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My Friend Leonard By James Frey ( Riverhead Hardcover )
Release Date: 2005-06-16
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $24.95
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Product Description
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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Amazon.com Review
In the bold and heartbreaking My Friend Leonard, James Frey picks up the story of his extraordinary life pretty much where things left off in his breakout bestseller and Amazon.com Best Book of 2003, A Million Little Pieces, the fierce, in-your-face memoir about Frey's kamikaze run of self-destruction and his days in rehab. Fresh from a stint in jail from pre-rehab-related charges ("On my first day in jail, a three hundred pound man named Porterhouse hit me in the back of the head with a metal tray."), clean-living Frey returns to Chicago and gets sucker-punched with a cruel blow that will leave readers ducking for cover in anticipation of the blinding bender that's sure to come. But then the titular Leonard, the larger-than-life Vegas mobster ("West Coast Director of a large Italian finance firm") whom James befriended in rehab, steps into the story and serves equal parts unlikely life coach, guardian angel, and father figure for the grief-stricken author, adopting him as his "son" and schooling him in the fine art of "living boldly": Be not bold, be f-cking BOLD. Every time you meet someone, make a f-cking impression. Make them think you're the hottest shit in the world. Make them think they're gonna lose their job if they don't give you one. Look 'em in the eye, and never look away. Be confident and calm, be f-cking bold. Hurricane Leonard storms into James's life, showering his young charge with multi-course feasts at steakhouses and Italian restaurants, courtside seats at Bulls' games, Cuban cigars, and an elaborate Super Bowl party in Los Angeles, all the while doling out wisdom on life and love and motivating James to stick to his burgeoning writing career. James even has a brief stint as an employee of Leonard's, though occupational hazards--like having a nine millimeter shoved in his face--prove too much for the novice bag man (though he does make enough to invest his earnings in a Picasso drawing). When Leonard drops out of sight for an extended period, his absence leaves readers aching to hear the familiar refrain of "My Son!" just one more time. Frey sticks to the taut, staccato style that shot through A Million Little Pieces with such raw electricity. Surprisingly, the tone feels equally at home with this book's focus on friendship and extreme loyalty, and works to intensify the always-looming, adrenaline-rush threat of violence and the lure of the Fury that courses like a riptide throughout the book. Ultimately, it's a sense of hope, and humor even, that prevails and makes My Friend Leonard a stand-alone success. Despite his shady pedigree, you'll long to have a friend like Leonard just a phone call away. --Brad Thomas Parsons
James Frey's List of Books You Should Read 
Paris Spleen | 
Tropic of Cancer | 
The Great Santini |
See more recommendations from James Frey
Amazon.com's Significant Seven
James Frey graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: Tao te Ching by Lao Tsu. Completely changed how I think, behave, live my life. Nothing else comes close.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: The book would be the Tao te Ching, the CD would be some compilation of love songs from the 70’s and 80’s, and the DVD would be highlights from the history of the Cleveland Browns.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: No way I can answer that.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: I've been working at the same desk since I started writing. It's old and beaten-up and black. The rest of my workroom is empty, except for some crazy sh-- on the wall in front of me: pictures of people I admire, reproductions of artwork I dig, sayings that motivate me, things like--bare your soul, be bold, page a day motherfu--er page a day. I listen to music while I work, have a pile of nicotine gum and a couple cans of diet coke. My dogs are usually a couple feet away from me. I've always worked this way, probably always will.
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "Loved, lost, laughed, left."
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Winston Churchill
Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: Immortality.
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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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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.
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 Worst book I read this year ( nodice )
It took me 6 weeks to get through this and that's saying something seeing how thinly structured this book is. If you didn't read the fraudulent predecessor, you'd be lost--or maybe not since it's written on a third grade reading level. Frey pulled a fast one on me a few years ago. I dismissed the writing style then because I thought we were dealing with someone with a fragile state of mind. Here, there seems to be a lack of consistency. What happened to his love of reading from the first book? It changes to drawings and paintings in this book. I'm supposed to believe a struggling screenwriter turns down massive amount of money left to him from a friend that loved him like a father-and what about the strife between him and his parents? It just melts away? I just hated this book. I read it because I bought it before the scandal broke and it was the next book in my TBR pile. Trust me when I say Frey won't be getting another dime from me.
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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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 So touching, so good ( kabinga )
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.
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Addiction
