James Frey's My Friend Leonard (Warning: Spoilers)


Similar to "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", in the good and the bad way

I pretty much devoured James Frey's debut book, A Million Little Pieces, and while I found his vidi descriptions of his pain and puke occasionally over the top, I admired the writing tremendously.

I still admire his writing but must confess that My Friend Leonard suffers from what I now call Eggers-syndrome. Both men can write powerful scenes of grief and tragedy, but both men think that every little detail of their lives is way more interesting than I do. In both this book and A Heartbreaking Work, the powerful beginning and end sections of the book are not matched by the mundane center portions.

Leonard starts out with a sucker punch to the gut for our hero, the author. And to us, those who faithfully read his first book and rooted for his relationship with beautiful crack-ho waif Lilly. The opening chapters are filled with real drama and I can't deny he got me emotionally right off the bat...we're talking tears streaming down my face while reading.

Frey writes great character descriptions, turning words on the page to vivid flesh-and-blood people in your imagination. The prison inmate who Frey reads to in jail, Snapper the henchman and, of course, Leonard himself. He's better with the description of men and who they are. With the women in his life the descriptions are more about the women and how they make him feel. Still, throughout the book he really sustains a wonderful vivid writing style that immerses you in the world he describes.

It doesn't take long for the book to get off-track, though. Because what he and all those people he describes do for 150 pages is perhaps not as fascinating as he thinks it is. I don't know how many descriptions of really fine, gluttonous meals Frey's editors think one book needs. This book has about 5 too many. I don't know how many pages of stream of consciousness "I cry and cry and cry and cry and feel rage and cry and cry and cry and cry and feel rage" passages Frey's editors think one book needs. This book has about 2 too many. I don't know how interesting you'd find day after day of walking around and night after night in a pool hall full of drunk friends, but I wouldn't find it that interesting.

The book ends as it begins with a sucker punch to the author and his readers. Another unexpected loss. And this too is a finely drawn and compelling portrait of loss and grief.

Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high. Throw a bunch of disparate characters together in rehab...at the very bottom point of their lives...and there are bound to be dozens of fascinating anecdotes to tell, all while the protagonist goes through major growth and development. Sometimes life out in the real world isn't quite that dramatic.

I actually hope Frey's next work is a novel...let him turn his vivid writing style loose on a plot that can match it!

Buy My Friend Leonard at Amazon.com

Posted: Sun - January 8, 2006 at 11:08 AM       EmailFeedback

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