That Donald O'Donovan isn't a more widely read writer is either a crime or a huge compliment. There are passages in Orgasmo that reap greater rewards than other books in their entirety. The novel's characters are thrown around by fate and their own flaws and talents in a world of art, sex, heartbreak, comedy, wealth, poverty, drugs, drink, and loneliness. Amidst all of this the last person O'Donovan is interested in sparing is himself, and, as Al Capp said, all great humour is humour at one's own expense. If there is any drawback to the book at all it is that its characters go too far as characters, but spending time with them is such a pleasure that one doesn't really mind. Like with Celine, Kerouac, and Bukowski the reader gets the sense that Donald O'Donovan watches over the whole whirling carnival ride of Orgasmo, with all its absurdity, tragedy, and grace, with a half smile that tells us that the whole thing is Maya, the Hindu world of illusion, and that ultimately he's in it for the ride.
Chuck Crabbe
Author, As a Thief in the Night