While perusing my too-large shelf of unread ARCs (I swear I am working on it), I saw
Sick City by Tony O'Neill, a book that appeals to the seedier side of myself. A quick - and at the time pointless - search on Google brought me to an article on
NOLA.com (a New Orleans web-based news source). The article summarizes the book well: "a B-movie wonderland of dope, crime, secrets, low-rent glamour and strange sex." And the cast of characters include "celebrity rehab doctors, Vietnamese transsexuals, dope fiends, strippers and wealthy film-industry “collectors” intermingl[ing] with O’Neill’s strange antiheroes." Sounds fun.
But when I started reading the quotes from O'Neill, that's when I realized how much I am probably going to enjoy this book. He complains about New York's loss of its underbelly, asking "where is the fun in having Times Square if it isn’t full of strip clubs, theatres showing horror movie and karate double bills, and crazed hookers attacking their pimps with stilettos?"
The article is about O'Neill promoting his book through readings, but for O'Neill the typical reading leaves something to be desired: "I mean I’m a writer, and 90% of book readings make me want to beat myself unconscious through sheer boredom. So I’m only going to read the dirtiest, filthiest parts of my book [on Friday], and we’re just going to go for it, no safety net." I really wish I could go to one of those readings just for the sheer spectacle of it.
He is going to read from his novel - the dirty bits - while accompanied by a keyboardist, acrobats, and burlesque dancers. Actually, all that went down last night! I, unfortunately, could not find any pictures of the event.
Sick City is published by
HarperCollins, and they describe the book as follows: "Meet Jeffrey and Randal, two desperate junkies and your guides on this top-to-bottom fun-house tour of Hollywood's underbelly. From infamous crime scenes to celebrity treatment centers,
Sick City is an outrageous page-turning adventure set in the sun-bleached wilds of LA."
If anyone is interested - and has the cahones - you should run out and
buy a copy and we could do a joint review!
O'Neill sounds like quite the character! Not sure the book would be my cup of tea, but sounds like his readings would definitely hold your attention. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd go to one of his readings but not sure I want to read the book.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read this one, as it sounds just raunchy enough to keep me entertained. I will let you know if I can get my hands on a copy soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm in. I just put it on hold at the library so I should get it in about a week. Woo boy. I read about the book in Shelf Awareness, I think, but I didn't realize how fantabulous it was!
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