One does not have to alter or put aside their moral values, views and such, but this book may become a better read if one is able to read it objectively. Thus, I think that it’s important to read Diary of an Oxygen Thief with an open mind. This might sicken you and you would wish for justice to be brought upon that person or for s/he to learn his/her lesson, but it’s important to note that there will always be someone like this out there. A cheater may continue to cheat because even though s/he has had a taste of his/her own medicine, it does not mean that they’ll be completely put off of it. A person may not change simply because something ‘karmic’ has happened to them. We’re reading a person’s life, not a fairy tale. Some of us are merely curious and as long as harm is not caused to others or to oneself, I think that curiosity is fine.Īlso, because this is a fictional memoir of sorts, I don’t believe that it must have some kind of didactic or redeeming quality.

There are people who are fascinated with criminals, addicts addicted to strange things, and such, but this doesn’t mean that they’ll want to emulate them or live their lives. Of course, I’m not saying that the narrator endeared me but he, as a sycophant who gets off emotional abuse, is interesting to read about. (My friend, on the other hand, says that the writing reminds her of bad fanfiction.)

It can be annoying, but well, not everybody in real life is a winner, no? So really, the repetition, ranting/rambling, and the occasional diversions and breaking of the fourth wall made this book realistic for me as it’s as though I’m being directly spoken to by the narrator himself. If you think of the narrator as a real person-a friend even, the repetitive, ranting/rambling and occasionally diverting and fourth-wall-breaking text makes sense, or it did for me since my friends, my family, some strangers I’ve conversed with, and I talk in such a manner. It is written like a memoir, which means that it’s written in an informal, casual, every-day-kind-of-talk way.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief is not a book I would call, associate as or compare to literature, but it is a book with merits of its own.

Diary of an oxygen thief goodreads