Bibliofemme Reviews
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My Friend Leonard by James Frey 
(Published by John Murray)
James Frey brings us into his world again with his autobiographical sequel
My Friend Leonard. After the very compelling A Million Little Pieces the
author might have had a challenging time living up to his own self-created
standard.
As outlined in my previous review, A Million Little Pieces divulges all of
his fears, strengths and weaknesses in a rarely found, candid and personal
profile of recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. That book finishes as James
Frey leaves rehab and starts on his new life.
After being so close to his difficult recovery, I have to say I was
delighted to stumble across an unexpected sequel, as this author and his
struggles have never left my mind. Having been in close contact with people
with similar level of dependencies, I felt a certain personal investment
into this author's outcome. I found myself hoping that this stranger would
overpower his daily challenges and persevere from the depths of temptation.
Although Frey does keep on the straight and narrow, I was left feeling that
he was less giving with his deepest feelings, thus the second book loses
some of that original voice that I found so fascinating and brave the first
time around. His stripped-down repetitive style of writing was excusable,
even original when he was divulging his heart; however, the style become far
less interesting when repetitively describing food, pets or new girlfriends.
I asked myself if the change in voice came from the author's surroundings:
the false 'nicey-nicey' LA or just the natural barriers that one naturally
discovers when reintegrating fully into society and dealing with sober life.
Frey still pours out his heart and soul in many passages, but there are
places he dwells on for too long and others I find he has chosen to brush
over. Although the honesty isn't as frequent as I would have liked, I found
that there was still enough interesting events and laughs in the book to
keep me going.
Although this book lacks the consistency of sharing of the first book, I can
easily say that pats on backs can accompany any criticisms. The main thread
in the book, Frey's friend Leonard, as per its title, is the source of much
entertainment. He is potentially Frey's biggest support through his
reintegration. Without giving too much away, there is enough humour as well
as bizarre and unexpected twists to keep any reader turning. While the first
book was the utterly amazing raw, intense confessions of a recovering
mind/body/soul, this book is more of an homage to a great friend and
support.
Both are recommended.
Also by James Frey
A Million Little Pieces
November 2005
