A(nother) Gift of A Million Little Pieces
Before I went into the hospital, a work colleague dropped off a book she had recently read, highly recommending it: A Million Little Pieces. I had never heard of it at that point. The story about its being a fraud broke about that same time. In between sucking lemon candy, drinking water, peeing, and taking showers, I read the first 75 pages and was instantly hooked on the story of a long-time addict’s attempt at rehabilitation. I was thoroughly engrossed in the scene in the dentist’s office with no drugs allowed for things like root canals when it was time to go home from the hospital. My book along with my PJs were quarantined for 90 days. I didn’t think any more about it until I went to my book club meeting last night and guess what our February book is – you got it, A Million Little Pieces. So that’s great – my only copy has been condemned until May and I have to read it by mid-February. Actually I was more curious than ever to see if I could tell just where the author had embellished the actual story. Oh well, I figured I would just have to check it out of the library.
Then I ran into my coffee klatch friends in Starbucks this morning. Marilu, the most vivacious of the group of mostly senators’ wives who drink their morning coffee after working out at the 8th Street Curves, pulls out a bag and says, “Anyone need a good book to read? I’ve finished it – A Million Little Pieces.” I gladly took it off her hands and delighted in the fact that it was not glowing with radiation. I can’t wait to pick the story up on page 76. I left our hero squeezing tennis balls as he grimaced drug-free through two root canals and 4 caps – an awful lot more than my dentist, the eminent Larry Bowers, would ever attempt in one office visit. Maybe just the beginning of the embellishment...
Has anyone out there read it?
Then I ran into my coffee klatch friends in Starbucks this morning. Marilu, the most vivacious of the group of mostly senators’ wives who drink their morning coffee after working out at the 8th Street Curves, pulls out a bag and says, “Anyone need a good book to read? I’ve finished it – A Million Little Pieces.” I gladly took it off her hands and delighted in the fact that it was not glowing with radiation. I can’t wait to pick the story up on page 76. I left our hero squeezing tennis balls as he grimaced drug-free through two root canals and 4 caps – an awful lot more than my dentist, the eminent Larry Bowers, would ever attempt in one office visit. Maybe just the beginning of the embellishment...
Has anyone out there read it?
posted by Barbara at 9:12 PM
2 Comments:
I read the book in galley form before it came out and I love it. Read it, enjoy it and then read about all the hubbub...it's a doozy. Lots of words being bantered about James and his book.
I read it, along with my own book club. I found it at times very difficult to read (because of the subject matter), and at other times very inspiring. Definitely read the Smoking Gun article on the book when you are done with the book. I'd already suspected that much of the conversations were embellished (really, how could he remember everything that was said), but wasn't really bothered by that -- but was very bothered by the more major things that Smoking Gun says Frey made up. To my surprise, however, I was really only the only one of 6 of people in the book club who was truly bothered by this.
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