Hating Olivia: A Love Story

“A book of quiet horrors and beautifully expressed longing. . . . SaFranko’s prose is precise, flawless, and the work of a man who truly loves and understands great writing.” —Tony O'Neill, author of Sick City and Down and Out on Murder Mile

“SaFranko writes from the heart, and the balls, crafting a furious and passionate piece of work that is entirely his own, with some scenes that would make even Bukowski blush.” —Susan Tomaselli, editor of Dogmatika.com

Hating Olivia is acclaimed underground author Mark SaFranko’s darkly twisted story of two people’s descent into sex, obsession, and mutual destruction. A gritty confessional tale, Hating Olivia is sure to appeal to fans of Charles Bukowski, John Fante, and Huburt Selby, Jr.

Max Zajack's life is cheap rooms, dead-end jobs, and suicidal fantasies until he meets the alluring and mysterious Olivia Aphrodite, and everything goes to hell.

Max is a struggling musician and wannabe writer. His life is in a rut until one night, while playing a gig at a local club, he gazes out into the crowd and sees Olivia. Before long, they are sharing a bed and host of dark vices that begin to consume them. Their love turns toxic, sending them spiraling downward toward the inevitable. Violently romantic, viscerally honest, Hating Olivia is the story of two loners whose obsessive love brings them to the edge of destruction.

“Hating Olivia is the kind of book - the kind of memoir - that must have been lived first. Survived. So strap yourself in. It’s time for a real treat.” - Dan Fante, author of Chump Change and 86'd

“It is a book of quiet horrors and beautifully expressed longing. Whether describing the attempted extraction of a still wriggling cockroach from the ear cavity of a screaming fellow lodger, or the endless, burning rage of an abused and abusive lover, SaFranko’s prose is precise, flawless and the work of a man who truly loves and understands great writing. To be a fan of Mark SaFranko is to belong to an exclusive club: to appreciate the work of a man who is a truly great American writer, yet who has not been commodified, exploited and repackaged for the masses. Yet, that is.” “[Hating Olivia] stands proudly alongside the giants: a book so packed with blood, poetry, heart and pain that I could barely believe, after I put it down, that the author wasn’t a household name already.” --- Tony O’Neill - Tony O'Neill, author of Down and Out on Murder Mile and Sick City

“... a book of quiet horrors and beautifully expressed longing... SaFranko’s prose is precise, flawless and the work of a man who truly loves and understands great writing.” - Tony O'Neill, author of Down and Out on Murder Mile and Sick City

“SaFranko’s prose, though blunt and unadorned, is superbly crafted and moves with cinematic velocity toward its bleak (but often comic) conclusions. “Hating Olivia charts Zajack’s obsessive relationship with a woman – as unstable and toxic as him – named Olivia Aphrodite. Weeks after meeting Olivia the passion disintegrates into madness and betrayal. And sexual obsession, or sexual madness, works as the obvious narrative engine for this story, one that hooks you from the beginning and doesn’t let up for a moment.” - --- Salvatore Difalco (Toro Magazine)

“SaFranko writes from the heart, and the balls, crafting a furious and passionate piece of work that is entirely his own, with some scenes that would make even Bukowski blush.” - --- Susan Tomaselli (www.dogmatika.com)

“...radiates with an identifiable heartbreaking nostalgia that renders its affect timeless....Hating Olivia is a swift kick in the balls to modern fiction. - BookFetish.org

“...difficult to put down...an intense snapshot of love.” - http://subtlemelodrama.blogspot.com

“Hating Olivia is a novel about youth, passion and irresponsibility….If your literary taste runs to writers like Henry Miller and Charles Bukowski, Celine and Anais Nin, Hating Olivia is a novel you’ll like.” - BlogCritics.org

“Throughout Hating Olivia, SaFranko shows his versatility and skill as a writer by making something supremely difficult look easy as hell.” - --- Mike Ferraro (www.laurahird.com)

Hating Olivia is a remarkable tale of obsession and lust, a stunning portrait of a dangerously alienated hero masterfully told. You will not be able to put it down.” - Mary Dearborn, author of Mailer: A Biography

“”SaFranko’s prose is enthusiastically profane…as a narrator Max is engaging, funny and full of straight-talk….SaFranko has a talent for two-fisted, Bukowski-esque prose…” - Kirkus Reviews

“Safranko manages to create a story whose characters, pace, and structure make all previous assumptions null and void.... [He] attaches a powerful message to an often painfully familiar story, about the individual versus the collective, the struggle to maintain the dream, and the importance of getting back up no matter how many times you fall.” - Booklist

“Safranko attaches a powerful message to an often painfully familiar story, about the individual versus the collective, the struggle to maintain the dream, and the importance of getting back up no matter how many times you fall.” - Booklist