John O’Brien Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

John O’Brien was an American published author. He passed away in 1994. He is perhaps best known for his novel Leaving Las Vegas, which was adapted into a movie by the same name.

John was born on May 21, 1960, in Oxford, Ohio. His parents Bill and Judy both attended Miami University as students. He had a sibling, Erin O’Brien, also a writer. John ended up growing up in Brecksville and Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated in 1978 from Lakewood High School.

O’Brien landed a gig writing on the animated series Rugrats through a contact of his ex-wife. He worked on Episode 37 titled “Toys in the Attic”, which came out under his pen name Carroll Mine in 1992. He was apparently displeased with editorial changes that had been made to his script, according to Erin O’Brien.

His novel Leaving Las Vegas came out in 1990. It was published by Watermark Press in 1990. In 1995, a film came out by the same name. He would get married in 1979 to Lisa Kirkwood, and three years later they relocated to Los Angeles together. A decade later they were divorced, and he dedicated Leaving Las Vegas to her.

O’Brien passed away from suicide at his apartment in Beverly Hills on April 10, 1994. The event happened mere weeks after finding out his book would be adapted. He would have two of his books published after his death, Stripper Lessons and The Assault on Tony’s, both of which were completed by Erin. The manuscript ‘Better’ was released in 2009 from Akashic Press.

The film came out in 1995 and starred Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue. The movie did quite well and was nominated for a grand total of four Academy Awards. Nicolas Cage would win for Best Actor. It was directed by Mike Figgis and follows along as an alcoholic in Vegas gets into a relationship with a prostitute, portrayed by Shue.

It was filmed in super 16 mm film instead of 35 mm. 35 mm is commonly used for mainstream film, whereas at the time 16 mm was more common for art house films. After it was released in the US on a limited basis in October of 1995, it was released nationally in February of 1996. Critics and audiences alike praised the film, and critical validation came through in the form of the multiple Academy Award nominations.

The plot of the film is directly inspired by the book. It follows along with Ben Sanderson, a screenwriter with a drinking dependency problem. He’s lost his job, and now his family and his friends. He doesn’t have anything left that he wants to live for, but he does have some money in the form of a severance check. He decides that it’s time to go to Vegas, where he can drink himself to his death. But one morning, he drives from his home to the Strip and nearly hits a woman, Sera.

She’s a prostitute who works for a pimp who has mobsters after him, who has ended his ties with her to protect her. Ben looks for Sera on his second day there and she comes to his room and they talk and develop more of a relationship. She invites him to come into her apartment, and he just says that she must never ask that he stop drinking.

They’re happy at first but soon develop problems with how the other behaves. She wants him to go see a doctor, and he sleeps with another prostitute. Sera goes through a difficult experience, and then Ben gets in touch with her and she finds out that he is dying. She visits him and then not long after he passes. The actors were encouraged to do their own research for the film, which Cage participated in by going binge drinking for two weeks in Dublin and visiting alcoholics who were in the hospital, while Shue interviewed several real-life Las Vegas sex workers.

Permits were also not given for some street scenes, which led them to film some scenes on the strip in just one take to avoid getting into trouble with the police. The director said this benefited protection and the acting authenticity that this situation provided. The filming of the movie happened in autumn 1994 over the course of twenty-eight days. The film did well at the box office, grossing a total of $49.8 million.

The film is also rated fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic also has the film at a positive score, and Roger Ebert and Rick Groen enjoyed the film, giving it high marks.

Leaving Las Vegas is a semi-autobiographical novel authored by John O’Brien. If you saw the movie but have yet to read the book, give this story a try and take in the story of a beautiful love shared between two lost souls, a modern American classic that cannot be recommended highly enough.

This is the story of a young woman who is able to embrace love, as well as a man who has completely rejected it. Sera works as a prostitute, enjoying the routine that she has and the independence that she has built.

Sera also has to deal with a man from the past who wants to control her life once more. Ben is an alcoholic who has no intentions of turning away from his vice. He’s going to drink his way to death in Vegas and nothing will deter him from it.

He has just gotten there from LA and made it across the desert drunk with all of his savings with him. The two find each other on the strip and unexpectedly find a safe haven between the two of them from their lives.

Sweet and a story that is actually based on the life of the author, this is one of those books that makes up the landscape of classic American literature that you must read if you have not yet read it. Grab a copy of Leaving Las Vegas from John O’Brien to experience this incredibly told story firsthand.