Diary of an Oxygen Thief

Published by Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio

Hurt people hurt people.

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. He's blinded by love. She by ambition. 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
• Release date: Aug 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781405537292

Reviews for Diary of an Oxygen Thief

[dzejncrvena · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My first pick for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #25: A book that was published anonymously

I began to read it last year but had to stop because I sensed that the content is all about heartaches and such. I am not sure how to rate it; the writing is a page-turner for me but the main character, which I consider an anti-hero, is so annoying.
I tried my best not to be carried away with his words. If it happened in real life, I'd have punched his guts. Do people like him actually exist? YES. I'm sure of that.

P.S. I haven't read YOU by Caroline Kepnes and I wonder if they have similar vibes.

[birksland · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't a fan of the book but then I read a review that stated if someone had experienced this level of romantic humiliation, the book would be so much more powerful. That hasn't been my experience (thank god) but it made me look at the book through a new lens.

[ray_-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I actually liked the start of the book, I liked how this alcohol addict was talking about his addiction not to alcohol but to breaking hearts, I loved every piece of it, I hated him, I felt disgusted by his actions but that was the point, it wasn't one of the brightest moments of his life and he was telling us about it.
But then he started recovering and then became a victim, I have to say I wasn't the biggest fan of that part, it was like a love sick teenage boy talking about his first love, but the thing is he was in his forties and considering the amount of encounters he had with women, he shouldn't act that way
Nevertheless, I understand that he is human and we're some really confusing creatures.

I would've loved that he talked more about the times he hurt others as a sport, I found that idea far more interesting

Nonetheless, I really liked the general idea of the book, it's quite interesting

[starbox_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"I was in pain and wanted others to feel it too"By sally tarbox on 18 September 2017Format: Kindle EditionProbably 3.5* for what is an astonishingly vivid, punchy and well-written novella. I don't know if the storyline's really enough to give it more.The nameless narrator is an Irish advertising whizz kid, working in London. He's professionally successful. And an alcoholic. He deliberately provokes fights in pubs. Then he moves on to women: reeling them in then dumping them with some choice home-truths: "I enjoyed it so much. Not the sex or even the conquest, but the causing of pain."He kicks the booze. He gets a well-paid job in the USA. He swears off women... and then he meets Aisling: "she looked just like the pictures of the Virgin Mary in Irish Catholic homes." But Aisling is no saint and our narrator is about to get his comeuppance.Read in one sitting, it's quite a compulsive story.

[gbill_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book may put you off with its provocative premise, which has an alcoholic getting off on hurting women – getting them to fall for him, and then deliberately being cruel to them. It’s hard not to cringe, but is that because of what he does, because it seems emblematic of a more cynical generation, or because there are elements of uncomfortable honesty here? If you do find yourself getting angry with his psychosadism, I suggest sticking with it. The book is short and balances out over the middle and ending, with him moving to Minnesota and being a bit of a fish out of water there, and then ‘getting his’ at the hands of a cruel woman. If you want a happy story where people are nice to one another, this is definitely not it. I liked the informal, irreverent, and very Irish tone of the narration, though it’s far from ‘high literature’, and the ending fizzled. Still, not bad.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A strange little book about revenge. The narrator of the book is and Irishman and a world class asshole, who is taught a lesson by a woman who is even worse than he is.

[kayla.krantz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book hooked me in with a very intense (albeit twisted) account from the main character of the story (who also happens to be the author and remains anonymous). The author’s reflection of abuse and a slide into alcoholism ensues. Based on the writing alone, I decided to give this book five stars. Before Aisling, the “evil girl”, can get her portfolio of him published, the author wrote this piece to tell his side of the story. The pain of the main character throughout it is so easy to feel, it’s powerful. A very amazing memoir, Diary of an Oxygen Thief will leave you wondering what happens next.