Book Review: A Million Little Pieces

It's never a wise choice to lie to Oprah Winfrey. Despite her kind persona, she has the power to bring you down... down, down, down way into the ground. She could probably start a very successful religious cult if she desired. Maybe Oprah's Book Club is just a facade. Ok, enough about Oprah - I like her - I do watch her show and I particularly enjoy the makeover specials.

I have to admit I was completely oblivious to the controversy surrounding "A Million Little Pieces" and was a tad surprised at the furore it caused in the literary world. (In all honesty I bought this book because the cover was pretty and Lil Miss J made a vague reference to it hehehe).

It was only upon searching for an image to post on this blog that I stumbled across a book review which mentioned that parts of the story were fabricated. Whilst this did deter me somewhat, I continued to read. I guess in a way, I didn't feel too 'cheated' as the style of writing does have a fictional essence to it. At one point, I did think that this would make a good Hollywood script. Of course, I can say this because it is all in hindsight to the controversy.

A memoir by strict definition is an account of someone's life experience, but I for some reason have always differed this to an autobiography. Whilst there is a fine line, I've always considered the latter being more factual and the former having allowances for imagination and personal observation. I'm not here to fight a dictionary but that is my own interpretation. All this just gets to my point - does it matter that this book is partly fictionalised?

"A Million Little Pieces" is James Frey's account of his time in a substance abuse rehabilitation centre. It is written in first person and utilises an interesting prose whereby quotations marks are completely omitted, instead a new line is begun for each conversational exchange.

His repetitive use of words equates to a brisk, abrupt feeling which effectively depicts the thinking process of a drug-addled mind undergoing a recovery, detoxification process. It can be difficult to sympathise with the protagonist, however, this book succeeds what many do not - capturing your attention. That being said, I can understand if someone found this particular prose annoying to read.

For those who were under the impression that this story was entirely factual, then yes, the author did betray your emotions. People were soooooooooo furious that at one point, the publisher even offered refunds! Also, as a result of The Smoking Gun letting the cat out the bag, many parodies flourished. Here's one. And another. And yet another. Oh and one more I found.

Oprah was FUMING! She confronted him live on her show. A WHOLE show. Check out her interview.

Alright, enough enough enough about how this book is essentially an exaggerated encounter in rehab. In all fairness, it probably would not have been published had the author not marketed it as a memoir. But I guess the ball was rolling, so he decided to take it all the way. Aaaah the repercussions.

Should you read this book? I'm still on a Yes/No scale and I would have to rate this a "Yes". If not for the story - nothing new, he overcomes his addiction and falls in love - then for the prose.