a short review of a million little pieces
a million little pieces
by james frey
five word review:
i'll pass on the crack.
frey's memoir of his time in a drug rehab center is harrowing. the descriptions of his vomit alone are enough to convince me that sniffing glue and freebasing cocaine aren't quite as much fun as they're cracked up to be.
"cracked." ahahahahaha.
frey enters the center at age 23 after a decade of addiction. after blacking out and seriously injuring himself, he finds himself on an airplane bound for rehab with no memory of how he got there, no idea of where he's going. according to the doctors, he's been saved just in time: his body couldn't take any further abuse. another drug experience would probably kill him, they say.
so no drugs for james as he heads off to the dentist to have two root canals. two root canals without anaesthetic of any kind, with only a babar book to steady him.
scared straight yet?
during the months he spends at the center, james meets the requisite crew of colorful characters, vomits blood daily and lovingly describes it, reconciles with his parents, and makes a firm promise to himself never to use again.
with the recidivism rate topping 85%, we know that james faces a difficult future. with his refusal to embrace the principles of twelve-stepping, we learn how slim his chances of recovery are. but with his trip into the rankest of crack houses to save the girl he loves, we begin to believe that he just might make it after all.
i'd write more but i have to go upstairs and tip all the tylenol 3s directly into the toilet. just say no, baby. just say no.
Comments
see, I knew you'd like it!
Posted by: yr maw | March 24, 2004 06:52 PM
i did like it. couldn't put it down, in fact. but, boy, was it hard to read.
Posted by: julie | March 25, 2004 09:06 AM