Rating: Summary: Buy this book right now! Review: I'm going to start this opinion with a word of warning. This is a brilliant book. You must bear in mind however, that Bukowski's writing is not very stylistic. If you are a stickler for proper grammar and editing, you should go read the New York Times. If you do not like offensive language, blatant sexual content, and truly explicit scenes, might I recommend Dr. Seuss. For those of you who are interested in the writings of one of the best modern American writers, Bukowski is your only choice. This, much like all of Bukowski's books, is almost entirely auto-biographical. The name is Henry Chinaski, he was a postman, he was a gambler, and now he focuses on his lovelife in WOMEN. It's hard to get into the actual content of this book because Bukowski's books don't follow formula plotlines and simple three act structures. This book is simply an incredibly detailed look into Bukowski's relationships with women. From a woman who is loaded with cash to a nymphomaniac who is very violent, to a woman that has his child and then ...I'll let you get to that. He gives very intimate and explicit accounts of sexual experiences as well as his inability to maintain a regular relationship with a female. Critics view this as bad writing, see Bukowski as a brute, but I find it to be a very good account of the human condition, the inability of many to remain monogamous and the attempts by many to change the people the love, or at least claim to love. The style of Bukowski's writing makes it very easy to read and get sucked into. -Very short chapters keep you reading, saying 'I'll just read one more.' Chapters can be as short as half a page. -Use of dialogue makes it seem as if Bukowski is having a conversation with the reader. Overall, this is a good introduction into the world of Bukowski. Make sure to catch 'Post Office' and 'Factotum,' I may review them later, but considering that BUKOWSKI cannot be described in simple descriptions, you can probably use this opinion (epinion) as a guide to all of his books. Read this book with an open mind and try to empathize with Chinaski and you will find it to be an enjoyable experience. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating: Summary: Women, Love, Life...Bukowski Style! Review: For those of you who are interested in the writings of one of the best modern American writers, Bukowski is your only choice. This, much like all of Bukowski's books, is almost entirely auto-biographical. The name is Henry Chinaski, he was a postman, he was a gambler, and now he focuses on his lovelife in WOMEN. It's hard to get into the actual content of this book because Bukowski's books don't follow plotlines and simple three act structures. This book is simply an incredibly detailed look into Bukowski's relationships with women. From a woman who is loaded with cash to a nymphomaniac who is very violent, to a woman that has his child and then ...I'll let you get to that. He gives very intimate and explicit accounts of experience as well as his inability to maintain a regular relationship with a female. Critics view this as bad writing, but I find it to be a very good account of the human condition, the inability of many to remain monogamous and the attempts by many to change the people the love, or at least claim to love. This a great book. I agree with another reviewer who also recommended THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez. These 2 books are my favorite recent Amazon purchases!
Rating: Summary: So pure, intense and brave Review: I think H. C. Bukowski is one of the best writers of the century. When I read a book, the first sentence is very important for me. This very sentence invites you inside the book and you can see if you'd like it or not. The expression of the age and loneliness in the first sentence carried all the book. The book is really fantastic. Sometimes I felt "how couldn't I find these sentences to write, I felt this exactly before..." This book is a must for a reader, who wants to meet a writer beyond all form and literal rules. He really can tell, he knows the real love and how to live it, has no time for "construction". If he was alive, I am sure he had much more to write. Five stars is not enough...
Rating: Summary: Good...Not Great Review: This book is full of the classic Bukowski wit and humor, and continues to push the envelope as only Buk can. Unfortunately, the formula just got old after a while for me on this one. With all of Buk's other novels (Ham On Rye, Pulp, and of course Post Office), I have had a hard time putting them down and could read them in two or three sittings. This one took me a little longer, mainly because it was very repetitive. Our beloved Chinaski drinks heavily, sleeps with women and treats them rather poorly, and visit various colleges giving poetry readings. The only thing that changes is the location of the college and the woman. Of course it's unfair to compare any of Buk's novels with Post Office, as I'm sure 9 out of 10 fans would rank it their favorite of his. I guess I was just hoping for a little more story here. In Buk's defense, he does manage to insert his little quips of wisdom every so often. I guess it's just his way to take a mundane situation and give some deeper insight to it. If you are already a Bukowski fan and enjoy his dark humor and unique outlook at life, you will definitely want to read this. It may not be his best (in my opinion) but it is interesting enough to keep reading. For newbies, I would say start off with Post Office or even some of his short stories to get a feel for what lies ahead.
