A Way of Life, Like Any Other

Reading A Way of Life Like Any Other was such an unexpected pleasure. Time after time I have believed good reviews from sources one used to respect and bought a book, only to find that the writing was mediocre at best. This time I was thrilled to discover really brilliant writing: living characters, marvelous humor and not one superfluous sentence. A writer as rare as O'Brien should be celebrated.

The writing here is so filled with generosity, compassion, and dark humor -- it's a most charming view of life. A coming-of-age novel about a boy who grows up in post-WW II Hollywood, shuffling between unforgettable, screwed-up parents. There's not a dead sentence here. It's short, but O'Brien captures it all. Completely re-readable. Keep it by your bedside to inspire and forgive your own life when you feel like it's trying to beat you down.

This is a MUST. Indeed it is Caulden Houlfield in Hollywood. If you like Catcher in the Rye, most likely you will love this book. It really is a great story with some great humor.

Darcy O'Brien combines the surreal humor of Flann O'Brien and the limpid prose of the young James Joyce and somehow writes a coming of age book which transcends both mentors in some ways. Lean, cool, dry, witty, but in the end, mysteriously poignant. Anthony Powell always argued that seen at close range all human beings, driven as they are at different speeds by the same furies, are equally extraordinary. O'Brien proves Powell's point, in prose reminscent of that master's early comic novels.

A wonderous book which evvelips the mind of a child reared by ext movie star parents. This novel is a witty (sublime) and sadly delicate tale. yadadadadaddadada. read it. add it to yr LA fiction list.