A fresh twist to the autobiographical fiction genre
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I really enjoyed this book. I'm a big fan of Dan Fante and Bukowski, and though SaFranko's style and subject matter is similar, he emerges with enough of a distinctive voice to carry it off.
Much of the writing is deadpan in the sense that he does not elaborate on his own or Olivia's motives, leaving us as readers to fill the gaps for ourselves. The details of the relationship, based on lust rather than communication or empathy, are horrendously familiar when you've been in similar situations yourself. From a starting point of hot sex and mutual flattery, the couple over time fail to overcome the mundane challenges of living together, turning each problematic situation into a damaging assault upon each other. I don't think SaFranko portrays himself as a victim, his unrelenting honesty achieves quite the opposite effect of making us question his actions as much as hers, though his disdain for Olivia's craving for a bourgois existence is searing.
Ultimately, the couple use the very things which bound them together in the first place as weapons - sex becomes a power game and flattery turns to spite. The overall effect is compelling. Highly recommended.
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Take a bite out of this reality sandwich...
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Dan Fante, in his introduction to Hating Olivia is spot on. The only way to read Hating Olivia is in one sitting; if you get the book, get the writing, there's no other way to read it.
Writers like SaFranco give writers like me hope and courage. Hope that there are people out there fighting the good fight when it comes to literature, to writing words that mean something, writing words that count (at least in my book). And courage too. Courage to write my own words, to cut through the worlds BS and cut through my own BS until I'm left with something approximating my authentic self.
This is a great read and deserves a wide audience. Writers who like this should also check out John Fante, Dan Fante, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, and the writers being given a voice by literary mag The Savage Kick (www.murderslim.com).
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Dirty Realism's Big Brother
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This novel is great. No tricks, no show boating, nothing bogus. Mark SaFranko gives us his world view raw and unadulterated. Like all great writers SaFranko's prose looks easy but try writing like him and you know you can only do it if you've lived like him. All those little things that challenge us every day are presented here realistically and with humour. I've not read anything that excited me as much as this since Dan Fante's "Spitting Off Tall Buildings". Check out www.murderslim.com for more info on SaFranko and his sequel "Lounge Lizard" and also links to a great literary magazine, The Savage Kick.
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Book of the Decade
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This book is brilliant. Buy it, read it, be astounded, and then keep on the look out for the next installtion, Lounge Lizard, which I've been told will be available anytime soon.
Hating Olivia is up there with the greats, as good as anything by Dan Fante, Bukowski, John Fante, etc. Every sentence is a knock-out punch, every paragraph shimmering with honest emotion and raw beauty, each chapter a heart-breaking work of art.
You will read this book in one sitting, you will not be able to put it down, and afterwards it will linger long in the memory.
Joseph Ridgwell 2007. Brutalist. Offbeat. London.
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