Sick City

by Tony O'Neill

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.

Genres: Fiction, Drugs, Crime, Adult Fiction

374 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2010

About the author

Before he wrote the novel DIGGING THE VEIN Tony O'Neill was a professional musician, playing with bands and artists as diverse as Kenickie, Marc Almond, P.J. Proby and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. His autobiographical debut novel, published in 2006, was a thinly veiled account of his years as a musician and heroin addict, and became a cult hit when it was published in the US and Canada in by Contemporary Press. Praised by the likes of beat legend John Giorno and "Bruno Dante"-author Dan Fante, DIGGING THE VEIN was seized upon by the British press as being a key work in what they dubbed "The Off-Beat Generation." This loose collection of writers and poets -whose collective youth, talent and disregard for the literary establishment was quickly earning them praise and scorn in equal measure - published frequently in cult lit journals like 3am magazine, and cited the DIY ethic of punk as well as cult literary figures like Alexander Trocchi and James Fogle as being their inspirations. The phrase "Here's a laptop, here's a spellcheck, now go write a book!" was jokingly adopted as their slogan. Like much of what the off-beats did, it seemed a move calculated to annoy the literary establishment.

The Guardian article about the Off-Beats "Surfing the New Literary Wave" caused a controversy in 2006 when it claimed O'Neill as a figurehead for the burgeoning scene. It also characterized O'Neill as someone who had "taken the phrase rock'n'roll poet to its furthest edge," while associating him with a style of writing dubbed "Brutalism." For his own part O'Neill claimed not to care about literary movements and had no desire to be associated with other writers. In an interview with 3am Magazine he said that he was drawn to writing "because it's a solitary activity." He went on to decry "those Brooklyn writers who hang out together all the time drinking soy lattes and arguing about what Miranda July's best book is."

"Surfing the New Literary Wave" was the first place that many readers heard about O'Neill and fellow authors like Tom McCarthy, Ben Myers, Adelle Stripe, Heidi James, Paul Ewen, Laura Hird, Lee Rourke and Noah Cicero. Most of those mentioned in the piece were just starting out in their careers, but would soon go on to write some of the most interesting non-mainstream books of the last 10 years.

SEIZURE WET DREAMS, a collection of short stories and poems was released by Social Disease in 2006. It was followed by a volume of poetry, SONGS FROM THE SHOOTING GALLERY [Burning Shore Press, 2007], a collection that avant-garde legend Dennis Cooper described as "precise and beautiful yet [...] imperiled by the damage in its own world." These three small-press books won O'Neill a rabid fan base, seduced by his gritty tales of junkies, hookers and perilous lives lived on the margins of society. When reviewing these early books, many critics drew comparisons between O'Neill's writing and the work of Dan Fante, Jerry Stahl, Charles Bukowski and Irvine Welsh.

He made the jump to mainstream publishing in 2008 when DOWN AND OUT ON MURDER MILE, his second novel, was released by Harper Perennial. Winning praise from the likes of Jerry Stahl, Sebastian Horsley and James Frey DOWN AND OUT was seen by critics as a big leap forward in terms of style and scope. O'Neill once claimed it was - along with SHOOTING GALLERY - the most personal of his books.

His career in Europe took off around this time with the release of the French-language collection NOTRE DAME DU VIDE (13e Note Press). Since then O'Neill has retained a strong following in France and Germany, where each of his books have been translated to great acclaim. However it was with the release of SICK CITY in 2010 [Harper Perennial] that Tony O'Neill finally seemed in danger of earning mainstream acceptance in the US. This pitch-dark thriller managed to juggle it's page turner ambitions with a satirical heart that took aim squarely at the recovery industry and Hollywood's worship

Reviews

[Ryan Leone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently picked up a copy of Sick City at Book Soup in Hollywood. I’m so glad that I found a writer that I can binge read again. This guy is amazingly gifted. Sick City is a neo-noir masterpiece that is appropriately set in Los Angeles. It has everything you could ever want in a book like this: tweakers, strippers, gangsters, trannies, rehabs…. All told kind of episodically in parallel plots that intersect. It is also a sick indictment on celebrity and rehab culture.

It really taught me some lessons on developing multi-dimensional characters. Jeffery and Randall, the two protagonists, are two dope fiends from very different backgrounds. The commonality between them is their despondency and chronic relapses. They are both the kind of guys that drift from program to program with no real commitment for change. I played this role for many years so I instantly empathized with them. The antagonist is a scary guy named Pat, who is described as having hollow and primal eyes, a totally apathetic speed freak. Tony O’Neill really has a knack for creating extremely believable characters.

The plot was great. It was a page turner, kind of thing that would grab me for multiple hours. I read once in a screenplay writing book (think it was Story by Robert McKee), that a story is like a sports game. The score has to be constantly changing, shifting the advantage back and forth from the antagonist and protagonist. This is the best way I can describe the plot of this book without giving too much away.

