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James Frey Message Board


Sofie posts on 7/13/2009 4:00:30 PM Well guys.. How many of you haven't watched a movie that was based on a true story? None of those movies are intirely true but we watch them anyway and it doesn't make them less watchable that they are mostly fictional. A million little pieces is based on a true story that is meant to inspire and make people understand what SOME addicts are going through. Saying that it is supposed to make us all reach the understanding of every individual addict is of course not true and not intented by the author. Stop concerning which parts of the book that are or are not true - is does not matter. Is it a wonderful book the guy can actually write. Enjoy it.
Brogen H posts on 3/24/2009 2:54:15 PM Anyone read Bad Hare Days, by John Fitzgerald (Olympia Publishers, UK). I strongly recommend it. From his teenage years, John Fitzgerald has been a committed campaigner against blood sports. Bad Hare Days is his recollection of life as a campaigner. Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of what the sport of hare coursing entails: greyhounds chasing hares and viciously mauling them to death. He compares the cries of the dying hares to the sobs of a baby or the wail of the Banshee. The story is explicit, honest and at times disturbing. Fitzgerald shows the analogy between the cruelty he was subjected to at the hands of coursing supporters and the cruelty these same people inflicted on hares. Bad Hare Days is also an account of a turbulent time in the history of hare coursing in Ireland and the events that brought this cruel sport to national attention. The author details opposition that former President Mary Robinson and Senator Noel Browne encountered when they made their case in favour of banning hare coursing in the Irish Parliament. Bad Hare Days gives an interesting insight into Ireland in the mid-1980s. Fitzgerald shows how money, power, and establishment figures such as priests and farmers influenced parishioners and people in the surrounding neighbourhoods where the story is based. Fitzgerald appeared in court on a number of occasions, accused of threatening and harassing hare coursing officials. On each occasion he was found either not guilty or the case collapsed. For all Fitzgerald’s efforts to raise public awareness of the cruelty of hare coursing there has been little change in legislation governing the sport. Had the 1993 Gregory Bill been passed, it would have banned hare coursing in Ireland. However, this Bill was defeated in the Dáil by 104 votes to 16; so hare coursing continues to be legal, albeit with the dogs muzzled. The author captures rural Ireland of the 1980s. His use of descriptive language shows the contrast between Ireland then and Ireland of the Celtic Tiger. He does not pull any punches when repeating the verbal abuse that he endured while protesting against the cruelty of blood sports. The quirky nicknames that he uses for those who abused him, based on their own most-used insults, inject a much-needed air of humour into the book. This book offers an interesting insight into the lengths that people will go to in order to protect their beliefs. Fitzgerald was willing to go to prison for speaking out against a cruel sport. Those who supported hare coursing were willing to allow an innocent man to be persecuted if it meant they could preserve their sport. Bad Hare Days is a gripping account of what one person endured in order to campaign for what he believed in. The book asks the question, was John Fitzgerald treated any more humanely than the animals he campaigned to protect…against the brutality of hare coursing? This book will have you pinned to your seat!
jennifer posts on 10/16/2008 10:09:48 PM This book was great and just because the addict below didn't experience these sorts of thoughts, doesn't mean some other addicts don't. My ex-boyfriend was sooo much like James (in the book) that I could have thought he wrote the book. He was and is an addict and acts and thinks just like that. Amazing!



Josie posts on 10/16/2008 7:17:51 AM What is it that makes being a liar ok with some of you people? and for profit!! The book was great, yes, I read it, I loved it, I gave it to people. JF was called out several times, given the opportunity to come "clean", He did'nt do it. For all of you out there in recovery,as I am, have'nt we all lied enough? Seriously. If I had $14.99 for everytime I lied...well, you know.
debbie posts on 10/16/2008 6:55:46 AM I can not believe people are still talking about this book. Unreal.
BagDaddy posts on 10/16/2008 3:45:00 AM Just read the book in two nights. Went directly to the smoking gun site to find out which parts were "embellished". Upon start of book, I had some doubts. I'm an addict and there were alot of his thoughts that were not just different from mine, they were not something I've ever heard of from other addicts. Here's my point. Someone below said that it doesn't matter that some of it was untrue. "He put me in a hopeless addicts shoes" or some thing like that. No he didn't. He put you in the shoes of what he "thinks" is in an addict's mind. Maybe what alot of people "want" to be in an addict's mind. He's a con man. It is a nice fictional novel. It has something to say about the "nature of addiction". He uses some unorthodox writing technique (I like that) But it is not a memoir, and it has nothing authentic to say about addiction.
jamie posts on 10/3/2008 4:58:39 PM these books have helped me to realize that there are several roadblocks in life and his books have made me be successful in being a recovering addict
Aria posts on 4/22/2008 9:36:11 PM I read James Frey book just recently and it was unlike any book i have ever read before. When i started the first page i could not put it down. I had no idea that the book was "fiction" but i when i discovered that it did not matter one bit to me. Because i applaud James for having written one of the best books i have ever encountered. Maybe he embelished it a bit more than reality but who cares? Anyone who can write like that should be recognized. The book made me laugh and cry and feel the pain, happiness lonliness everything that he felt. It was truly amazing. It makes me angry that someone would go out of their way to find out all of the flaws about it. I thought the book was perfect.
Sofie posts on 10/14/2007 7:46:47 AM I do agree with what you are saying. the book is briliant but i still have to wonder. what is true and what is not. which parts of the book is fiction. if any of you know please answer. is lilly true. is the dentist thing true.
Tammy posts on 8/28/2007 2:49:34 AM I read A million little pieces several years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I don't really care that the author did not encounter everything that he wrote about. Perhaps he should have given a disclaimer in the beginning of the book stating that he took creative liscensure on some subject areas. This makes no difference to the way the story made me feel. He put me in the shoes of an addict. I felt the anger, the helplessness, the pain, the loss of relationships. The pain he described when in the dentist chair was almost tangible. I don't really care if this was fictional. With his use of words I too was in that dentist chair. I felt the white hot pain he describes as the drill attacts his tooth. I also felt the hot showers and tasted the endless cups of coffee and cigarettes. For an addict, time and existence take on a different meaning. He conveyed that to me. Because of this book, I now study the concept of Taoism. A concept the author discovered during his difficult journey. I thank James Frey for sharing his creativity. For a few hundred pages, I was an addict on a difficult journey towards recovery. The feelings conveyed in the book touched me deeply.
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