Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leaving Las Vegas | 1990 | John O’Brien | Buy |
| 2 | The Assault on Tony’s | 1996 | John O’Brien | Buy |
| 3 | Stripper Lessons | 1997 | John O’Brien | Buy |
| 4 | Better | 2009 | John O’Brien | Buy |
This collection of John O’Brien’s standalone novels is anchored by Leaving Las Vegas (1990), his best-known work. The novel tells the story of a man who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death and the woman he meets there. It was adapted into a 1995 film that earned Nicolas Cage an Oscar. The Assault on Tony’s (1996) and Stripper Lessons (1997) followed with similarly dark subject matter.
Better (2009) rounds out the standalone titles. These four books share a literary sensibility and willingness to look at difficult lives without flinching. They stand apart from O’Brien’s later genre fiction in both tone and subject matter.