"You will be astounded by the hugeness of his heart, and by the breadth and depth of his vision. O'Neill is a writer of limitless imagination." ―Hector Tobar, author of The Barbarian Nurseries Ranging from Australia and Africa to Europe and Asia and back again, The Weight of a Human Heart heralds a fresh and important new voice in fiction. Ryan O'Neill takes us on a journey that is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, and wholly original. 
A young Tutsi girl flees her village on the brink of the Rwandan genocide. A literary duel―and an affair―play out in the book review section of a national newspaper. A young girl learns her mother's disturbing secrets through the broken key on a typewriter. 
With imagination, wit, and a keen eye, Ryan O'Neill draws the essence of the human experience with a cast of characters who stick with you long after you turn the last page of this brilliant short story collection.

The Weight of a Human Heart: Stories

Literature & Fiction

O'Neill, Ryan

United States

St.Martin's Press

"If someone asked me to name my ideal collection of contemporary short fiction, I'd point to The Weight of a Human Heart and say, ‘This is it.'" –Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind than Home
Ranging from Australia and Africa to Europe and Asia and back again, The Weight of a Human Heart heralds a fresh and important new voice in fiction. Ryan O'Neill takes us on a journey that is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, and wholly original. A young Tutsi girl flees her village on the brink of the Rwandan genocide. A literary duel―and an affair―play out in the book review section of a national newspaper. A young girl learns her mother's disturbing secrets through the broken key on a typewriter. 
With imagination, wit, and a keen eye, Ryan O'Neill draws the essence of the human experience with a cast of characters who stick with you long after you turn the last page of this brilliant short story collection.

St. Martin's: Griffin

Absurd, original and highly addictive ... In Their Brilliant Careers, Ryan O'Neill has written a hilarious novel in the guise of sixteen biographies of (invented) Australian writers. Meet Rachel Deverall, who discovered the secret source of the great literature of our time - and paid a terrible price for her discovery. Meet Rand Washington, hugely popular sci-fi author (of Whiteman of Cor) and inveterate racist. Meet Addison Tiller, master of the bush yarn, "The Chekhov of Coolabah", who never travelled outside Sydney. Their Brilliant Careers is a playful set of stories, linked in many ways, which together form a memorable whole. A wonderful comic tapestry of the writing life, this unpredictable and intriguing work takes Australian writing in a whole new direction ...

Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers

Humor & Satire

ReadHowYouWant

What lies in the world beyond? Is the reality we experience all that there is? Or is there another realm beyond the one that we know? These are the questions that paranormal researcher and investigator Ryan O'Neill tries to answer, using evidence from his own extensive personal experience and research. Starting with how he was drawn into the paranormal, and exploring concepts such as different levels of consciousness, outer body experience and near death experiences, as well as a guide to paranormal terminology, and a selection of hauntings he has personally investigated. Ryan O'Neill leaves us with more questions than answers about what lies beyond.Ryan O'Neill is Fife based investigator with Scottish Paranormal

The Unseen World: Afterlife Research (Scottish Paranormal)

Religion & Spirituality

New Age & Spirituality

Independently published

Their Brilliant Careers

Contemporary

Eye Books

Drover's Wives

Literary

Lightning Books

Sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, this collection turns the rules of storytelling on their head. A series of graphs illustrates the disintegration of a marriage, step by excruciating step. A literary stoush - and an affair - play out in the book review section of a national newspaper. The heartbreaking story of a Rwandan boy is hidden within his English exam paper. A young girl learns her mother's disturbing secrets through the broken key on a typewriter. Ranging from Australia to Africa to China and back again, The Weight of a Human Heart heralds a fresh new voice in Australian literature. Praise: "Stories full of wit, irony, wild invention, love and pain - and sometimes shocking power." - Paddy O'Reilly "By turns acerbic, playful and serious, O'Neill is equally at home with satire and pathos." - Cate Kennedy "With each new story O'Neill redefines the boundaries of what is possible" - Patrick Cullen

The Weight of a Human Heart

Short Stories & Anthologies

Black Inc.

Absurd, original and highly addictive . . .    In Their Brilliant Careers, Ryan O'Neill has written a hilarious novel in the guise of sixteen biographies of (invented) Australian writers. Meet Rachel Deverall, who discovered the secret source of the great literature of our time - and paid a terrible price for her discovery. Meet Rand Washington, hugely popular sci-fi author (of Whiteman of Cor) and inveterate racist. Meet Addison Tiller, master of the bush yarn, "The Chekhov of Coolabah", who never travelled outside Sydney.    Their Brilliant Careers is a playful set of stories, linked in many ways, which together form a memorable whole. A wonderful comic tapestry of the writing life, this unpredictable and intriguing work takes Australian writing in a whole new direction . . .    'A more colourful and cutting account of the writing game in Australia, containing many a truth about its literary culture, is unlikely to be produced any time soon.' -Books+Publishing    Ryan O'Neill is the author of The Weight of a Human Heart. His fiction has appeared in The Best Australian Stories, The Sleepers Almanac, Meanjin, New Australian Stories, Wet Ink, Etchings and Westerly.

Dark Tidings: The Darkborn Saga Book 1

Genre Fiction

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Books by O'Neill, Ryan