Quickie Book Review 4

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

Reality TV heralds the promotion of posers and mediocrity. American Idol is the best example. Young people belt out tunes based on little to no experience or training outside of what they mimic in the latest fabricated pop star. But there are brief moments when a singer, musician, chef, or designer exhibits almost other worldly abilities by comparison. My Geek and I say, "they own it." They know their craft so well they play with it, taking it beyond what it has been.

I think Frey owns writing. I haven't read anything else of his but, in this novel, he plays with story telling. It's beyond simply crafting words, characters and plot. For example, he abuses punctuation and capitalization so effectively it's additive. I love the creativity in it.

As a modern day memoir, A Million Little Pieces is engaging and cohesive. It's about Frey's last chance. With an unbelievable lifetime of alcohol and drug abuse, Frey is at the point where he is going to die if he doesn't clean up. This chronicles the time he spent in rehab - for the last time.

When I read it, the controversy had already come out that parts of this non-fiction piece were not accurate. For most of the story, I didn't care. From what I understand, the details about an arrest and time served is greatly exaggerated. But this doesn't affect the story and is minor in light of other elaborate situations like getting extensive dental work without anesthesia and becoming friends with an influential figure in organized crime. And I'm o.k. if these are also exaggerated. Most autobiographies are perception anyway.

But when key events of the story may be fabricated to promote a specific idea or agenda, it's not o.k. It's obvious Frey has no respect for God or AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) . I don't have a problem with that. But I do have a problem if he has to lie about the events to prove his points about God and AA. Is it true that a priest tried to molest him? And does that undo God or just the priest? In the end, instead of validating that AA is a crutch and God a power trip, he completely invalidates himself and anything he has to say on the subject. As Dr. Martha Watson once wrote on one of my algebra test papers, "For Shame."