Amazon.com: My Friend Leonard: James Frey: Books

Amazon.com Review

In the bold and heartbreaking My Friend Leonard, James Frey picks up the story of his extraordinary life pretty much where things left off in his breakout bestseller and Amazon.com Best Book of 2003, A Million Little Pieces, the fierce, in-your-face memoir about Frey's kamikaze run of self-destruction and his days in rehab. Fresh from a stint in jail from pre-rehab-related charges ("On my first day in jail, a three hundred pound man named Porterhouse hit me in the back of the head with a metal tray."), clean-living Frey returns to Chicago and gets sucker-punched with a cruel blow that will leave readers ducking for cover in anticipation of the blinding bender that's sure to come. But then the titular Leonard, the larger-than-life Vegas mobster ("West Coast Director of a large Italian finance firm") whom James befriended in rehab, steps into the story and serves equal parts unlikely life coach, guardian angel, and father figure for the grief-stricken author, adopting him as his "son" and schooling him in the fine art of "living boldly":

Be not bold, be f-cking BOLD. Every time you meet someone, make a f-cking impression. Make them think you're the hottest shit in the world. Make them think they're gonna lose their job if they don't give you one. Look 'em in the eye, and never look away. Be confident and calm, be f-cking bold.

Hurricane Leonard storms into James's life, showering his young charge with multi-course feasts at steakhouses and Italian restaurants, courtside seats at Bulls' games, Cuban cigars, and an elaborate Super Bowl party in Los Angeles, all the while doling out wisdom on life and love and motivating James to stick to his burgeoning writing career. James even has a brief stint as an employee of Leonard's, though occupational hazards--like having a nine millimeter shoved in his face--prove too much for the novice bag man (though he does make enough to invest his earnings in a Picasso drawing). When Leonard drops out of sight for an extended period, his absence leaves readers aching to hear the familiar refrain of "My Son!" just one more time.

Frey sticks to the taut, staccato style that shot through A Million Little Pieces with such raw electricity. Surprisingly, the tone feels equally at home with this book's focus on friendship and extreme loyalty, and works to intensify the always-looming, adrenaline-rush threat of violence and the lure of the Fury that courses like a riptide throughout the book. Ultimately, it's a sense of hope, and humor even, that prevails and makes My Friend Leonard a stand-alone success. Despite his shady pedigree, you'll long to have a friend like Leonard just a phone call away. --Brad Thomas Parsons

James Frey's List of Books You Should Read

Paris Spleen
Tropic of Cancer
The Great Santini

See more recommendations from James Frey

Amazon.com's Significant Seven
James Frey graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.

Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: Tao te Ching by Lao Tsu. Completely changed how I think, behave, live my life. Nothing else comes close.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: The book would be the Tao te Ching, the CD would be some compilation of love songs from the 70’s and 80’s, and the DVD would be highlights from the history of the Cleveland Browns.

Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: No way I can answer that.

Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: I've been working at the same desk since I started writing. It's old and beaten-up and black. The rest of my workroom is empty, except for some crazy sh-- on the wall in front of me: pictures of people I admire, reproductions of artwork I dig, sayings that motivate me, things like--bare your soul, be bold, page a day motherfu--er page a day. I listen to music while I work, have a pile of nicotine gum and a couple cans of diet coke. My dogs are usually a couple feet away from me. I've always worked this way, probably always will.

Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "Loved, lost, laughed, left."

Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Winston Churchill

Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: Immortality.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Frey achieves another stylistic coup as he develops a narrative thread begun in 2003's A Million Little Pieces. He chronicles his journey out of the terrifying darkness of addiction, and the friend he meets along the way, Leonard. A gangster, raconteur and mentor, Leonard was introduced in Pieces as one of Frey's new rehab friends. Here, he pushes Frey out into the world, pampering him one moment, giving him tough love the next. As in Pieces, Frey's style throughout is loose, untraditional yet perfectly crafted: "[Leonard] offered me his hand and said good, I'm fucked up too, and I like fucked-up people, let's sit and eat and see if we can be friends. I took his hand and I shook it and we sat down and we ate together and we became friends." There's something mesmerizing about the endless tumble of words, the nonstop spilling out of Frey's troubles and triumphs. In the hands of a less capable writer, all of this cool, tight narration might numb the reader and distance the experience. Instead, this book packs a full-body emotional wallop. Frey's eye is keen for detail: the inside of a county lockup; the flat, gray Chicago winter; an out-of-control Super Bowl party in Los Angeles; the grind of living day to day—all come alive in his sparse, powerful prose. At its core, this is an examination of a friendship. Frey's extraordinary relationship with Leonard is alive, a flesh-and-blood bond forged in the agony of rehab and sustained through honesty and trust. Agent, Kassie Evashevski at Brillstein/Grey Entertainment. (June) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (June 16, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1573223158
ASIN: B000QUUTOQ
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (425 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's James Frey Page

