My Friend Leonard | James Frey | So touching, so good

My Friend Leonard | James Frey | nice a friend like this

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My Friend Leonard

	My Friend Leonard James Frey Riverhead Hardcover, 2005 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 379 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

My Friend Leonard is the story of an extraordinary friendship formed in the most unlikely of circumstances. When James Frey first meets Leonard in the rehabilitation centre so powerfully described in A Million Little Pieces they are both recovering drug addicts. Despite their highly unreliable track records their shared grit and humour sparks a mutual admiration which quickly transforms into firm loyalty. Leonard himself is charismatic and contradictory; at once a magnetic father-figure and a shady mafia boss. When he leaves rehabilitation it is to return to this dubious yet prosperous life in the criminal underworld of Las Vegas. In contrast, when James leaves the centre his world seems set to implode. Unsure where to turn, James calls Leonard and he answers. Paradoxically, it is in Leonard's lawless underworld that James discovers the courage and humanity needed to rebuild his life.

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So touching, so good

I have strong feelings about memoirs. I believe that everyone remembers things their own way, and in Frey's case we cannot expect a drug addict to remember things the way it actually happened. This story is amazing and touching and surprising. I am glad I read it after A Million Little Pieces. I am also glad I grew up in Los Angeles, it helped me visualize the scenes better. Frey's writing style flows like thoughts and it helped me really get the things he was feeling, the way he just let it flow.

nice a friend like this

The book is very good written and read, and I also would have a friend like Leonard, he is very good.

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A touching story of friendship...

I think James Frey has incredible talent. And although I felt that "Bright Shiny Morning" showed more maturity, "My Friend Leonard" was an excellent read.

James draws you into his characters and you find yourself sympathizing, hoping and feeling and although his books are thoroughly engrossing some of his style choices are a bit tiresome, but who says you have to read every word.

Would I recommend this book, yes, but be prepared to spend a lazy afternoon on a cozy couch finishing it.

a good follow up to 'A Million Little Pieces'

'My Good Friend Leonard' is sort of the "next chapter(s)" in the story of James Frey after his stint in rehab. The story starts off right after he gets out of rehab. The beginning is about Lilly. The rest of the book is about him just getting his life back together and finding mundane jobs, trying to stay sober and how his friend Leonard impacts his life and supports him just as a father should.

Some of the story gets a tad slow in the middle, but toward the end it does move better. Personally I enjoy James Frey's style of writing although the editor in me kind of gets annoyed with the run on sentences and missing commas and periods, but he is utilizing the same style of storytelling as in 'A Million Little Pieces.' I think that his style had more impact in his first novel rather than in this one, but it's very "him" and I like it.

I was very interested to read about James' life and how he did turn things around for himself and I found myself continuing to be interested throughout 'My Friend Leonard.' I felt all of the emotions he wanted me to feel in the end and I enjoy the fact that James knows how to tell his story in his own words. I like that he touched my heart in his portrayal of Leonard and it almost feels like I knew Leonard myself.

I highly recommend reading this especially if you enjoyed 'A Million Little Pieces' because it just completes his first novel and gives us some closure.

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