The thing that I really love about Tony O’Neill’s writing is that he captures the shadows of Los Angeles better than any other writer. I mean, that’s really saying a lot. I spent a good amount of time driving downtown dope sick, stumbling around 5th and Broadway to buy balloons off street people. He has obviously been there himself and the way he paints this world is with an expert’s touch. I hope I can be writing on that level someday. Notre Dame du Vide and Digging the Vein are gems as well. I look forward to reading all of his work.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book filled with the tender touching moments of the first blush of young love, this may not be what you have in mind. This book is a story about junkies, meth-heads, detox, rehabs, perverted debaucheries, secret sex tapes, strippers, prostitutes, transvestites, gangbangers, movie producers, television therapists, and, of course, the connection to Sharon Tate. But what sets this book apart from O' Neill's earlier tale of junkie desperation Down and Out on Murder Mile is that here O'Neill has channeled his inner Charles Willeford and conveys the gallows humor of a situation in a quick line or two. Despite the subject matter, there's enough distance from it to taste the bitter dark irony in the different scenes. This book is beautifully crafted, well-paced, and hard to put down. And, it's typical noir, because by the time the final curtain falls, no one here gets out alive or whole.

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I give this book 10 stars?
I went into this book ALMOST blind.
It popped up in some Amazon rec, something like 'based on your reading' or maybe 'other readers who enjoyed X also enjoyed'.... I can't remember it exactly because I downloaded this book a while ago. Anyway, I only skimmed the plot, saw 'Sharon Tate sex tape' and a quote about the book being 'brutal'. I read 95 percent horror and thriller, and didn't even bother checking the genre.
That's the long way of saying that going into the story, I wasn't 100sure what genre it even was. It can be a fun way to read. Will it be extreme horror? Will it be a psychological thriller? I turned pages, my own imagination dreaming up what could possibly (or not possibly) happen next due to not knowing the genre. Would I turn the next page and it be a total bloodbath? Would I turn the page and it have some sort of mind-bending twist?
It is not horror, nevertheless extreme horror (but 1 particular scene was pretty brutal). and it wasn't a twisty thriller, more like a who will do what mystery.....
After finishing the story, I see Amazon categorizes it as city life fiction, science fiction crime and mystery, dark humor, and women's adventure fiction... If I had checked those first, I probably would not had read it.
I sure am glad I did tho.
This was one of the funnest stories I've read in a while, and maybe that's because my reading patterns have been the same for so long that it was nice to step out of my familiar genres?
It was written beautifully... one of those stories that adds songs and short lyrics to set the mood (OMG all the Phil Collins stuff was so out of place, but I guess that's where the dark humor comes in?)
The story is set in Los Angeles, and focuses on addiction and how Hollywood is corrupt and some characters basically blame where they live for how/ why they have the lifestyles they have.
It starts with the death of a main character's lover, and the grieving lover taking the Sharon Tate sex tape from a safe, finally seeing a way out of his addiction and a better life...
this story is bleak, and the characters are all quirky and vivid and amusing.
and I'm a loser that even read the afterward from the author which was a delight and lightened up my mood a bit

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it becomes old hat and it feels normal to read fiction in which all of the main characters are junkies or addicts of some sort I am guessing it's time to reevaluate my reading material. But I really like Tony O'Neill's writing style. This was much better written than Down and Out on Murder Mile. It's tough material to stomach in a lot of parts. Addicts, violent murders, drug wars, porn (lots of porn), sex, weird sex, gay sex. So if you don't like that kind of heat, stay out of Tony O'Neill's kitchen. I thought it was a great book. Very reminiscent of Irvine Welsh. This would make an utterly fantastic film. It felt like a movie while reading it. I just kept thinking what someone like Tarantino could do with this material and a great script and cast of characters. Guy Ritchie as well if hadn't become such a puss after marrying Madonna. This would be the movie for him to make to bring him back to what he does best, gritty, dirty, sick/funny. The characters are well developed and almost like able even in the state they are in for most of the time you know them in the book. This one will stick with me for a while and definitely stand out as being one of the best I've read this summer.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page-turner galore! There is nothing better then to sit down in the backyard and read about people who are worst off then the reader. Tony O'Neill has a great understanding of the narcotic world, and he uses that knowledge to write a thriller of sorts - or a plot driven by characters we care about. It's classic noir country and he uses Los Angeles as a character in the narrative.

As the novel goes on things get worse, strange connections between individuals are made and lost, and one gets a nice snapshot on the drug-induced citizens of Hollywood. A beautiful friendship/relationship from the main two characters starts up and gets better. It is a love story of sorts but without the erotic urges. Also throw in old Hollywood lore, and it is a great cocktail of a book.

