A Million Little Pieces (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dining Hall, Twelve Steps, Upper Level (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

News from Doubleday & Anchor Books

The controversy over James Frey's A Million Little Pieces has caused serious concern at Doubleday and Anchor Books. Recent interpretations of our previous statement notwithstanding, it is not the policy or stance of this company that it doesn’t matter whether a book sold as nonfiction is true. A nonfiction book should adhere to the facts as the author knows them.

It is, however, Doubleday and Anchor's policy to stand with our authors when accusations are initially leveled against their work, and we continue to believe this is right and proper. A publisher's relationship with an author is based to an extent on trust. Mr. Frey's repeated representations of the book's accuracy, throughout publication and promotion, assured us that everything in it was true to his recollections. When the Smoking Gun report appeared, our first response, given that we were still learning the facts of the matter, was to support our author. Since then, we have questioned him about the allegations and have sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished.

We bear a responsibility for what we publish, and apologize to the reading public for any unintentional confusion surrounding the publication of A Million Little Pieces. We are immediately taking the following actions:

We are issuing a publisher's note to be included in all future printings of the book.*

James Frey has written an author's note that will appear in all future printings of the book.* Read the author's note.

The jacket for all future editions will carry the line "With new notes from the publisher and from the author."

*Customers should find the Author's Note and Publisher's Note in copies purchased from Amazon.com after April 15, 2006.

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Note: The following editorial reviews were written before the recent revelations by James Frey and the publisher.

Amazon.com
The electrifying opening of James Frey's debut memoir, A Million Little Pieces, smash-cuts to the then 23-year-old author on a Chicago-bound plane "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood." Wanted by authorities in three states, without ID or any money, his face mangled and missing four front teeth, Frey is on a steep descent from a dark marathon of drug abuse. His stunned family checks him into a famed Minnesota drug treatment center where a doctor promises "he will be dead within a few days" if he starts to use again, and where Frey spends two agonizing months of detox confronting "The Fury" head on:

I want a drink. I want fifty drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I want fifty bottles of it. I want crack, dirty and yellow and filled with formaldehyde. I want a pile of powder meth, five hundred hits of acid, a garbage bag filled with mushrooms, a tube of glue bigger than a truck, a pool of gas large enough to drown in. I want something anything whatever however as much as I can.

One of the more harrowing sections is when Frey submits to major dental surgery without the benefit of anesthesia or painkillers (he fights the mind-blowing waves of "bayonet" pain by digging his fingers into two old tennis balls until his nails crack). His fellow patients include a damaged crack addict with whom Frey wades into an ill-fated relationship, a federal judge, a former championship boxer, and a mobster (who, upon his release, throws a hilarious surf-and-turf bacchanal, complete with pay-per-view boxing). In the book's epilogue, when Frey ticks off a terse update on everyone, you can almost hear the Jim Carroll Band's brutal survivor's lament "People Who Died" kicking in on the soundtrack of the inevitable film adaptation.

The rage-fueled memoir is kept in check by Frey's cool, minimalist style. Like his steady mantra, "I am an Alcoholic and I am a drug Addict and I am a Criminal," Frey's use of repetition takes on a crisp, lyrical quality which lends itself to the surreal experience. The book could have benefited from being a bit leaner. Nearly 400 pages is a long time to spend under Frey's influence, and the stylistic acrobatics (no quotation marks, random capitalization, left-aligned text, wild paragraph breaks) may seem too self-conscious for some readers, but beyond the literary fireworks lurks a fierce debut. --Brad Thomas Parsons

