be painful. If you have been unlucky enough to lose a loved one to addiction or mental illness, you'll understand why this works, without my, or anyone's, explanation. In my humble opinion, it certainly hit the mark.

I thought about putting on my size 10 wellies for this one.

Well, isn't this so called 'memoir' not just littered with bullshit?

Not, I suppose, that it really mattered. As whether a memoir, fictional memoir, or novel, it just wasn't very good. The writing isn't anything special for one thing, and it's certainly in need of a good editor. The only people I felt any emotion and pity for in the end was James's anguished parents—who he at least acknowledges at the back of the book with a big 'thank you' for their loving support.

But hey, if like your books to be repetitive, then you've come to the right place; especially when it comes to things like this -

'I get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. I shower and shave and I brush my teeth. I get dressed and I leave the room. I get a cup of coffee and I sit down at a table and I drink the coffee'

I mean, come on!, what else can one do with a cup a coffee besides drink it?

Dance with it? Play noughts and crosses with it ? Ask it for a light?

I know rehab is all about routine, and taking small steps at a time, and it's anything but a walk in the park, but I just found it very very difficult to get behind this guy and hope it all worked out for him. What is there to believe and what not to believe? It really feels like a kick in the guts to all those out there going through hell in rehab. Then there are the supposed crimes he was wanted for in three different states, and those he met and mixed with. Why not just be sincerely honest about it son?

Even when he found love in the form of another crack addict called Lily I struggled to get on board.

(Normally I love the whole idea of finding love in the most unexpected of places)

There are two writers in Brett Easton Ellis and Denis Johnson who I would have been far more interested in when it comes to writing about drug addiction.

The message that hard drugs basically fuck you up—period, resonated with me.

The writer absolutely did not.

I read this before the exaggeration debacle hit. I was amazed by the writing style -- it reminded me of the fast-pace and sparse punctuation of Kerouac's On The Road. I'm not sure how "Million Little Pieces" would read now, knowing how many half-truths are involved.

Where to even start!! First off, this did not feel like a typical addiction book. Freys style of writing enticed me from page one and made it so interesting to read. I was hooked! Overall, I think it was an incredible story and couldn’t care less about whether it’s titled a fiction or a memoir. I love it regardless of the genre!!

The controversy surrounding this one has intrigued me since I was a pre-teen in the mid-2000s.

This was even better than most drug addiction memoirs. Instead of a complete reminiscence of "this is why you shouldn't do drugs, kids", you also travelled with him THROUGH rehab and the entire healing process. Very well written. I wish him all the best.

Enjoyed this book many years ago, but after its fabrication as a memoir came to light, the author admitted to embellishing and altering facts.

Not even a fifth through the book , and so much unbelievable horseshit already
He wouldn't have been put on a plane by a dr when he had a face with large laceration through to his mouth covered in blood, vomit and snot
On admission to rehab (and a very expensive one at that) they waited a day before they adjusted his broken nose and stitched up his face
He had 2 root canals without anaesthesia and was fitted with caps on the same dental visit, while strapped down to the chair.
He was vomiting blood and chunks of his stomach daily with apparently no medication for it?
Finished now and changed rating from 1-3
The initial lies that had me shaking my head calmed down and developed into an interesting and more honest account of humanity and addiction. Sad but very relatable

Me ha dejado el cuerpo medio del revés. Una novela brutal. Resumen muy resumido: el paso del autor, alcohólico y drogadicto prácticamente desde los diez años que, ya con 23, entra un centro de rehabilitación de Minessota después de haberse degradado hasta los máximos. Aborda el paso por el centro con sus historias, con sus rutinas, con sus dramas y sus luchas.

La novela tiene algo muy bueno: la permeabilidad. Entras en ella como al agua templada, sin problemas, pese a que leas otras tantas novelas a la vez, como es mi caso. El no-estilo del autor en la redacción te lo permite. Puntualizo: he leído novelas que ensalzan el no-estilo casi a niveles imposibles, de esas en las que el autor pone puntos y comas y espacios más o menos donde a él le sale, supongo para dar dramatismo o recalcar algo, y tú tienes que hacer un esfuerzo por entenderlo y encajarte. Pues no es el caso, es justo al revés: el tío controla el contenido de la historia, la lengua, y la narración, y su novela es permeable al punto de que te mete en ella y por ahí circulas sin problemas aunque no ponga un mísero guión por ningún lado y lleves dos días sin cogerla. Como él mismo dice: desnuda tu alma, escribe sin pensar en nada más que lo que te sale.

A ver, también es verdad que en la novela se pasa su tiempo contando que va y viene, lo que desayuna, lo que hace, con quién habla y con quién no etc; vamos, la vida en un centro de estos, pero entre medio vas conociendo su historia y la de otros internos, que no tienen desperdicio alguno, y no soy yo de relatos ni de pasajes por las nubes.

Esta novela fue criticada por venderse como memorias cuando incluía parte de ficción (el propio autor, en una novela posterior, Katerina, dice que se arrepiente de haberlo hecho. Que era su primera novela y que le recomendaron hacerlo así desde la editorial para darle más empaque). Y yo creo que es en el relato de su relación con los demás internos donde le pillaron, porque ni Tarantino los tiene tan buenos. Los personajes son cojonudos, pero más allá de su potencia como personajes, en mi opinión tiene más valor la camaradería, los sentimientos que surgen entre ellos aumentados por las situación tan límite en la que se encuentran todos ellos y se nota que lo
que narra el autor es completamente real y sentido por èl.

Y la historia tiene giros, los tiene, pero no son el motor de la novela aunque te retuercen a niveles insospechados. También le dan oxigeno. Te dejan tocado.

Es una novela intensísima, fuerte, buena, potente pese a sus muchas hojas de puro pasaje, en las que solo vives con él tratando de detener lo que él llama “la furia” mientras vive día a día una rutina sana rodeado de gente, incluido él mismo, llena de demonios y deseando autodestruirse acosados por su pasado y la adicción.

Muy recomendable.

Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com

This is a terrifying novel about drug and alcohol addiction and rehabilitation. Anyone who has been or is in rehab for anything should be required to read this book. Anyone who has family members in rehab should read this book. Basically, everyone over the age of 14 should have to read this book.

It depicts the horrible tragedy of addiction and how Mr. Frey overcomes it. He knows that he has an addiction problem when he wakes up on a plane not knowing how he got there, where the plane is going, or how he got a broken nose and a hole through his cheek. When the plane lands, he gets off the plane and has his parents drive him to rehab, where he receives detoxification and learns how to control his drinking and drug addictions.

The book is his journey through rehab and how be becomes a better person. There is a lot of vulgarity and things that seem inappropriate but are a must for the story. The language is probably how everyone talked and the extreme drug situations are really what he went through.

There has been a lot of controversy over this book because there are parts that are "embellished" and altered. If you can see though all of that, then this book is truly amazing. I wouldn't suggest reading this book if you are under the age of fourteen due the language and theme of the book. You also might not want to read A MILLION LITTLE PIECES if you have a faint heart or easily get sick to your stomach because there are some extremely graphic scenes in the book. This is one I highly recommend, though.