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My Friend Leonard

by James Frey

My Friend Leonard
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On sale

13th March 2006

Price: £9.99

Genre

Autobiography: General / C 1990 To C 2000 / North America

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Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9780719561177

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While in rehab, James Frey finds a father figure in a shady mafia boss called Leonard. When Leonard returns to his dubious, prosperous life in the criminal underworld of Las Vegas, he promises James his support on the outside.

Tragedy strikes the day James is released and his world seems set to implode. Unsure where to turn, he calls Leonard. Paradoxically, it is in Leonard’s lawless underworld that James discovers the courage and humanity needed to rebuild his life.

Reviews

Independent
Vivid, splashy and mesmerising
Reading Chronicle, James Cleary
The ability to evoke compassion and sympathy for a character, to make you feel part of their destiny is what makes "My Friend Leonard" so engaging.
Tatler
Dangerously addictive
City Life (Manchester Time Out)
Frey is in a class of his own in inventive, idiosyncratic style
Wales on Sunday
My Friend Leonard is a most rewarding experience.
Independent on Sunday
Picassos and promise, racketeering and respect ... a stark and moving tribute to a complicated but loyal goodfella
Big Issue
An extraordinary tale of life after prison with a dangerous, delightful friend
Sunderland Echo
When a book proves difficult to put down, you know you're on to a good thing.
The Good Book Guide
A sobering and fascinating account of one of the darkest periods of England's history.
The Spectator
He takes you inside his world of pain, and it's like a small, brightly lit cell ... Life, Frey tells us, is pretty disturbing and weird when you're out of your head. But try living it sober
Irish News
When a book proves difficult to put down, you know you're on to a good thing
Irish Examiner
My Friend Leonard will go some way to cementing his reputation as one of the finest young writers around.
Elle
'Beautiful, sad, potent, irresistible'
Jane Eyre, Leeds
The idea of reading about the road to recovery of someone whose lifestyle I could neither condone nor understand didn't inspire me at all. WRONG!!! Within two pages all prejudice was forgotten and I immediately felt an empathy with the main character.'