A Million Little Pieces Review

A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces

            A Million Little Pieces is a graphic memoir tracking James Frey’s six weeks in rehab. It tells how James had to get over his addiction and how it took more than just his own strength to get through it. It shows readers what addiction can do to you and why you should never start an addiction.

Pop Matters reviewer Nicholas Hayes: Hesitantly, the book is inspirational though not in a saccharine Chicken Soup way. The inspiration is derived from the ability of some humans to survive and their willingness to do so in the face of animal urges. The animal and the human live in an uneasy balance -- more uneasy than most of us would want to admit. The realization that a simple genetic quark can throw the balance in favor of the animal for want of a chemical is difficult to accept. Frey brings us through his journey from animal to human. The animal desire and fury are always claiming, screaming, clamoring to get out. He finds the earliest extensions of this in therapy but never uses this as an excuse, a reason for his addiction. He finds the twelve steps, especially the submission to a higher power disingenuous because of an encounter with an amorous priest. Instead, he searches to find the balance in himself, to right the impurities and chaos he has let his animal self do to him.

·         I agree with this review. I think that this book tell of how at first James goes through this animal phase where the addiction pretty much takes him over, but towards the end he becomes a human again and gets over the addiction. I also agree with the fact that this book is not a chicken soup type of book. It is not sappy or lovey it is blunt and to the point. I like how James wrote it.

Drugwar reviewer Jules Siegel: "A Million Little Pieces", they've got something better -- a real (and very talented) writer with a real story who believes very firmly in individual responsibility. The author portrays himself as quite heroic in both his rebellion and his determination to quit, reminding me of John Galt in "Atlas Shrugged." Although it has some synthetic moments, the book is obviously sincere, but the resolution finally boils down to "Just say no."

·         This review explains how James is into doing things himself and not really wanting help from other people. I agree with this review when it talks about how James is heroic but yet rebellious. He is heroic by doing something about his problem and is rebellious by not following the rules all of the time and dong things on his own.

Mark Flanagan writes: While utterly rejecting the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Frey simultaneously embraces one of its key tenets: rigorous honesty. He renders his stay at Hazelden with glaring candor as he details his struggles with what might seem mundane challenges - challenges like eating lunch, or looking into his own eyes. His writing is almost stream-of-conscious as he forgoes using quotation marks in dialogue and capitalizes random nouns.

·         I liked the fact that he doesn’t use quotation marks and the fact that he capitalizes random nouns. It made the book very different. I agree that James uses rigorous honesty. He may have over exaggerated a little when writing this memoir but he does not lie to anyone in this book one time. He is a very blunt person. I disagree with the fact that the challenges he faces are boring or mundane, I think they are unusual. They are something not a lot of people have to deal with, but he did so they are not boring to him.

Book browse writes: Intense, unpredictable, and instantly engaging, A Million Little Pieces is a story of drug and alcohol abuse and rehabilitation as it has never been told before. Recounted in visceral, kinetic prose, and crafted with a forthrightness that rejects piety, cynicism, and self-pity, it brings us face-to-face with a provocative new understanding of the nature of addiction and the meaning of recovery.

·         I agree with this review. I think this story is unpredictable, intense and engaging. I also think this story is a story of drug abuse like no other. I think the writing style of this book is different than any other writing style I have read. I agree with the fact that this book does reject piety, cynicism and self pity.

 Medical Humanities writes: The breathless style conveys the sheer mind-boggling emergence through detoxification, with the dream-like hallucinating and internal subconscious priorities manifested. The lack of punctuation, far from making the prose a difficult read, actually gives the idea of a flurry of ideas, the repetitive, consistent desires.
‘A Million Little Pieces’ is no sob story. Frey’s genuine beliefs and initial lack of remorse keep the reader open-minded, and so the pages turn, James becomes an intriguing character that we find ourselves hoping will succeed. His rehabilitation is a rocky road, and the hierarchy within his unit is somewhat similar to a prison.
But James is an unconventional character who maintains his own beliefs, rejecting the conventional Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps. Despite the pessimism of the staff, James’ own way ultimately proves the right path for him – his philosophy is simply to decide to stop, not replace one addiction with another (meaning religion) – which brings up an interesting theological debate as well as a discussion on the notion of addiction as a disease.

·         This is probably my favorite review because I agree with everything is says. I agree that it is not a sob story; it is James’s genuine beliefs. I like how this review makes James’s theory, by doing things on his own and not using the twelve steps, positive. It looks at James as a good guy with his own opinions. I just really like how this review explains what James went through and how he overcame his addiction.

**Rating: 5/5**

Links:

http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/m/million-little-pieces2.shtml

http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/memoir/fr/millionPieces.htm

http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=1214

http://medhum.blogspot.com/2006/12/million-little-pieces-review.html

http://www.drugwar.com/siegelpieces.shtm