From Publishers Weekly

Frey is pretender to the throne of the aggressive, digressive, cocky Kings David: Eggers and Foster Wallace. Pre-pub comparisons to those writers spring not from Frey's writing but from his attitude: as a recent advance profile put it, the 33-year-old former drug dealer and screenwriter "wants to be the greatest literary writer of his generation." While the Davids have their faults, their work is unquestionably literary. Frey's work is more mirrored surface than depth, but this superficiality has its attractions. With a combination of upper-middle-class entitlement, street credibility garnered by astronomical drug intake and PowerPoint-like sentence fragments and clipped dialogue, Frey proffers a book that is deeply flawed, too long, a trial of even the most na‹ve reader's credulousness-yet its posturings hit a nerve. This is not a new story: boy from a nice, if a little chilly, family gets into trouble early with alcohol and drugs and stays there. Pieces begins as Frey arrives at Hazelden, which claims to be the most successful treatment center in the world, though its success rate is a mere 17%. There are flashbacks to the binges that led to rehab and digressions into the history of other patients: a mobster, a boxer, a former college administrator, and Lilly, his forbidden love interest, a classic fallen princess, former prostitute and crack addict. What sets Pieces apart from other memoirs about 12-stepping is Frey's resistance to the concept of a higher power. The book is sure to draw criticism from the recovery community, which is, in a sense, Frey's great gimmick. He is someone whose problems seem to stem from being uncomfortable with authority, and who resists it to the end, surviving despite the odds against him. The prose is repetitive to the point of being exasperating, but the story, with its forays into the consciousness of an addict, is correspondingly difficult to put down.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Hardcover: 383 pages Publisher: Nan A. Talese; First edition (April 15, 2003) Language: English ISBN-10: 0385507755 ISBN-13: 978-0385507752 Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,849 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,078 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dining Hall, Twelve Steps, Upper Level, Doctor Stevens, Medical Unit, Lower Level, Group Toilets, Lecture Hall, Higher Power, Family Program, Treatment Center, Family Members, North Carolina, Phone Booth, Family Center, Waiting Room, Dining Room, Doctor Baker, Unit Supervisor, San Francisco, Big Book, Bus Station, Father David, Gene Hackman, Halfway House

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 3 books:

• Tough Guy (Silhouette Romance, No 806) by Arlene James on page 50, page 89, and page 127
• Think about it!: Book 15 (Literary land) by M Coles on page 141, and page 202
• Dreams Come True: Book 3 (Literacy Land) by M Coles on page 180

 

33 books cite this book:

• The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict by William Leith on page 19, page 80, and page 183
• Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America's Teenage Drug Epidemic by Meredith Maran in Front Matter, and Back Matter
• Bullshit and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) by Gary L. Hardcastle in Front Matter, and page 22
• A Renegade's Guide to God: Finding Life Outside Conventional Christianity by David Foster on page 133, and Back Matter
• The Oprah Phenomenon by Jennifer Harris in Front Matter, and page 251