Rating: Summary: Bukowski lets it all out Review: There's no writer I enjoy more than Bukowski and reading him is like belong to a skid-row club, totally relaxing, huge laughs; he's like a literary comedian who can cut through the bullcrap of ordinary life -- and Women, his "relationship book" -- is pretty great. Definitely give this novel a chance; you'll laugh out loud as I did. Along with Women by Buk, another novel that I found entertaining is The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, a down-and-out story of relationships and being on the "outside."
Rating: Summary: lots of loving.... Review: I should start by saying that i am an unashamed fan of Bulowski's work and i have read just about all of it. I tend to prefer the collections of short stories, for the simple reason that i believe they embody the greater part of Bukowski's talent and reveal a much wider scope of the author's lurid imagination whilst putting far less emphasis on his ability to seamlessly join one recollection or ponderance with another. Anyway, suffice to say that this is the best of the novels, in my humble opinion. Bukowski has been called many things and most famously i think he was referred to as the 'laureate of the low-life'. Alcoholic and womaniser might also spring to people's minds. Those who read or enjoy/detract from Bukowski because of the shock factor are missing a trick. What makes Bukowski's work deeper and more lasting than a simple shock factor is the humble and human way in which Bukowski admits and details his own short-comings in life. Of the vast array of women that pass through B's life in this tale, there are very few that Buk feels he is worthy of. He is repeatedly capable of the physical act of love, but lacking in the emotional act. Of course, the candid depictions of life at home, the frequent visits of fans, the drinking and gambling are all present (it wouldn't be Bukowski without), but there is something eminently more confessional about this work than i found in most of the others. I felt that i understood the author when i finished the novel, i even sympathised a little which, if it was the author's intention (and dear old Buk if he were still here would probably be the last to admit to any kind of praise to this end - i just write, would more than likely be his response) is the mark of a masterpiece, for i have not truly felt this kind of attachment to a novel since reading Marquez's 'Love in the Time of Cholera' and of the forlorn love of the central character, Florentino Ariza. Brilliant and an extremely rewarding read.
Rating: Summary: a mans MAN[ inferno] Review: no one alive hes DEAD can write SOeasy to digest AWFUL things told in BRAGGARD RIGHTS,maybe tongue in cheek firm planted ZOWERS, TO DOWNERS the mind of SHALLOW, squaters rights,on the throne of the camode OF GUTTER, PLAYGROUND,POSTURING, juvenille, wishfull, mansome enetable rights to WISH FOR,MORE DISGUSTINGLY awful,the very equation MORE IS more,FOOD BOOZE, ENDLESS TRIPS TO LIQUORS,stores to STOCK UP ON, to couch potatoe, WRITE SOME MORE,which he appears to down well in near flawless simple flowing depictions of CRANKINESS, SMELLY FARTS and greasy spoons, AND up close tunnel visions of WOMENS erogenous ZONES, TOLD HAIRY,and tenderly ,this PLYMPIAN mauler of women almost on the verge of HUMILLIATION, at the PAWING hands of the ULTIMATE GROPHER,blank em, treatem, paw em,AND WAIT FOR EM TO COME BACK FOR MORE,ITS surely IS hellish in its excess, and this FANTASY of inebriated empty lacking consciou,NOR conscious to THE REAL, WHICH HE RANTS ABOUT TO FILL PAGES UP TO buy more booze and GAMBLE with,ALWAYS ON THE VERGE of exhaustion.
Rating: Summary: Hardcore Bukowski! Review: As usual, Bukowski holds nothing back, recounting his relationships with a curious array of female fringe-dwellers. It took me a little time to get into this book, but once I adjusted to it, I really loved it! Also recommended: Post Office, Factotum, Run With The Hunted, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating: Summary: Bukowski and his women Review: Bukowski may have treated his women poorly, but at least he was honest with them. I believe in the book, women, you get a brutally honest view about the game men and women play. The book demonstrates why Bukowski was a great writer, because of his honesty. You'll never want to put a book written by Bukowski down and you'll never want it to end. Bukowski will always leave a reader wanting more, just like his women in the book.
Rating: Summary: Tells it like it is! Review: The style of Bukowski's writing makes it very easy to read and get sucked into. -Very short chapters keep you reading, saying "I'll just read one more." Chapters can be as short as half a page. -Use of dialogue makes it seem as if Bukowski is having a conversation with the reader. -This is not Ayn Rand, you don't need to sit through forty five pages of description on paint drying or grass growing. Action, no description push the story along. Overall, this is a good introduction into the world of Bukowski. Make sure to catch "Post Office" and "Factotum," I may review them later, but considering that BUKOWSKI cannot be described in simple descriptions, you can probably use this opinion as a guide to all of his books. Read this book with an open mind and try to empathize with Chinaski and you will find it to be an enjoyable experience. Of recent, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez would be the only other book I'd recommend with Bukowski.
|