"A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey

Note: The following editorial reviews were written before the recent revelations by James Frey and the publisher.
Amazon.com
The electrifying opening of James Frey's debut memoir, A Million Little Pieces, smash-cuts to the then 23-year-old author on a Chicago-bound plane "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood." Wanted by authorities in three states, without ID or any money, his face mangled and missing four front teeth, Frey is on a steep descent from a dark marathon of drug abuse. His stunned family checks him into a famed Minnesota drug treatment center where a doctor promises "he will be dead within a few days" if he starts to use again, and where Frey spends two agonizing months of detox confronting "The Fury" head on:
I want a drink. I want fifty drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I want fifty bottles of it. I want crack, dirty and yellow and filled with formaldehyde. I want a pile of powder meth, five hundred hits of acid, a garbage bag filled with mushrooms, a tube of glue bigger than a truck, a pool of gas large enough to drown in. I want something anything whatever however as much as I can.
One of the more harrowing sections is when Frey submits to major dental surgery without the benefit of anesthesia or painkillers (he fights the mind-blowing waves of "bayonet" pain by digging his fingers into two old tennis balls until his nails crack). His fellow patients include a damaged crack addict with whom Frey wades into an ill-fated relationship, a federal judge, a former championship boxer, and a mobster (who, upon his release, throws a hilarious surf-and-turf bacchanal, complete with pay-per-view boxing). In the book's epilogue, when Frey ticks off a terse update on everyone, you can almost hear the Jim Carroll Band's brutal survivor's lament "People Who Died" kicking in on the soundtrack of the inevitable film adaptation.
The rage-fueled memoir is kept in check by Frey's cool, minimalist style. Like his steady mantra, "I am an Alcoholic and I am a drug Addict and I am a Criminal," Frey's use of repetition takes on a crisp, lyrical quality which lends itself to the surreal experience. The book could have benefited from being a bit leaner. Nearly 400 pages is a long time to spend under Frey's influence, and the stylistic acrobatics (no quotation marks, random capitalization, left-aligned text, wild paragraph breaks) may seem too self-conscious for some readers, but beyond the literary fireworks lurks a fierce debut. --Brad Thomas Parsons

My Thoughts:
If this had not been a book of the month for my online book club, I may not have read it because of all the controversy surrounding it. I am very, very glad I did. With the issue of fact or fiction set aside, this was an incredible read. Frey did battle some inner demons to get to the root of his issues, and that alone is commendable. The guy was serisously messed up. Who knows what was really going on in his head. He even seemed apologetic on the latest interview with Oprah, and he admits he made a mistake. Too litte, too late for some, but I would recommend his book highly, if you think you can set the issues aside for a bit.

"The Shining" by Stephen King

Book Description
The Overlook Hotel is more than just a home-away-from-home for the Torrance family. For Jack, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, it is a place where past horrors come to life. And where those gifted with the shining do battle with the darkest evils. Stephen King's classic thriller is one of the most powerfully imagined novels of our time.

My Thoughts:
This was definitely the scariest book I have ever read. I rate it as a 10 out of 10, and was classic King. I love all of his books; the scarier the better! I need to get a chance to see the movie now too. There are 2 versions, from what I hear, and the TV mini-series one is better. I will see if I can get my hands on it.

"Sweetgrass" by Mary Alice Monroe

From the dust jacket:
Mary Alice Monroe returns to the heart of the Lowcountry with a richly textured story about family, loss and the heartbreaking compromises people make in the name of love.

Sweetgrass is a historical tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass--named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area--is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together.

For Mary June Blakely, the prospect of leaving is bittersweet. Her life at Sweetgrass has been filled with both joy and heartache. She's raised her children here, but watched as tragedy drove them away. And though she knows leaving would finally mend her heart, moving her ill husband form the land he loves would break his. So she finds the strength to stay and fight--for her children, her marriage and her home.

For Nona Bennett, the prospect of Sweetgrass being sold is unimaginable. Her family has woven the grass into baskets since the days slavery, and her stake in the land has endured for generations. Nona's roots are as imbedded in the Blakely family as her beloved sweetgrass is in the earth. She has seen firsthand the pain that they have suffered, and she alone understands that they can heal onle once they decide what it really means to be a family.

