A Victim of My Own Design: And Other Fictions

Ahaunting yet darkly humorous exploration of a world teetering on the edge of collapse. With stories that pulse with both the familiar and the uncanny, O'Neil's characters struggle to survive in a reality rife with violence, climate catastrophe, and the crushing weight of modern life. From the threat of police brutality to the absurdity of predatory healthcare, his sharp observations of societal decay leave a lasting impact. Yet, in the midst of the turmoil, his signature wit emerges-offering moments of levity that deepen the poignancy of the human condition. Blending short stories, poetry, and micro-fiction, O'Neil's stream-of-consciousness style and inventive sentence structures draw the reader into a mesmerizing rhythm, making this collection as thought-provoking as it is unforgettable. Fans of his previous workA Creature Wanting Formwill find a continuation of his unique voice, while new readers will be captivated by his unflinching portrayal of survival in a world gone awry.

About the Author :
Luke O'Neilhas written forEsquire, New York Magazine, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Playboy, Slate, Vice, and many other publications. He is the author ofWelcome to Hell World: Dispatches from the American Dystopia.

Review :
“This makes me want to shout 'amen,' call my mom, and punch a goddamn wall . . . if you’ve been looking for the great art that bad times are supposed to bring about, look no further.” —Dave Holmes, Esquire “Enthralling, like finding scraps of poetry in the dust after an apocalypse.” —Mattie Lubchansky, author of Boy’s Weekend and Simplicity “His stories make me feel less insane.” —David Roth “Luke O’Neil is the poet of our shared doom.” —Maria Bustillos “A deeply felt, beautifully crafted collection of stories and essays that capture the times. Not without jolts of much needed humor. Good stuff for bad times.” —Alex Winter, actor and filmmaker “O’Neil's writing is like getting your ribs kicked in by a boot that you can't help but notice is beautiful—its stitching, leatherwork, shining eyelets, lace hooks—all its craftsmanship catching your attention, even as it crunches your bones.” —Isaac Fitzgerald, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts “What Luke O'Neil knows the answer to is a question both the straight world and the recovery community confronts every day—is anybody actually different from anybody else? And if so, what is addiction? The addict knows that being alive is the disease, a truth that science struggles to accept. We Had It Coming is not about suicide or addiction but the vivid, unmissable struggle of waking up, the only pain we are given, the first and last real gift.” —Sasha Frere-Jones “Reading these stories is like grabbing a beer with your friend who's smarter than you, and funnier than you, and knows way more than you do about how screwed up people are—and yet somehow, on the other side, he's made you feel better about the state of humanity, not worse.” —Rax King “It is easy enough for a bad writer to use a thesaurus; it takes quite a good one to write whole symphonies in plain English…” —Linda Tirado “Luke O’Neil has a degree in Massachusetts Studies and the human spirit. His stories imagine ‘a bill that will soon come due,’ in grief, in the wars we’ve waged on other countries and nature itself. His characters can’t quit smoking or the hope that the bill might still be settled. O’Neil’s stories will make you want to show emotion, even if your family didn’t really do that shit.” —Daisy Alioto "The stories are hilarious, insightful, devastating—there’s something for every reader who is stuck in the spin cycle of modern life." —LitHub