James Frey is originally from Cleveland. He is the author of A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard. He lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars

(425)

3.9 out of 5 stars

See all 425 customer reviews

“ James Frey's new book, "My Friend Leonard" is every bit as good if not better than "A Million Little Pieces". ” Margareeta J. Everett | 126 reviewers made a similar statement

“ It made it difficult to read knowing that he didn't just publish this as a book of fiction. ” Zev | 44 reviewers made a similar statement

“ The book is very good written and read, and I also would have a friend like Leonard, he is very good. ” W. Thijsse | 38 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 47 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, this book makes the first book less believable. December 2, 2005

By Jason Smith

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like many others, I found out about James Frey through Oprah and her book club. I read A Million Little Pieces quickly and intensely. I didn't question it at the time. I just wanted to finish it and see what happened to all the interesting characters. I immediately bought the follow-up and had it delivered with the 2 day option. I couldn't wait for the book to arrive. Then, I started thinking more about AMLP and wondering how true some of the parts might be, like the part where they have the boxing match and the authorities leave and they are allowed to bet and eat as much as they want from a catered company. I started to realize there might be some over-elaboration from Frey. Maybe he made some of it up, maybe a lot more than some of it.

Then MFL arrives and I read it quickly. It lends itself to being read quickly because it is so repetitive. I agree with other reviews that say his style works much better as an addict than as a person who is distanced from that addiction. This style becomes difficult and tedious. I tire of it I take a break from reading I care less about what happens to the characters get a cold tasty cola. Skip a few pages. The writing becomes a parody of itself at times. It worked before but it doesn't in this book. In the "real world" Leonard becomes a much less believable character to me. Snapper is one dimensional at best. I lose interest in his loves he can't get it up with his beautiful new girlfriend he won't tell her why he still misses Lilly cries buys flowers cries. We hug. We seperate. We order steak, creamed spinach and a nice cold tasty cola.

OK, you get it. I'm disappointed I hoped for better I feel like it was made up makes the first book less believable stop now stop stop.

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52 of 66 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars It's time that Frey is exposed January 27, 2006

By avid reader

Format:Hardcover

Frey got those anecdotes the no-risk way: he stole them from a real druggie/criminal author. A much better and more honest one, a guy named Eddie Little-specifically, Frey looted Little's great debut novel, Another Day in Paradise.

Little wrote a column called "Outlaw L.A." that ran when Frey was living in LA writing bad movies (eg Loving A Fool). I think Ruth's hunch was right: Frey, like the thief and conman he is, read Little's column, then his book, and started stealing. Naturally, he cut the key element of Little's books: the unhappy endings. The fake transformations suckers demand.

Another lie, those transformations; people live and die as unvaryingly as insects. Frey himself illustrates this perfectly. He was a yuppie schemer from birth, a trust-fund bum with a roof rat's adaptive, though repellent traits: a rat cunning and lack of shame.

Since Frey knows nothing about drugs and cares nothing for truth, he opts for the most lurid, criminal version of druggie life. He knows you pious hypocrites love that stuff. So he stole Little's stories, carefully leaving out all the good parts. See, that's the key: y'all like Frey not despite his weakness as a writer but because of it.

Compare his stories with Little's and you'll see this. Little generates horror and triumph without resorting to tearjerking; Frey zooms to the weepy scenes, too ignorant to fake the details he doesn't know and too cynical to care about filling in his crude narrative.

Compare outcomes: Little paid for his knowledge of junkie-dom and died a junkie's death; Frey stole Little's scars, tears and knowledge, skipped the weird stuff and sold you a cut-and-paste tale of tears ending with redemption, a hymn with a lot of curse words to cut the treacly taste.