See all 33 books citing this book

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Customer Reviews

1,849 Reviews 5 star:  (815) 4 star:  (279) 3 star:  (164) 2 star:  (138) 1 star:  (453)           Average Customer Review 3.5 out of 5 stars (1,849 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 152 of 160 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Description of treatment is fiction not fact., November 17, 2005 By  Macazonian (Michigan) - See all my reviews This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback) I have worked with alcoholics and addicts for many, many years, and I worked for the Hazelden Foundation, the treatment program the author indicates he attended. His description of the events in treatment never could have happened. All treatment centers are strictly regulated by a licensing board called the Joint Commission as well by state laws. What James Frey describes is in gross violation of these strict standards of accreditation. The treatment center would have been severely disciplined or shut down. Hazelden is one of the finest treatment centers in the world and is the pioneer of treatment as we know it today. Their treatment program is centered on respecting the dignity of each patient and preserving the safety of all who are admitted. James Frey would not have been admitted into treatment in such terrible medical condition without first being sent to a hospital for care and then admitted only after the hospital staff granted medical clearance. He wouldn't have been given stitches in his face at the treatment center, because treatment centers aren't licensed to give that level of medical care. Yes, recovering people can use anesthetic. Anesthetic is not an addictive drug, so no one needs to endure painful dental work or stitches or surgery without masking the pain. Pain medications (which are addictive) are used when necessary, such as after major surgery. There are no men in white coats with syringes tackling people who misbehave. People in treatment don't behave in ways the author describes. People are mostly kind, caring and thoughtful. Disagreements are generally mild in nature, and mood-swings are usually the worst we must contend with. When someone behaves in an unacceptable manner, they are asked to change their behavior or be discharged. Treatment romances are never tolerated because they are a precursor to relapse and disrupt the entire unit. Physical violence always results in discharge, as does destruction of property. A patient would be asked to leave immediately if he destroyed a room full of furniture, for example. (Accomplishing this feat, by the way, would be extremely difficult because the furniture is made of heavy wood, built for endurance.) The author's assertion that a doctor left the ER without treating him and then drove him to an airport is equally astonishing. Putting a patient on an airplane, where he cannot access emergency medical care while suffering from severe head injuries is unthinkable. That the airlines allowed James Frey on the plane is impossible to believe. These things simply aren't allowed to happen for very obvious and good reasons. It goes without saying that counselors don't drive patients to crack houses-or anywhere else-while they are in treatment. Doing so would result in immediate dismissal. Never have I heard people screaming in detox, nor would someone be left lying on a floor overnight. Patients are well monitored and vitals are checked on a regular basis to be certain that blood pressure isn't dangerously high due to the body coming off alcohol and/or drugs. Without close monitoring, we would risk strokes or heart attacks. It is also surprising that almost everyone the author went through treatment with has died or disappeared in rather unorthodox ways. I've never know of this to happen and none of my colleagues, whom I've asked, have ever heard of this either. We sometimes hear that one individual out of a treatment group dies, but even that is fairly rare. People do relapse after treatment, but that happens primarily because people don't follow their aftercare plan. I hope if you read this book, you will keep in mind that this description of treatment is fiction. No one who is thinking of going into treatment to seek help should be afraid, thinking they will experience things similar to what the author has described. All reputable treatment centers offer caring support, preserve patients' dignity and will not allow one person's behavior jeopardize the wellbeing of all others. As for the author's assertion that he has stayed sober without the help of AA or other 12 step groups, that may be true, but only about 2% of addicted people find this method successful. And of that 2%, most continue to behave in much the same way they did when they were drinking or using drugs, only without the alcohol or drugs in their systems. Sometimes they are so unhappy and angry being "dry" because, without a recovery program, they haven't learned to find contentment in sobriety, and their behavior becomes more intolerable than before. The main purpose of AA isn't just to quit drinking or taking drugs, but to become a better person in recovery. 