In this poignant novel of hope, acceptance and the powerful gift of forgiveness, Mary Alive Monroe paints an intimate portrait of a family that must learn to unravel old patterns and weave together a new future.

My Thoughts:
The description pretty much says it all, but really doesn't stress how moving this novel is. I was fully invested in this story, heart and soul. It was wonderful, and show how a strong family can pull together in times of strife. I highly recommend reading it. I am going to find her other books I have yet to read.

"Total Control" by David Baldacci

From Library Journal
Sidney Archer is devastated when she hears that the plane carrying her husband to Los Angeles has crashed. But her nightmare begins when she learns he'd traded identities and flown to Seattle instead. Evidence suggests that Jason Archer was selling corporate secrets to a high-tech rival. Soon Sidney herself is caught in a web of intrigue as wealthy men vie for more power and money. Fired from her law firm, pursued by hired killers eager to recover an encrypted computer disk Jason had mailed to himself, Sydney finally trusts only the FBI agent who believes her innocent. No one is immune here from high-tech snooping and violent death. Baldacci writes strictly for action, not wasting time developing characters or setting. Few books have higher heaps of dead millionaires at their conclusion. The scant literary value won't deter those who snatched up his first book, the best-selling Absolute Power (LJ 11/15/95), or keep them from standing in line to see the film version, due in February. Public libraries will need a copy or two to meet demand, especially with a major publicity blitz planned.-?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ. Minn.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

My Thoughts
This was the first book I *read* by Baldacci. I was impressed with his style, and he really kept it suspenseful and packed with action. If you like mysteries, it is a definite must-read.

"Otherwise Engaged" by Eileen Goudge

From Booklist
There is something seductive about spinning out elaborate fantasies around the age-old question, "What if?" Glamorous new lies replace unsatisfying old ones, all problems magically find solutions, and the success that had been elusive falls easily into place. For best friends Jessie and Erin, the question gets asked--and answered--in earnest when Erin's husband leaves her and Jessie's new romance suddenly cools off. What if, asks Jessie, a freelance writer struggling to make it in Manhattan, I'd never left Arizona? What if, wonders Erin, an innkeeper still living in Willow Creek, I'd gone to New York and become a chef? When Jessie proposes they trade places for six months, their unconventional escape allows both women to find out if the proverbial grass really is greener. Creating strong, resourceful heroines is what Goudge does best, and both loyal fans and new readers alike will be thoroughly captivated by the unique adventure Jessie and Erin embark upon, and what they discover by journey's end. Carol HaggasCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

My thoughts
I really liked this book. It wasn't the BEST book, but it was cute and a fun read. Makes you think, is the grass really greener on the other side? What would YOU have done?

"The Constant Princess" by Philippa Gregory

From Publishers Weekly
As youngest daughter to the Spanish monarchs and crusaders King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, was promised to the English Prince Arthur when she was three. She leaves Spain at 15 to fulfill her destiny as queen of England, where she finds true love with Arthur (after some initial sourness) as they plot the future of their kingdom together. Arthur dies young, however, leaving Catalina a widow and ineligible for the throne. Before his death, he extracts a promise from his wife to marry his younger brother Henry in order to become queen anyway, have children and rule as they had planned, a situation that can only be if Catalina denies that Arthur was ever her lover. Gregory's latest (after Earthly Joys) compellingly dramatizes how Catalina uses her faith, her cunning and her utter belief in destiny to reclaim her rightful title. By alternating tight third-person narration with Catalina's unguarded thoughts and gripping dialogue, the author presents a thorough, sympathetic portrait of her heroine and her transformation into Queen Katherine. Gregory's skill for creating suspense pulls the reader along despite the historical novel's foregone conclusion. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

My Thoughts:
Not as great as "The Other Boleyn Girl" but better than "The Virgin's Lover". I do love Gregory's books, and have yet to be truly disappointed by one. It was interesting to read Katherine of Aragon's point of view after seeing Gregory's other main character's POVs in other books. I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction, especially England. This was my final book of 2005, and not a bad way to go out!