Friday, July 07, 2006

a million little pieces

Well, sadly (or maybe gladly...?) I only made it to the third chapter or so of the second book in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I just couldn't do it. I was bored already. Dagga, you are a better woman than I.
The gladly part is, a book that I have had on hold at the library for months finally came in for me: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I've only started it but so far it is the best book I have read since The Alchemist. It's written in a unique style; the dialogue is very simple with no quotation marks or he said, she said stuff. It contributes to the very introspective mood. It is the author's own addiction rehab story. I think I'm drawn to it because of the way my own life has turned around and although my life was definitely not as extreme, there are moments that are very familiar. I have a book by Elizabeth Hudson called The Carrion Flower (another chapter was added later and it was renamed Snow Bodies: One Woman's Life on the Streets)that is based on the author's younger years as a prostitute and heroine addict. It was kind of neat too, because it all happened in Alberta and B.C., so I recognized some of the places. I was drawn to this one as well for the same reason. No, I was never a prostitute or heroin addict! I think I just need the reminder that things could have been a lot worse.

4 comments:

Dagga said...

a million little pieces as been very controversial, apparently it´s more fiction than actual fact. But that said, it can still be read as a very good book. I have not read it and I have only followed the talk about it with one ear but everybody I know that has read it agrees that it is a good book, some people have just been p****d of that he lied. My feeling is that although he might not have personally gone through everything he talks about himself, makes it no less true for someone else.

elisabeth said...

oh, so that's the guy that was on oprah and there was a big scandal, etc.
it's still a good book and i hope that knowing this now doesn't make me like it any less because like you said, these things have probably happened to someone somewhere, if not him.

aisy said...

at least you'll read it knowing the truth. i read it thinking it was all true and felt totally ripped off in the end. just read it as fiction (as that is what it really is) and you can just enjoy it for the read.

elisabeth said...

yeah it has slightly altered my opinion of it but i'm still pretty engrossed in it anyway