Diary of an Oxygen Thief

Diary of an Oxygen Thief is a 2006 Dutch novel, written by Anonymous and published in Amsterdam by NLVI. Diary of an Oxygen Thief was called a "surprise dark-horse Williamsburg best seller" by New York Magazine, referring to the independent art, literature, and music scene in Brooklyn, New York.

Summary
Purporting to be an autobiography, Diary of an Oxygen Thief begins with the narrator, an Irish advertising executive living in London, describing the pleasure he used to receive from emotionally abusing women. After the narrator starts attending AA meetings, he sobers up and looks back on his past relationships with a measure of remorse. After taking a job in the United States, the narrator is confronted externally by the absurdity of corporate America, culture shock, and the conflict of moving from the lower to upper-middle class. Internally he grapples with paranoia, addiction, and a legacy of pain. Later, he meets a young, aspiring photographer in New York and falls in love with her. The "Oxygen Thief" in the title refers to narrator's low self-esteem. Because of his sense of self-loathing he seems to go through life unworthy of the very air he breathes.

Reception
Diary of an Oxygen Thief quickly became popular from its initial publication in 2006 to 2016 where it was listed on both Amazon and iTunes 20 top selling books.