Monday 31st May 7:00pm

In his youth, James Frey spent many an afternoon at Shakespeare and Company and tonight we have the pleasure of welcoming him back into the fold. James Frey is the bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces,My Friend Leonard and more recently, a novel about LA, Bright Shiny Morning.  ‘A furiously good storyteller’ – New York Times

James is a writer not afraid of a little controversy. There was a lot of noise surrounding his brilliant first book, A Million Little Pieces, which spawned a fact/fiction debate that captured America and the world. He has had highs and lows – but throughout them all, his writing continued to speak louder than all the brouhaha. James writes exhilarating books and posseses that rare quality – the ability to tell a truly good story.

Dans sa jeunesse, James Frey a passé bien des après-midi à Shakespeare and Company et c’est avec plaisir que nous l’accueillerons à nouveau ce soir. James Frey est l’auteur à succès de A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard et, dernièrement, d’un roman sur Los Angeles, Bright Shiny Morning. James n’est pas un auteur que la controverse effraie. Il a connu des hauts et des bas mais la qualité de son écriture a toujours su rester au-dessus de tous les débats. James est l’auteur de romans grisants et il a cette rare qualité, le don de savoir raconter une histoire.

After battling with alcohol addiction and spending time in rehab, James Frey wrote A Million Little Pieces which was published in 2003 in America and the following year in the UK to critical acclaim. The New Yorker praised the book as “A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience”. He wrote the sequel, My Friend Leonard about life after rehab. His latest novel, Bright Shiny Morning, is all about Los Angeles, the city of contradictions. Home to both movie stars and down-and-outs, palm-lined beaches and gridlock, shopping sprees and gun sprees. Bright Shiny Morning takes a wild ride through the ultimate metropolis, where glittering excess rubs shoulders with seedy depravity. Frey’s trademark cinematic snapshots zoom in on the parallel lives of diverse characters, bringing their egos and ideals, hopes and despairs, anxieties and absurdities vividly to life. Some suffer, like the otherworldly wino who tries to save a spoilt teenage runaway. Others gain, like the canny talent agent who turns sexual harassment into blackmailing advantage. Some are loaded, or grounded, and have luck on their side. Others, like the countless actresses-turned-hookers, or schoolboys-turned-gangsters, are doomed.

Praise for James Frey:

‘James Frey is probably one of the finest and most important writers to have emerged in recent years’ – Irvine Welsh, Guardian

‘Totally addictive’ – Time Out

 

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