131 of 140 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Finally, what I really think, January 11, 2006 By  Louise the Reader (Tennessee) - See all my reviews This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback) I am an alcoholic, sober for ten years. I went through detox, rehab, AA, and all the rest. When I read this book a couple of months ago, I thought, "This is just nothing like what I went through." I bought it and intended to pass it along to my AA friends to share, but after I finished it, I didn't want to give it to anyone. It would scare anyone who was considering going into treatment, and that's a shame because treatment isn't like that. If I had pulled any of the stunts he did, I would have been out on my bum. I think the author is just needing attention badly--thus the rebellion and bad boy stunts that he tells about. In my experience, alcoholics/addicts with his attitude end up drinking/using again, because they have such a case of terminal specialness--the 12 steps work for those other losers, but I'm better than that, stronger than that. I don't need those crutches. This book is just sensationalism of the worst kind. I'm sorry I donated to James Frey by buying this book. I threw it away so it wouldn't fall into anyone else's hands. 68 of 71 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Complete fiction, December 28, 2005 By  Concerned reviewer (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback) This book seems like complete fiction -and bad fiction at that. I'm stunned that Oprah's group didn't do any research - no airline would let this guy on the plane covered in vomit and blood. No rehab facility would let meals be catered, patients gamble to televised football games nor, especially, let one of the patients lead a counselor into a crackhouse in search of a patient that left the facility. James Frey is a failed screenwriter that came up with his best dose of fiction and a lot of desperate people bought it. Funny how the "people" or should I say "characters" that could have exposed him are all dead. I doubt that any really existed, particulary "Leonard" the mobster who says the author is the toughest kid he'd ever met. Pure, awful, dangerous fiction.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it and I don't care what anybody says about it. Although it's years later, I picked this book up not knowing about its controversy or its history. I just read the book because it seemed interesting. Read more Published 18 days ago by Kerry A. Bangs 4.0 out of 5 stars Oprah's Book Club (at least for a minute!!!) This is my review based on the book prior to finding out that the guy was a fraud and Oprah called him on it. Oprah's book club... Read more Published 20 days ago by Miz Piz 4.0 out of 5 stars Incredible writing, but should have been sold as fiction I've fretted for a while over how to review this book. The writing is very unique and effective. It's moving, relatable, and very expressive. Read more Published 25 days ago by Book reviewer 5.0 out of 5 stars A Million Little Pieces Great book, Great story! I don't care about all the stuff that has been said about the author, James Frey knows how to write a fast pace book. Published 29 days ago by Julian Mossey 5.0 out of 5 stars Even if it is pure fiction -- it's great, powerful stuff. [close] I read A Million Little Pieces right before the big "it's-all-a-lie" scandal errupted on Oprah. Read more Published 1 month ago by Erin K. Simons 5.0 out of 5 stars Okay, this is fiction but, lets stop harping on the details shall we? This book is incredible. I don't care what Oprah says, what rehab facilitators say. This is a well-written and well-rounded picture of an emotional experience coping with... Read more Published 1 month ago by Katie 5.0 out of 5 stars i liked it whether its real or not i really dont think thats an issue, its about if you liked the book or not. i really enjoyed it. its an easy read and very different from most books. Read more Published 1 month ago by J. Thomason 1.0 out of 5 stars A Dangerous, Faithless Book I am a former transient, addict and drunkard. A co-worker left this book out and I gave it a going over. Read more Published 1 month ago by JJ 5.0 out of 5 stars True or not - it's a great book! This is a very good book, easy to read and totally engrossing to the reader. Published 1 month ago by C. Shelton 5.0 out of 5 stars A Million Little Pieces easily one of the best books i have ever read, partially fiction or not. the only thing i did not like was that it took nearly 2 weeks for delivery. Read more Published 2 months ago by C. Behrens Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese; First edition (April 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385507755
• ISBN-13: 978-0385507752
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,849 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,078 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Description of treatment is fiction not fact., November 17, 2005