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already knew that Tony O'Neill had an amazing talent at capturing the essence of junkies and urban rejects from his autobiographical novel Down and Out on Murder Mile but DAMN!. His first totally fictional novel Sick City is a whirlpool of drugs, sex, and badly planned schemes that sucks its protagonists deeper and deeper. It is hard to think of any writer who can write with so much feeling and empathy for the dregs of the city and his depictions of the darker neighborhoods of Hollywood and LA are dead on. None of his characters are likable but that is the point. They are pulled into a cruel hell of their own making. Yet O'Neill makes us feel for these people and even root for them while we know the we might as well hope for the moon to deliver us green cheese. O'Neill writes with the charm of Dylan Thomas and the poetic brutishness of a Charles Bukowski. The plot involves two hopeless drug addicts who get hold of a sex orgy tape featuring Sharon Tate made weeks before her murder. It's a killer plot but it is the author's prodigious writing skills and his grasp at human nature that drives this novel. One more thing. If you choose to read this novel, don't miss the acknowledgment pages. They are hilarious, especially the part where his wife discloses that the only thing O'Neill was writing when they met was phony prescriptions.

[Kitty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless masturbatory drivel. Tiresome male nostalgia. I wouldn't say it's romanticization of drug use, but certainly glorification. Tourism slumming, gleeful misogyny and homophobia. Thanks for the quaint little nod in your insufferable acknowledgements to all of the people (I mostly mean the women) living in hell that you knew whose lives you ripped off for this book for middle class guys to jack off to. It wasn't readable but I sure did read it. I'm super glad to be sober and I feel sorry for the author's wife.

[Adam Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was picking at the scabs with Hollywood addicts. The shallowness was profound. I burned through two more O'Neill novels after this one. I woke up a week later wonder where I had been.

[La Stamberga dei Lettori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le vite di Randall e Jeffrey non potrebbero essere più diverse, per età, estrazione sociale e condizioni di vita: il primo è il rampollo di una nota famiglia del cinema e istituzione di Hollywood, l’altro è un giovane irlandese scappato da casa che tra marchette e spirali di droga è finito anch’egli a Los Angeles senza trovare un suo destino preciso. Il minimo comune denominatore di entrambi, e del resto dei personaggi che in questa storia si presentano, agiscono e svaniscono sulla base delle necessità, è la dipendenza da stupefacenti. I due solidarizzano nel centro di recupero del famoso Dottor Mike, e decidono di portare avanti un progetto comune che consenta a entrambi di poter cambiare vita, perlomeno nelle loro illusioni iniziali, dando vita a una serie di rocambolesche situazioni in cui, in un modo o nell’altro, entrambi si districano sino alla fine.

Un aspetto che colpisce di questo testo permane certamente l’atmosfera di assoluta decadenza di Los Angeles, fatta di anfratti puzzolenti e vicoli, di comunità di disintossicazione e appartamenti incasinati che sono ben lontani dall’immagine edulcorata che traspare mediaticamente della città. Parliamo di personaggi che vivono una vita ai margini, che lottano per prevalere e, molto spesso, ciò significa semplicemente sopravvivere.
Le immagini rese, per quanto possano colpire e a volte turbare, risultano comunque abbastanza vivide e soprattutto coerenti con le situazioni che vengono esposte. I vissuti sono verosimili e anche le reazioni che di volta in volta si sviluppano all’interno della storia.
Una caratteristica pregnante, se affrontiamo il dipanarsi della trama, è la circolarità delle vicende di ciascuno dei protagonisti e degli altri personaggi (o perlomeno di chi all’interno della storia sopravvive): tutti partono da un punto predefinito, vivono una serie di situazioni che in qualche modo portano dei cambiamenti ma di fatto, a conclusione, i protagonisti si ritrovano esattamente al punto di partenza, con sole le speranze, sempre le stesse, che permangono intatte.
Un aspetto curioso che non guarda in faccia nessuno: né chi ha la possibilità economica né chi alla vita precaria ci è abituato.

Continua su:
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[Bookpassion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein kranker und abgefahrener Trip durch den hässlichen Teil L.A.'s. Randal und Jeffrey muss man lieben, auch wenn es verdammte Idioten sind. Extra Punkte verteile ich noch für das geniale Ende.
Kein Buch für jeden, aber auf jeden Fall für MICH.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Who is this guy, Tony O'Neil? He seems like a brother from another side of town. As a native of Los Angeles myself, I can tell you this British ex-junkie who used to play with such bands as the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Gary Numan, not only knows Los Angeles - its smell, the feel of the streets, the bullshit on the surface and the grimy horror underneath - he knows its language. This ain't NY. We don't have a historical idiom in this town. This place is based on fame, fear, drugs, love, death and how quickly you can renew yourself. Family is dead in this town. You fuck or fight in Hollywood, and O'Neill knows that implicitly. He knows how the modern Los Angeleno thinks. Period.

