Book report. A Million Little Pieces

Frey, James. A Million Little Pieces. United states. random house inc: April 2003

Reason, Type and Setting: Explain why you selected this book. Explain what type of book it is? (For instance, Western, adventure novel, teen romance, action, mystery, etc.) Where does you novel take place? In what time period does your book take place?
I chose to read this book because I wanted to find out what the hype was all about. Lots of people had said how much they hated the book. How it was all just a lie. How it kills memoirs. How unrealistic he is. Others told me it was good, regardless of all this. I just decided to finally read it. I wanted my own opinion about the book, not a collection of others. This book is called a memoir, but people argue that it is not.

Plot: Give an account of the books major conflicts and action. Describe the parts which interested you. Don’t include every detail, just main ideas. The plot is all about the action which takes place, the story told. The plot of a book is composed through the conflict or points of interests that call for resolution. Recount your book’s plot in this section.

The whole story mainly takes place in a rehabilitation clinic. Where the main character, James Frey, is on a journey to become sober. He was a huge drug addict and is struggling in the rehab center. He has lots of problems with discovering himself. He really just wants to kill himself. For a long time during the book he doesn't even want to look at himself in the mirror. He doesn't want to see himself in the eyes. He is afraid of confronting himself. Throughout the story he develops a relationship with another patient at the clinic named Lilly. She too has lots of problems. But they both are able to connect and become close with each other. They are both very messed up people, but they find the good in each other and find comfort in each other. During the story James is urged to follow the 12 step program. He is very hesitant to do so. He wants to become sober on his own. Not through some program. By the end he agrees to simply do a few parts of the program but him becoming sober was mainly his own will.

Character: Select a character. Describe your character’s physical appearance. What qualities does he or she possess? What roles does you character play in the plot? Why did you select this character? What interest you about the character? How did the plot change the character in the end?

James Frey. James is tall and has dark hair. At the beginning of the story he is extremely messed up. He had just fallen down a fire escape face first. He had a hole in his cheek and missing teeth. He had black eyes. Just a really messed up face. But he did heal as the story went on. He has a lot of will power. He was able to beat his addiction. That is something that is very hard to do, but he managed to do it. His role in the story is the main character. I chose this character because the story was written by him. You get a very deep insight in to his own thoughts and feelings. He is interesting because I really can't relate to him at all. Most of the time I can relate to the characters of stories in many ways. In this story I am absolutely nothing like this character. So I think that is interesting. The character changed a lot by the end of the story. He went from being a drug addict that wanted to kill himself. To a sober person that had control of their life.

Evaluation: Did you like the novel? Was it interesting? Did the book entertain you? Did it inform you? What main point about life and values did the novel make? What did it teach you? Would you recommend this book for others? Why of why not?

I liked it for the most part. Some parts I had a hard time realizing where the story was going. The book was definitely interesting and entertaining. I liked it more than catch 22, but these books are much different. This book did teach and inform me. I learned about what the life drug addict is like. I got to see how their mind is. You can tell how arrogant and stuck up he is. That is a total drug addict thing. Thinking that the world revolves around you. I would recommend this book to someone. I think you get a pretty good understanding of what the life of a drug addict is like.

How does this book compare to real life? What situations, problems, current events, or issues does this book remind you? Is this book important for others to read? Why or why not?

Well this book is like real life. This book reminds me of a friend that I had that struggled with drugs. They didn't have it as bad, but they were able to struggle through it and make the conscious decision to stop using. No this book is not important for others to read. I had never read this book up until now and I would have been fine had I not ever read this book.

Put yourself in the plot. Compare yourself with the main character. Would you have acted in the same way? What other conclusions might work for the book? How would you have wanted the book to end?

I have already said that I am nothing like the main character. He has addictive tendencies. Which I definitely do not. He is very defiant. Which I am not. And he hated his life, which I do not. I liked the ending, but I thought it was really sad that the girl he was in love with, Lilly, killed herself in the end.

Author, Context and Trivia: What others books did this author write? What do you know about that author? What other books like this one have you read? How does this one compare to those others? If you have never read a book like this before, say so. Do you plan to read more of this author or type? What have you not mention in the report above that you feel might be important? Make you case in this section.

this author only wrote this book. I know a lot about the controversy about this book. People say that it is just a big lie, and that it doesn't rely on much fact. I have never read a book like this before. I don't think I will either. One is enough for me.