Here is the review I wrote for the book over at Amazon:
"Gritty and dark, yet in someplaces quite beautiful, December 28, 2005
I recommend this book to anyone. I am definitely glad that I read it. However, before reading it I suggest you step out of the mindset that it is fiction or non-fiction. I really don't care and I am not angry at the author or the publishing company. Read this book without any preconcieved notions. Have an open mind and take it for what it is - whether that is fiction, non-fiction, or fantasy to you.
As the title of my review suggests, it is gritty and dark, sometimes disturbing. However, there are moments that are truly beautiful. Many of the stories told by the addicts and from the life of the author are very wild and dark. At times, it is similar to a car wreck that everyone wants to watch as they drive by. I think that some people will gain a lot of perspective by reading about some of the horrors that some people live with. The stories are wild and crazy and interesting. However, I do believe that some readers will be disturbed by some of the text.
My problem with this book is the style in which it is written. As others have mentioned it is very repetitive and the flow of the conversations is near impossible to follow in some dialogues. I thought it was a creative way to compose what is essentially a "stream of thought" narrative but after a while I really missed those quotation marks. I also understand the need for the repetition and redundancy of the feelings in James' head and the emotions that he experiences over the course of his stay in rehab.
The greatest part of this book is the beauty that unfolds in the relationships between the addicts in rehab (mind you, again, I do not care if these relationships existed or are true). I could really care less about the process of rehab, the hatred and fear, the fury and the rest except for that all these things help emphasize the importance of the relationships that are developed in rehab. There are some very emotional interactions between the male addicts in the rehab facility and it is very powerful to see these men from all over the spectrum and how they rely on and help each other. For those few glimmering and beautiful moments in the book, it is worth reading the repetitive parts in their entirety.
To sum up, I do not praise this book as much as many of my reviewing peers, but I still recommend it to anybody. As to the debates and discussions as to whether this is a work of fiction in its entirety or not, I really could care less. Even if this was a complete work of fiction I wouldn't care. I know the stories told within have happened before and will happen again, whether they happened to James Frey or not."
xvart.