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Is James Frey's account of his battle with alcohol & chemical dependency fact or fiction? Does it matter when considering it for "Great Reading" status? I think not! Having just been turned on to it by a young lady that is a longtime family friend, long after all the scandal & hype caused by the authors several appearances on the "Oprah Winfrey Show", and subsequent allegations of embellishment, I began reading with an open & objective mind. Right away I knew that my "beauty sleep" was in DANGER! Mr. Frey writes with a sense of urgency appropriate to the situations he is portraying,and the characters spring to life off the printed page,invoking emotions & feelings I've not experienced due to literature in a long time.

I found myself awake at 3 A.M. at least a couple of times, cheering, laughing, crying, yelling,(causing my wife to lose sleep also....she's pretty enough) and just wondering,WHAT NEXT! The people he describes, real or not, become my friends, adversaries, com-padres, and I find myself in the very clinic with them, wishing them all success in their battle against dependency.
While the language is some what vulgar & graphic, it is real & typical of an individual coming to grips with cocaine addiction and alcoholism. It is intended for a mature reader (definitely not a child's fable)and rings true to those who have been/ are faced with addiction issues. Although hard-line conservatives may find it offensive at times, I still would encourage them to read it to get insight on the "other half" (not to say that liberals are a bunch of drunken dope fiends).
I'm sure that others would argue with me when I proclaim James Frey one of the GREATEST contemporary authors of our generation, but "A Million Little Pieces" and it's sequel, "My Friend Leonard" are compelling, spellbinding, & engrossing to a point just shy of addictive (no pun intended).
So does it matter whether or not "A Million Little Pieces" is indeed a work of fact, or fiction? Who cares? If your looking for a modern story about the human condition without "Fairy Tale, Happily Ever After B.S." and don't mind a few sleep deprived nights, You (the readers) wont care either.

Learn more about this author, Walt Crippen.
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