Customer Reviews (15)

Lukewarm Liquid Haikus
I am quite the fan of Bukowski.I enjoyed Factotum, Pulp, and Post Office in particular, and I think Ham On Rye is a work of art.Perhaps the only real catch to Bukowski's work is that he is something of a one trick pony.Don't get me wrong, though.It's still a good trick.

Where Bukowski fails in his writing (when he fails at all) is when he allows his nihilism to devolve into creative redundancy.He doesn't have very many points to make, and sometimes he tends to make them in the same way.Still, the man is a craftsman when it comes to the rough-hewn and the unflinching gaze of existentialism.

This is why I was disappointed by Hot Water Music.

Bukowski's themes (which are a lot deeper than just drunkeness, sex, ambivalence, and poverty, as some of the other reviews here seem to suggest) translate remarkably well when they are drawn out novelistically by his crisp, spare prose and his dry, gritty dialogue.In his books he takes his time teasing his message out of dark shadows and, when it is exposed to the light, he crushes its skull with a sledgehammer.

Short stories, of course, don't give him as much leisure for dilly-dallying, and as a result his work here is blunter (inasumcuh as that's possible) and duller and far more repetitive.The majority of these stories are about, of course, ambiently depressed alcoholics who haven't the motivation or energy to do anything but keep digging their own grave.You read enough stories about soused women farting and horny men with hemorrhoids and your head starts to swim.Some people might argue that these stories are meant simply to be funny, and depending on your sense of humor, they are -- but no one likes to hear the same joke told ten, twelve, or twenty times in a row.Unless, of course, you really really like the joke.

The more absurd pieces (You Kissed Lilly, Strokes to Nowhere, and I Love You, Albert) are fun enough, and although their playfulness tends to be vacuous, they are still chewy enough to be enjoyable.And there are really some remarkably subtle and clever stories here as well.Most notable among these are Cold Night, The Upward Bird, Beer at the Corner Bar, The Death of the Father II, In and Out and Over, and Head Job.

In these Bukowski trades in his usual and obvious attempts at crassness and crudity for a more ghostly skill: the stories are delivered with his typical point-blank attitude, but their profundity is couched without bravado or brassiness.His short stories work best when they avoid the more blatant trademarks of his novels -- liquor-soaked abuse and disdain.Head Job, especially, is notable for being the first time that I have ever read Bukowski write something from a woman's point of view, and he does it admirably.

This is a decent but repetitive collection of stories, with gems interspersed throughout, but the overall impression is mostly lukewarm, although hardcore fans will love it.

Edgy laughs and splendid moments from the Poet Laureate of the American gutter
Ah, the Drunken Master his own self...here he is at his best, writing pleasingly spare and oft hilarious vignettes of his later life's ramblings through the bars and bedrooms of Hollywood's seedier avenues.
Not recommended if you don't like to drink, laugh and/or are easily offended...Buk is as far from politically correct as Santa is from Antartica...but oh man, the laughs that his laconic delivery can produce!
His genius also lies in his occasional moments of true clarity...once in a while he flat out nails what it is to be human, male, drunk, or just a bum treading water while waiting for St. Peter's inevitable rejection.
Of the great writers in the English language, few other than Chaucer are this saucy and brazen and unabashed...and yes, I think Buk's best work can stand beside Joyce and Hem and Whitman and even the mighty Shake when it comes to revealing some of life's truths. Especially the antisocial male's truths. Bukowski keeps it simple and to the point, and has a special talent for revealing the joys of the mundane...his territory is very much his own, the hallmark of a truly classic writer.
Be forewarned, there are some verrrrry edgy moments here...but CB's willingness to confront aspects of the human (well, male--very male) psyche that others dare not go near makes him the unique freak that he is.
His poetry comes and goes, as do his novels, though Post Office and Women are classics. His short stories have the most humor and twisted pathos, and this is the best collection, methinks. "The Great Poet" alone is worth the price of admission. Buk loves to hold the idiocy of fame and our culture's shallowness up to the light...usually the barroom light...and no one else has quite his way with love scenes...if you can call them that...
Many women find Bukowski to be a pig. Fair enough. But when you're wondering if your new girl will put up with you in the long run, give her this and wait for the reaction. If she laughs, you're good to go.
Warning: this book will make you want to crack a cold one or three, or seven, just to enjoy the happily nihilistic thrill of not giving a damn.
I don't reread many books...life is too short, with too many books left to enjoy...but this one gets read at least once a year, usually when I need the solace and joy of drinking a few too many at two in the morning while laughing my ass off.
One of the funniest books of all time, if you like your laughs a little warped.

