Sick City: A Novel

by Tony O'Neill

Overview

“Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal….O’Neill could be our generation’s Jim Thompson.”
— James Frey, author of Bright Shiny Morning

 

“Tony O’Neill works his L.A. people the way Dutch Leonard had his hand down the pants of every degenerate in his great Detroit novels.”
— Barry Gifford, author of Wild at Heart

 

From Tony O’Neill, the author of Down and Out on Murder Mile and coauthor of the Neon Angel and the New York Times bestselling Hero of the Underground, comes Sick City—a wild adventure of two junkies, Hollywood, and the Sharon Tate sex tape. Readers of Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty) and Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) will take great delight in Sick City, “a disturbingly twisted ride through Hollywood’s underbelly with a degenerate cast of colorfully interwoven characters” (Slash).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061789748
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/20/2010
Series:	P. S. Series
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Tony O'Neill is the author of Digging the Vein and Down and Out on Murder Mile, and the coauthor of Neon Angel and the New York Times bestseller Hero of the Underground. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter.

What People are Saying About This

Barry Gifford

“Tony O’Neill works his L.A. people the way Dutch Leonard had his hand down the pants of every degenerate in his great Detroit novels. Cover your ears, ladies; thanks to O’Neill, the cries of pain can be heard from one sick city to another. Just use your eyes.”

James Frey

“Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal. One of the best books written about LA in a long time. O’Neill could be our generation’s Jim Thompson.”

Sebastian Horsley

“Reading Tony O’Neill is like traveling downhill in a car with no lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child on meth. The signposts along the way are all marked ‘Nowhere.’”

Dan Fante

“Tony O’Neill writes about the Hollywood I know as well as any writer alive. His characters are a punch in the face, scorchingly real. His dialogue is note-perfect.”

Tom McCarthy

“I f**king loved it — the piss-soaked floors, the vomit-impastoed car interiors, the groans and grunts from every room. It’s like some weirdly loveable purgatory.”

Slash

“Sick City is a disturbingly twisted ride through Hollywood’s underbelly with a degenerate cast of colorfully interwoven characters. I loved the whole f**ked up journey.”

Editorial Reviews

O'Neill (Down and Out on Murder Mile) delivers a Hollywood thriller that's equal parts acerbic social commentary à la Burroughs's Naked Lunch and extraordinary crime fiction misadventure featuring a druggie misfit named Jeffrey. After the sudden death of Jeffrey's "sugar daddy" lover, a retired L.A. cop, he's left with only a suitcase full of drugs, cash, and a "truly historic piece of celluloid," Sharon Tate's "last performance" in a private sex tape that includes an orgy with a laundry list of Hollywood stars. Jeffrey and a speed freak he met in rehab with connections to the movie industry come up with a half-baked plan to sell the homemade film, which could be worth millions, and gain some kind of salvation with the money. But with shadowy pasts, raging addictions, and a murderous psycho hot on their tails, the unlikely duo finds staying sober--and alive--increasingly difficult. Fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Warren Ellis will cherish this twisted tale and its repellent and disturbing imagery. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

A wildly fun read.” — Willamette Week

“Like the bastard child of Dashiell Hammett and Evelyn Waugh....With Sick City, Tony O’Neil confirms his comic voice....If dark humor, punk sensibility, literary sophistication and pointed satire are among your addictions, you should find Sick City a rewarding read.” — The Rumpus.net

“What Sick City does is takes the grit and grime of, say, Naked Lunch by William Burroughs and makes it coherent…within the context of a caper novel, as imagined by Elmore Leonard….Sick City makes Jim Thompson’s novels look like Little Golden Books.” — Bookreporter.com

“You may feel disturbed by this very realistic account of addicts on a mission.” — CurledUp.com

“O’Neill delivers a Hollywood thriller that’s equal parts acerbic social commentary à la Burroughs’s Naked Lunch and extraordinary crime fiction misadventure....Fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Warren Ellis will cherish this twisted tale.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[An] inspired comedy of errors…a post-punk crack at Hollywood’s legacy that’s funnier than its predecessor, and just as cringe-inducing…infused with enough black humor to make Bill Burroughs choke on his apple” — Kirkus Reviews

