Anonymous authors are always alluring because it often makes you wonder why someone refused to put their name to whatever they had written. I think it’s doubly surprising in the case of Diary of an Oxygen Thief, because it appears to be rather well-known.
A Dutch novel at around 140-pages, it is not a long read, but positions itself as an unprovable biography of the author’s life; it is their diary or a diary-like representation of their life, supposedly.
The male narrator, an Irishman, is not a good person, which would explain why the author did not wish for their name to be aligned with this work, assuming its contents are true. The narrator is troubled, a past abuser of women, an ex-alcoholic, and generally just a paranoid and largely questionable character who ultimately ends up moving from London to the United States.
I could spoil the end of this short novel, but that feels unfair. It is basically a confession of sorts seeking redemption now that the author, or their persona, feels regret and has managed to slowly take better control of themselves and their life. A truly bizarre read that I want to experience for myself soon enough.
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