It's important to note that Sick City is not his confessional novel dealing with his days as a junkie in LA and London (that would be his equally incredible, "Down and Out on Murder Mile"). No, Sick City is his homage to the noir genre. But it's unlike any noir novel I've ever read. He's Elmore Leonard on heroin and crack. He makes Rum Punch look like a comedy. But this book is also laugh out loud funny. Where else will you read about a murdering meth head who sings Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" before torturing his next victim? This is some sick, twisted, funny shit. I couldn't put it down. O'Neill's talent lies in his ability to make you laugh while grossing you the hell out. The characters are well drawn and three dimensional. You care about them even though they're on the skids. They're real, but you'd never want to meet them. O'Neill is Bret Easton Ellis, if Ellis decided to infuse his characters with personalities.

I can't wait to read every book this guy writes. Most simply, O'Neill is the brainchild of Jerry Stahl, Hubert Selby Jr., Bukowski, William Burroughs and the fucking Sex Pistols. Man, I loved this book.

[Cathelijne Beijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read if you are into stories about low life drug users living it up in sleazy motels and explicit scenes of hardcore sex and violence. This page turner - that is mostly drenched in blood, piss, sweat, coke and meth fumes - will make you laugh out loud and cringe from discomfort and disgust. O'Neill's books read like a movie scrips, not missing out on any dirty detail that sucks you straight into the story. A must read for Bret Easton Ellis fans, but without the straight faced glamour.

[Beth York · Rating 3 out of 5]

you begin with an easy introduction into this journey. the chapters jump around from character to character. allowing you to distinctly connect and analyze each one personally. disturbing and interesting. it's a new book that touches on real people and current events. the names are changed, but you can figure out who tony o'neill is really writing about here. a good example of the ugly truths and depths drug addicts must steep to. the book doesn't make me want to live in l.a. it does make me want to tune into a&e's intervention. i enjoy connecting with these scoundrels. sick city serves up that possibility.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Neill's 2nd novel is better than his first and quite a bit funnier too. The plot circles around drugs again but this time there's also a rare porn film involved (involving Sharon Tate and other stars). The whole subplot with Dr. Mike (a thinly veiled Dr. Drew character) and his affair with a junkie transsexual is especially delicious. O'Neill read at Powell's recently and it was one of the best readings I've been to in a long time.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't even finish this book. Continuously unlikable characters made it hard for me to want to finish or stay invested. And don't get me started on the lengthy descriptions of drug use and violence that literally started making me have bad dreams.

[Jason Pastor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into this book. It was mostly about the misadventures two junkies, and the supposed main plot device of a Sharon Tate sex tape is barely touched upon. The parts of the book that were meant to be shocking just came across as boring.

[Kirsten L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did hate it.
The book just idolized the junkie lifestyle.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yuck. Don't waste your time.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came out in 2010 and I've had a proof of it that I randomly bought at HPB round about then - FINALLY got around to reading it

It is a lot about Hollywood and drugs and money and all the other dark things that come with it. I'm probably not supposed to say this but in this context, it was actually refreshing to read a story that was incredibly not PC. Everyone was pretty terrible and made terrible decisions and had terrible morals, but man was it super readable. Something about this guy's writing - by about halfway through the book I recognized that even if I wasn't in quite the right mood to be reading, if I picked this back up and got even a couple of sentences back in, I'd easily fall back into it for another 40-50 pages. That is almost never the case for me, so he was doing something right.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this novel three stars but, frankly, by the end I felt "dirty" having read it. Beyond its graphic depiction of junkies at rock bottom and what they do to themselves, there are some unpleasant scenes, particularly later in the novel, which was "beyond the pale". I've never considered myself, nor been considered by others, as a prude, but by the time I finished this I felt I had read some nasty pornography which I immediately regretted.

[Sarah Corwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally effed up book but in the most entertaining way. So many interesting characters (none are likeable) but they are entertaining and not really supposed to be! Pretty much a book about the scum of the earth and I was hooked!

[Sparta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it loved it loved it. It was messed up it was fast paced and it was unapologetic. I am gonna miss Randal and Jeffery

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fly to Hollywood. Find the worst rundown hotel. Put on the raunchiest most vile porno for ambience. Fix a spike for your arm open up this book and enjoy the coaxing voice of Tony O'Neil.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I like reading about junkies in Los Angeles so much.

[ramblingamblin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fucking loved it.
It felt like the first time i heard TV EYE by The Stooges.

[Jörg Schumacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fast paced, funny drug users story, i highly enjoyed.

[Erik Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. Revolting. Dirty. Absolutely insane. I loved ever second of this trip into Hell.

[André Dadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trainspotting maal de boeken van Elmore Leonard, en dit alles in het kwadraat. FANTASTISCH!

[Sean Tighe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun, but it’s parts were greater than its whole.