Best Collection of Shorts from the BUK master
This work of short stories really got me more interested in Bukowski.I got started on the Buk addiction in a rather strange way - with his last novel "PULP" (which really is atypical of Charles).My second book was also a novel, "Post Office"- exquisite stuff.Anyways, these shorts are much more in-line with his Post Office days and leave you wanting to go on a bender and smash something valuable... ina good way of course.If you've never read Bukowski then this book should give you a pretty good flavor of his style (straight-from-the-(beer)-gut, unforgiving amusement for the soul).

From my perspective, you can read Bukowski 2 ways:for sheer amusement of a great story teller or as a poet-by-compulsion (or both together, as I prefer).Either way - he's good!

um....entertaining
Ok, so this is my first bukowski "book". After my friend recommended reading one of his books and realizing that modest mouse has a song about him, i thought i'd try him out. Hot Water Music is a great band, and i figured this had to be a great book. Understand though that this is less a book than a collection of short stories. I honestly really enjoyed reading this, it was fun, it was quick, and it was edgy, which is what i like. What i disliked about the book was first i'm not a huge fan of short stories(which is my fault). Also every story has a similiar premise and i wonder if bukowski can write about anything other than"guy meets girl, guy has sex with girl, some wierd twisted ending leaving with an oh..um, ok, that was interesting feeling. I'm sure i'm being ignorant about bukowski being that so far this is the only book i've read of his. But i have to give it to him; the stories he does right are definately interesting and i was never bored. Doesn't make you think as much and doesn't attack you emotionally like books i've recently read(requim for a dream, trainspotting); but it's great if you dont want to think much and just want something fun.

hank's so so short stories
not my favorite of hank's short stories but interesting enough to read all the way thru ... Read more

Book Description

from "neither Shakespeare nor Mickey Spillane"

Customer Reviews (8)

So you want to be a writer
There's a poem in this book called, So you Want to be a writer, and I think it should be read before anyone decides to call themselves a writer. Then they should look in the mirror, and ask themselves whether or not they're a fony. If they can answer that question "no, I'm not a fony," Then they should never attempt to write another word, because if they did everything that I just said they should do, then they were never a writer in the first place.

The consensus is the there is some good and some bad in this book, I own it, have read it and am inclined to agree.

What Do Expect, The Guy Is Dead
If you're a Bukowski fan, you can't get enough. Just read it, it can't hurt except your pocket book, and if you're that skeptical go to the library.
Is that one says about a great artist/author's work after they're dead? It's redundant and mediocre?
It's just like when you like certain music and end-up collecting compilations. This book contains a lot of the old, but some new material and Bukowski carries on from the dead.
By all means you should read his earlier works, but all is good too.

Not his best, but still readable.
Charles Bukowski, Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way (Ecco, 2003)

Yet another collection of posthumously-published work from the ten thousand pages Buk left after his death, Sifting... is an inconsistent piece of work at best, like most of Buk's later collections of poetry. Every once in a while you get a great snatch of writing like the one that became the title of the collection, but it's mostly just the same old Buk, chopping up witty observations into line that look like poetry. That said, Buk was better than most at the chopping itself; he had an innate sense of what was really important in a piece, however vague it might be, and accenting it with the size and shape of the poem itself, making his prose-chopped-up-into-lines more readable than the vast majority of same.

The best thing about Sifting... is that it contains a lot more of the gems among the dross than many of Buk's later collections. You'll find yourself nodding and smiling every two or three pages here; not as much as in his best stuff (Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame remains the height of Bukowski's poetic achievement), but a lot more than in some of the recent books.

Worth it for Bukowski fans. Others might want to start wth Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame, War All the Time, or one of the other "best-of" collections from the early and middle periods. *** ½

please be more careful with the man
To make it short: this is not Bukowski's best work. And it doesn't have to be. He published over 40 books when he was still alive and all that is released now after his death are the Left-overs. Some are stronger, some are weaker, but one thing is clear: with collections like this one you might scare off future readers because what can be found in this collection is less than average in quality for Bukowski. If you want to go ahead and discover Bukowski (and I strongly recommend that), buy one of his earlier books of poetry like: Burning in water, drowning in flame OR Dangling in the Tournefortia. This is where you find some of the best poems ever written in English. This new book is o.k., but at least wait until it comes out in Paperback...

Getting the Hang of Being Dead?
Much better stuff than previous posthumous publications.Buk may eventually surpass Hemingway for more books published dead than alive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Death and the Mare-den
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. *** ½

so long...
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.