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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Forget the controversy - this is just bad writing January 13, 2006

By Sara Holding

Format:Hardcover

(...)
Forget that this story is just SO unbelievable from Day 1. I know the disclaimer says they changed names and sequences of events - but every character in this book rings untrue. From Lilly, the crack whore who hangs herself hours before James can make it to her side... Porterhouse, the 300-lb, illiterate murderer who laughs and cries at the classic stories James reads him ... to Leonard, James' mobster "father" who is so touched by art in galleries that tears stream down his face. Let's not forget his wisecracking bodyguard/driver, Snapper. The girl from one of the top families in town dating James even though he has no job and no pedigree. Good Lord! These characters could come right out the screenplay Christopher Moltisanti wrote in the first season of The Sopranos.

The dialogue is some of the worst I've ever read. "James, I want you to be my son. I will introduce you as my son and you will be treated as such. All I ask in return is that you keep me involved in your life. If you ever have any issues with your real father, I must insist you defer to him." "I will send fresh red roses every week to this grave!" I found myself wincing at some of it.

I know as a frat boy, Frey probably dreamt of running with the tough guys, and this is his way of realizing that dream. However, he should admit this is just fiction. James admitted he never spent any real time in jail. It's not a memoir in the way that the book-buying public thinks of the genre, and it's really bad as fiction.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unbelievable Character

This entertaining review of James Frey's relationship with a person that actually turned his life around is a wonderful read. Read more

Published 6 days ago by Blue Wave

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant

I could not put the book down. I love the way James Frey writes and would read any of his books. This was a great follow up to a million little pieces.

Published 1 month ago by Gareth

5.0 out of 5 stars very good book,

this was a very good book. you must read "a million little pieces" first. this also was a page turner

Published 1 month ago by Lori

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fiction

Wonderful sequel to A Million Little Pieces -- which I knew was fiction when I read it. This follows one of the men after release from drug rehab, and how he helped all he met... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Theresa Fredericks

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and still have it. There is a 2nd book to follow this one and I read it as well. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Zelda

4.0 out of 5 stars my friend leonard

I remember reading this book in school. My friend Leonard is a great story, just not that believable, kinda like the book he is best-known for, "A Million Little Pieces. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Piper Davenport "bookworm"

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book

This book left me emotionally exhausted, but it is a great account of friendship and sobriety. A must-read for anyone who knows a person struggling with addiction - this book... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Rachel Blatt

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book

This was the second part to A Million Little Pieces and I think it was great. The book tells you what happens to all of James friends from the first book and his relationship with... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jeanie

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing sequel

This book is every bit as amazing as A Million Little Pieces. An excellent read. I highly recommend it if you've read the first book.

Published 3 months ago by Antonia Martinez

5.0 out of 5 stars Great

I love James Frey and his style of writing. I love that he makes horrible things just seem easier. I first bought this book from a store shelf one day about 6 years ago because I... Read more

Published 3 months ago by eme

Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Topic	From this Discussion
"My Fake Friend Leonard"	No shame on you Robin for forgetting that a "book" is a book. Was it real? has nothing to do with the excellence of the story. Who the hell cares if it's "real". The story in both books are incredible, and two of the most incredible books I've ever read, what a tale. Mr.... Read more Nov 16, 2011 by J. Bougae \| See all 2 posts
"My Fake Friend Leonard"	the reason i thought the book as true is because I know several people just like he portrays himself in the novel. i really did grow up right in the middle of crack town,Northside of Houston. Now that i see his school pictures and is NON-Arrests I am sure it is 75% made up,but it is still worth... Read more Apr 9, 2009 by Marie Tillman \| See all 2 posts
Giving the truth a bad name	Be the first to reply
it's a book!!	Be the first to reply
fraud	Why is this book still listed under non-fiction? Jan 17, 2006 by FishWhisperer \| See all 16 posts
Welcome to the My Friend Leonard forum	Ok looks like I am the first. I really enjoyed this book and read it fast. Was a really good book. Although there were parts to the book that i found truly truly unbelievable. IF anyone else felt that way please respond. Nov 16, 2005 by Amber Fayez \| See all 3 posts