“Like a Robert Altman film scripted by Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs...Sick City is appealing in its unsentimentalism, disgusting in its details—and, almost unbelievably, funny.” — Booklist

“Sick City is a disturbingly twisted ride through Hollywood’s underbelly with a degenerate cast of colorfully interwoven characters. I loved the whole f**ked up journey.” — Slash

“Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal. One of the best books written about LA in a long time. O’Neill could be our generation’s Jim Thompson.” — James Frey, author of Bright Shiny Morning

“Tony O’Neill works his L.A. people the way Dutch Leonard had his hand down the pants of every degenerate in his great Detroit novels. Cover your ears, ladies; thanks to O’Neill, the cries of pain can be heard from one sick city to another. Just use your eyes.” — Barry Gifford, author of Wild at Heart

“Addictive Noir! Rarely do you find a novel that is both fast paced and well observed, action packed, yet high-grade poetic. Once you start it, just try putting it down.” — Arthur Nersesian, author of The F*ck Up

“Reading Tony O’Neill is like traveling downhill in a car with no lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child on meth. The signposts along the way are all marked ‘Nowhere.’” — Sebastian Horsley, author of Dandy in the Underworld

“I f**king loved it — the piss-soaked floors, the vomit-impastoed car interiors, the groans and grunts from every room. It’s like some weirdly loveable purgatory.” — Tom McCarthy, author of Remainder

“Tony O’Neill writes about the Hollywood I know as well as any writer alive. His characters are a punch in the face, scorchingly real. His dialogue is note-perfect.” — Dan Fante, author of 86'd

From the Publisher

Sick City is a disturbingly twisted ride through Hollywood’s underbelly with a degenerate cast of colorfully interwoven characters. I loved the whole f**ked up journey.

Slash

Tony O’Neill works his L.A. people the way Dutch Leonard had his hand down the pants of every degenerate in his great Detroit novels. Cover your ears, ladies; thanks to O’Neill, the cries of pain can be heard from one sick city to another. Just use your eyes.

Barry Gifford

Like a Robert Altman film scripted by Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs...Sick City is appealing in its unsentimentalism, disgusting in its details—and, almost unbelievably, funny.

Booklist

Like the bastard child of Dashiell Hammett and Evelyn Waugh....With Sick City, Tony O’Neil confirms his comic voice....If dark humor, punk sensibility, literary sophistication and pointed satire are among your addictions, you should find Sick City a rewarding read.

The Rumpus.net

A wildly fun read.

Willamette Week

You may feel disturbed by this very realistic account of addicts on a mission.

CurledUp.com

What Sick City does is takes the grit and grime of, say, Naked Lunch by William Burroughs and makes it coherent…within the context of a caper novel, as imagined by Elmore Leonard….Sick City makes Jim Thompson’s novels look like Little Golden Books.

Bookreporter.com

Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal. One of the best books written about LA in a long time. O’Neill could be our generation’s Jim Thompson.

James Frey

Like a Robert Altman film scripted by Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs...Sick City is appealing in its unsentimentalism, disgusting in its details—and, almost unbelievably, funny.

Booklist

Tony O’Neill writes about the Hollywood I know as well as any writer alive. His characters are a punch in the face, scorchingly real. His dialogue is note-perfect.

Dan Fante

Addictive Noir! Rarely do you find a novel that is both fast paced and well observed, action packed, yet high-grade poetic. Once you start it, just try putting it down.

Arthur Nersesian

I f**king loved it — the piss-soaked floors, the vomit-impastoed car interiors, the groans and grunts from every room. It’s like some weirdly loveable purgatory.

Tom McCarthy

Reading Tony O’Neill is like traveling downhill in a car with no lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child on meth. The signposts along the way are all marked ‘Nowhere.’

Sebastian Horsley

A wildly fun read.

Willamette Week

Like a Robert Altman film scripted by Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs...Sick City is appealing in its unsentimentalism, disgusting in its details--and, almost unbelievably, funny.

Booklist