By	Macazonian (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback)

I have worked with alcoholics and addicts for many, many years, and I worked for the Hazelden Foundation, the treatment program the author indicates he attended. His description of the events in treatment never could have happened. All treatment centers are strictly regulated by a licensing board called the Joint Commission as well by state laws. What James Frey describes is in gross violation of these strict standards of accreditation. The treatment center would have been severely disciplined or shut down. Hazelden is one of the finest treatment centers in the world and is the pioneer of treatment as we know it today. Their treatment program is centered on respecting the dignity of each patient and preserving the safety of all who are admitted.

James Frey would not have been admitted into treatment in such terrible medical condition without first being sent to a hospital for care and then admitted only after the hospital staff granted medical clearance. He wouldn't have been given stitches in his face at the treatment center, because treatment centers aren't licensed to give that level of medical care. Yes, recovering people can use anesthetic. Anesthetic is not an addictive drug, so no one needs to endure painful dental work or stitches or surgery without masking the pain. Pain medications (which are addictive) are used when necessary, such as after major surgery.

There are no men in white coats with syringes tackling people who misbehave. People in treatment don't behave in ways the author describes. People are mostly kind, caring and thoughtful. Disagreements are generally mild in nature, and mood-swings are usually the worst we must contend with. When someone behaves in an unacceptable manner, they are asked to change their behavior or be discharged. Treatment romances are never tolerated because they are a precursor to relapse and disrupt the entire unit. Physical violence always results in discharge, as does destruction of property. A patient would be asked to leave immediately if he destroyed a room full of furniture, for example. (Accomplishing this feat, by the way, would be extremely difficult because the furniture is made of heavy wood, built for endurance.)

The author's assertion that a doctor left the ER without treating him and then drove him to an airport is equally astonishing. Putting a patient on an airplane, where he cannot access emergency medical care while suffering from severe head injuries is unthinkable. That the airlines allowed James Frey on the plane is impossible to believe. These things simply aren't allowed to happen for very obvious and good reasons.

It goes without saying that counselors don't drive patients to crack houses-or anywhere else-while they are in treatment. Doing so would result in immediate dismissal. Never have I heard people screaming in detox, nor would someone be left lying on a floor overnight. Patients are well monitored and vitals are checked on a regular basis to be certain that blood pressure isn't dangerously high due to the body coming off alcohol and/or drugs. Without close monitoring, we would risk strokes or heart attacks. It is also surprising that almost everyone the author went through treatment with has died or disappeared in rather unorthodox ways. I've never know of this to happen and none of my colleagues, whom I've asked, have ever heard of this either. We sometimes hear that one individual out of a treatment group dies, but even that is fairly rare. People do relapse after treatment, but that happens primarily because people don't follow their aftercare plan.

I hope if you read this book, you will keep in mind that this description of treatment is fiction. No one who is thinking of going into treatment to seek help should be afraid, thinking they will experience things similar to what the author has described. All reputable treatment centers offer caring support, preserve patients' dignity and will not allow one person's behavior jeopardize the wellbeing of all others. As for the author's assertion that he has stayed sober without the help of AA or other 12 step groups, that may be true, but only about 2% of addicted people find this method successful. And of that 2%, most continue to behave in much the same way they did when they were drinking or using drugs, only without the alcohol or drugs in their systems. Sometimes they are so unhappy and angry being "dry" because, without a recovery program, they haven't learned to find contentment in sobriety, and their behavior becomes more intolerable than before. The main purpose of AA isn't just to quit drinking or taking drugs, but to become a better person in recovery.

131 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Finally, what I really think, January 11, 2006

By	Louise the Reader (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback)

I am an alcoholic, sober for ten years. I went through detox, rehab, AA, and all the rest. When I read this book a couple of months ago, I thought, "This is just nothing like what I went through." I bought it and intended to pass it along to my AA friends to share, but after I finished it, I didn't want to give it to anyone. It would scare anyone who was considering going into treatment, and that's a shame because treatment isn't like that. If I had pulled any of the stunts he did, I would have been out on my bum. I think the author is just needing attention badly--thus the rebellion and bad boy stunts that he tells about. In my experience, alcoholics/addicts with his attitude end up drinking/using again, because they have such a case of terminal specialness--the 12 steps work for those other losers, but I'm better than that, stronger than that. I don't need those crutches. This book is just sensationalism of the worst kind. I'm sorry I donated to James Frey by buying this book. I threw it away so it wouldn't fall into anyone else's hands.

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Complete fiction, December 28, 2005

By	Concerned reviewer (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Million Little Pieces (Paperback)

This book seems like complete fiction -and bad fiction at that. I'm stunned that Oprah's group didn't do any research - no airline would let this guy on the plane covered in vomit and blood. No rehab facility would let meals be catered, patients gamble to televised football games nor, especially, let one of the patients lead a counselor into a crackhouse in search of a patient that left the facility. James Frey is a failed screenwriter that came up with his best dose of fiction and a lot of desperate people bought it. Funny how the "people" or should I say "characters" that could have exposed him are all dead. I doubt that any really existed, particulary "Leonard" the mobster who says the author is the toughest kid he'd ever met. Pure, awful, dangerous fiction.