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Summary: Death and the Mare-den
Review: Charles Bukowski, The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship (Black Sparrow, 1998)
A year in the life of Charles Bukowski, 1991-92, as he neared death. He knew he was nearing death; he writes about it as often as he wrote about the deaths of other things in his poetry. Of course, his is not the only death to mention in these pages; car accidents, a falling neighbor, etc.
Other than death, Buk's diary talks a lot about horseplaying. Great for me. Perhaps not so great for others.
Bukowski was always a better poet than he was a prose stylist, but The Captain Is Out to Lunch... is likely the most readable piece of Buk's prose I have ever come across. Probably because there was nothing to writing it; instead of coming up with characters, plot, theme, etc., they're sitting there at the track or in the neighborhood waiting for you.
Worthwhile. One of the better posthumously published works. *** ?
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Summary: another great book from Buk & Black Sparrow
Review: I await new Bukowski books--and there seems to be no end of material from the John Martin vaults--with a special fervor, probably because he's just about ruined all other writers for me (only a few by Celine stand up). This one did not disappoint my high expectations, and is a special treat for its format: the only diary-style work Buk wrote. Humorous moments abound, but it does lack some of the edge of his best writing. At its worst, it almost goes into a kind of cranky Andy Rooney thing, but he rights the ship every time. Like his treatment of his later material success & international fame, Buk toys with the irony that he's doing something so precious & self-important as writing diary entries & is quick with the "they made me do it" excuse. Clearly, though, he has fun with the style &, really, it's quite suited to his work, which focuses on the mundane so much anyway (Buk never fails to mention whenever he takes a doo or pukes throughout his writing). The Crumb illustrations are perfect. What a match between writer & illustrator. Overall, it's not my first recommendation for a Bukowski neophyte (I'd choose "Factotum," "Ham on Rye," or "Play the Piano Drunk..."), but then again I recommend his entire output much more so than any one book.
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Summary: You haven't heard the last of Hank
Review: I had an indirect contact with Bukowski in the 1970s when I was working at a Long Beach college newspaper and our Arts editor had just gotten back from seeing him at one of his poetry readings. I was asked to write the headline for the rave review on it we were publishing, and as a young poet I was happy as hell to do so.In the headline I'd called him "Buk the bard" and they gave it the go ahead for printing. But the editor had met his friends and they'd mentioned that Buk no longer lived in Hollywood and had moved to the notorious San Pedro area. We all got very concerned for him and told Buk's friends that he shouldn't live there, and that L.A., Belmont Shore, Long Beach - almost anywhere else, in fact - would be preferable. As I recall, at that time there was a stabbing in Pedro almost every weekend. Soonafter we got word in the newsroom of what Buk thought of the suggestion by us little upscale college smartasses - he said it was a rather dumb one, and that he actually regarded it as an insult, as if we'd just ridiculed his new jacket. Since his writing didn't float much on the waters of pretense, he enjoyed being where the action was, even if it was now within a very dangerous environment for a guy getting on in years. He planned to stay put anyway and he indeed did exactly that. I was surprised to hear years later that he'd lasted until 1994, because I'd always bet that even with his seeming million gallon booze capacity, he wouldn't last past 1980. But don't worry, the old warhorse will still be running new words at the literary track for quite some time. The godsend that was John Martin's Black Sparrow press still has more of Hank's unpublished stuff in their files, so the Captain journal won't be the last you hear of our favorite pulp fiction barfly. Hopefully lots of them will also have more of those groovy drawings by underground komix king R. Crumb, too. Now that would be a good day at the races.
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Summary: so long...
Review: i have read everything bukowski has ever written and this is not bukowski. sure, it has the same name on the cover and on the spine, but charles bukowski who raged so hard to do nothing, who fought in alleyways and picked glass from his bleeding feet this most certainly is not. and, yet, if this were the same bukowski it would be somehow less satisfying. i've laughed and cried with buk, ive winced and ive looked away and this time i shed a tear. here, for one time only, is the tamed poet, recording his last thoughts in a journal with the final entry weeks before he passed. he knew death was coming and he faced upto it like a man, but he had mellowed, his body had started failing him and, as i hope we all will get the chance, he had started to take the time to reflect on his life, to consider his achievements and know what he would be leaving behind. this is a fascinating, absorbing, frank and bare portrait of bukowski's final days and what sat in his head and i can only say that i cried a tear of sadness by the final entry and wondered where on earth i would ever find another author that could mean as much to me as bukowski. still, i suppose there is a strict need to have read some of the other works in order to fully appreciate this and that must limit the appeal in some way. but this is 4*'s for bukowski, which is probably 3*'s for anyone else, in my opinion.
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Summary: a glimpse at an aging drunk
Review: I say that facetiously, of course, because I am a long time Bukhead. This journal is a great opportunity to get a glimpse inside Bukowskis mind in his later years. He may have mellowed but it is still vintage Buk. The wine continued to flow and the typewriter continued to produce. It does not equal his poetry or novels but it is still beneficial reading for any fan of Buk. And the illustrations by R. Crumb are almost worth the price of admission on their own. R. Crumb is still as demented and crazed as ever. A worthwhile addition to any personal library.
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Summary: Not Much New
Review: I was hoping to gain some new insights into the writer/man that was Bukowski by reading this collection of journal writings. To be honest, not much new ground was covered. I did find out out about a failed TV deal I'd never heard of, and some other trivial points, but nothing much deeper. The R. Crumb drawings are worth the price of the book, and well, hell it's Bukowski so I enjoyed it. This is, however, one of the few Buk books I haven't read more than twice, which is as close to a "bad" review as I can get.
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Summary: A fitting coda
Review: If Bukowski has been meaningful to you, then this book is a fitting cap to the earlier pomes and novels. I find it gratifying to see the old man living and reflecting, and perhaps suffering a bit less. As usual, Crumb's illustrations are the perfect complement. Nobody can visualize Buk like Crumb can. Highly recommended after you've read already gotten to know Bukowski. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting coda
Review: If Bukowski has been meaningful to you, then this book is a fitting cap to the earlier pomes and novels. I find it gratifying to see the old man living and reflecting, and perhaps suffering a bit less. As usual, Crumb's illustrations are the perfect complement. Nobody can visualize Buk like Crumb can. Highly recommended after you've read already gotten to know Bukowski. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Summary: minute by minute of an observable perceptive guy
Review: my favorite passage from this book ' i wonder what the next step will be after the computer? you'll probably just press your fingers to your temples and out will come this mass of perfect wordage. Of course, you'll have to fill up before you start but there will always be some lucky ones who can do that. Let's hope.'
good stuff and a smooth read--my reason mainly for reading bukowski
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Summary: the real bukowski?
Review: The man seen in these journal entries is devoid of the bravado of the character he created, real or mythic, in the body of his work. There is a great deal of commentary on the writing process and the PC as a catalyst. Although this inisde look at the writer is not one of his stronger efforts, there are still moments when the words sing, and yes that nasty bit of nihilism that he managed to hold on to till the end.
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