In his wake is a trail of jilted and stunned women. It is male desire in all its darkness, personified in a wretched, nihilistic persona whose sustenance is alcohol. The voice of the narrator is the unadulterated male id, speaking what is normally unspoken, and what is below the radar of consciousness. Because the novel changes so drastically, the narrative is given a heart which is lacking in the madmen scenes of the opening pages (which at any rate made you keep on reading). The reckless tone set in the beginning of the novel is not sustained. In that sense, the novel is thematically reminiscent of another nihilistic novel, Fight Club.ĭiary of an Oxygen Thief continues with his outrageous exploits, yet then the mood shifts unexpectedly. Naturally, the mirror image of giving pain is receiving it, and he desires both. This gluttony for punishment extends to males he provokes other men of more imposing stature to physically attack him. It was flattering” (28), he says after provoking one of his female victims. Just as inexplicably as the narrator enjoys hurting these girls, he intentionally provokes them to take revenge on him: “I’d never had beer thrown in my face before. …the break up precipitates a downward spiral of pointless cruelty and alcoholism. At any rate, the break up precipitates a downward spiral of pointless cruelty and alcoholism. Yet his ruminations after the break up suggest that he did indeed love her. He was simply bored of her sexually and otherwise. His four year relationship with his girlfriend Penelope ends in bizarre fashion the narrator enjoys drawing out a confrontational break-up conversation after meeting her in a bar. And if this occurs on a college campus due to a malicious interpretation of Title IX, there wouldn’t even be the benefit of a jury. Because nowadays, it very well could be a crime, should a girl allege rape. “The pain involved in a premeditated broken heart would easily compare with a case of assault, and yet no court of law would recognize it as a crime” (33). Fortunately for him, the novel was published in 2006. This level of womanizing simply could not survive the me-too era. Ironically, these antics in the present day would likely get the narrator accused and possibly convicted of rape (which is perhaps the one transgression which he is not guilty of). To be clear, he did not rape her yet nonetheless he left her feeling abandoned and emotionally abused. Part of the pain is his, part is the pain that he gives.Īfter one such sexual encounter, he writes, “Later, she left a message on my machine saying I’d raped her” (24). Scott Fitzgerald for the iPad generation' Richard Nash, author of What is the Business of Literature? Visit 02thief.The narrator of Diary of an Oxygen Thief is a ribald madman who thrives on loving and leaving unsuspecting women. One of the most interesting and controversial encounters I've made through a book' Lorenzo DeRita, editor in chief, COLORS magazine 'A dark-horse Williamsburg bestseller' Jonas Kyle, Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers 'F. I loved it!' Junot Diaz, author of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 'First he steals the oxygen from you, then he spits it right back in your face. 'Kinky, artsy, and swoon-worthy' New York Magazine 'The author does a great job. Diary of an Oxygen Thief is an honest, hilarious, and heartrending novel, but above all, a very realistic account of what we do to each other and what we allow to have done to us. Say there was a novel in which Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer's assistant and, somehow, they met in Bright Lights, Big City.
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