+ Deceitful (Above All Things): The James Frey and J.T. LeRoy Scandals, a PopMatters special section
+ another review by Claire Zulkey
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth
"James Frey's A Million Little Pieces reads like the passages
about speed addiction in David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day
except the only comedy is the human one. Frey spills the deep dark
innards of the rehab process in an engaging, unwavering
manner, telling us about his excesses without swooning self-justified
reasons for his alcoholism and crack addiction. Admittedly, the
reasons are weak (as is he himself) and the destruction of his body
and family is his own fault.
Hesitantly, the book is inspirational though not in a saccharine
Chicken Soup way. The inspiration is derived from the ability of some
humans to survive and their willingness to do so in the face of animal
urges. The animal and the human live in an uneasy balance -- more uneasy
than most of us would want to admit. The realization that a simple
genetic quark can throw the balance in favor of the animal for want of
a chemical is difficult to accept. Frey brings us through his journey
from animal to human. The animal desire and fury are always claiming,
screaming, clamoring to get out. He finds the earliest extensions of
this in therapy but never uses this as an excuse, a reason for his
addiction. He finds the twelve steps, especially the submission to a
higher power disingenuous because of an encounter with an amorous
priest. Instead, he searches to find the balance in himself, to right
the impurities and chaos he has let his animal self do to him.
Frey is not always likeable. It would be easy to pass his encounter
with the priest as a fight against an abusive authority figure. But it is
more a condition of his own innate violence, and poorly realized
masculinity. His sexual weakness is central in A Million Little
Pieces and extends to inability to keep a woman, or consummate a
sexual relationship. It is of no surprise that he as an adult male
could only react to the advances of another man through violence. His
admitted lack of remorse is also indicative of his underdeveloped
identity. But despite this (or perhaps because of this) Frey's brutal humanity
is compelling.
The true inspiration of this story is not in Frey's ability to survive,
but the fact that of the twelve other people mentioned that went
through treatment with him only one other was not dead or imprisoned by
the time he wrote the afterward. The human once it loses control can
barely keep the animal in check. Because of this desperate struggle for
control, Frey is constantly aware of the animal self. The pain of
childhood disease lingers, in itself not serious but the weakness it fomented
fuels his fury and rage. The need to consume cigarettes, coffee and,
food becomes a pale and inadequate substitution for crack and booze.
Eventually he limits the use of these crutches and lets the human
reassert itself. His outward appearance is rebuilt, teeth replaced and
wounds healed, weight gained, but the process of recovering from the
psychological damage will clearly, as 12-step groups emphasize, be a
lifelong, one-day-at-a-time process. The inspiration remains: survival
where most perish, knowing his success is on a razor's edge and any
imbalance will kill him.
— 15 April 2003