You haven't heard the last of Hank
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 more than happy to do so.

In the headline I 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 escaping any physical injury, and with his seeming million gallon booze capacity, he still 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 Robert Crumb, too. Now that would be a good day at the races.

minute by minute of an observable perceptive guy
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

Not Much New
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. ... Read more

Book Description
A collection of essays, memoirs, and reviews about the life and work of writer and friend, Charles Bukowski. Cover art by R. Crumb. In this collection, Gerald Locklin shares some key Bukowski moments - meeting Bukowski, attending the premier of the film Barfly with Bukowski, a first-hand account of Bukowski's funeral, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Back off on Gerry, pal.
Who is S.Dahi to call Gerald Locklin a hack?Who is S.Dahi at all?Gerald Locklin is a respected and well-published poet, and this book is a nice remembrance of Bukowski from a friend and colleague.It is fair to note that the volume is slender and that some of the material has been previously published, but it's still pretty good.

Two Poets
Charles Bukowski, Gerald Locklin, two almost household names in the poetry small press.Who came first?Why does it matter? Each was, or is, unique in his approach to the written word. Bukowski liked to drink, to play the horses, to write, but that was not the totality of the poet or the man.Readers seems to expect miracles from authors/poets and artists. The truth is through, and under, all that talent lies the human persona which colors their work.One can be a slacker who boozes, but has a way with words, the other can be a University professor for over 20 years, is dedicated to teaching youthful minds while still trying to pursue his own writing talents and muse. Poets and writers are not always bosom friends, not always drinking buddies, but on occasion, they meet, light a few fires, share a few incidences, then go along their own pathways.Bukowski and Locklin were like that...their paths crossed.Gerald Locklintells his tale through poems and short essays.This is a gem. This is history in the small poetry press.This book is life and those who buy, then read Charles Bukowski: A Sure Bet by Gerald Locklin with an open, receptive mind will mine word-gems. Though I am a book and periodical publisher, and an editor, I am certainly willing to buy Locklin's books.They are a treasured part of my own library.Thanks, Gerald, for a very good read!

Hack on Hank
Gerald Locklin has the dubious distinction of writing the first "book" on Bukowski after his death. The whole book reads like a quickie for profit job. In fact most of it was written while Buk was alive.There are letters and attempts at poetry by this "hack professor"mascrading as Buk's close friend. Don't waste your $25.00 on this book.Instead buy Gay Brewer's (also an academic) book on Bukowski which is byfar the best book written on the subject so far (June 2000).

Slim and overpriced but with a few gems
The Bukowski bandwagon keeps rolling along. Everybody and his drinking pals are coming out with memoirs of the great man. If only they would stick to Bukowski and keep themselves out of it. Bukowski fans are hardlyconcerned with Locklin's habits, penchants and foibles. It ranks withRichmond's "Spinning Off Bukowski" and Cherkovski's"Hank" as self-promoting and self-justifying hack writing posingas literature.

The harsh words above are mitigated by the realisationthat without the above mentioned authors we would know less about Bukowski.These guys knew him and most of us didn't. To the nextcolleague/crony/admirer/detractor etc. who comes out with yet anotherhastily put together fast-buck book please stick to Bukowski and leaveyourselves in the background where you belong.

Readers are advised tolook at the Sounes biography "LOCKED IN THE ARMS OF A CRAZY LIFE"for the best appraisal of Bukovski's life and work. It is ironic thatSounes never met Bukowski and yet his book is the best. ... Read more

Book Description

another comeback

Customer Reviews (7)

Bukowski Reflective
"Welcome to my wormy hell," Charles Bukowski (1920 --1994) invites the reader at the outset of this collection of posthumously published poetry.Bukowski, a writer who became famous for his novels, stories, and poems depicting the raw, down-and-out life left a great deal of unpublished work at his death, and it has continued to appear in several volumes.

"Come on In!" is a mixed collection which includes some good poems. Bukowski explores themes that will be familiar to readers: life at the track, boxing, drinking,his experiences with women, loneliness and the desire to be alone, life on the edge, the love of animals, particularly cats, and the writing of poetry. The collection shows Bukowski's sardonic, wry and laconic humor.

The theme of death pervades this collection as Bukowski, old and ill, shows a full awareness of his own mortality. In addition, Bukowski reflects upon his own success as a writer.In his young days, the subject of most of Bukowski's writing, he lived the life of a drunk in the underclass.Beginning in 1971 when he received a stipend from John Martin of Black Sparrow press to devote himself to writing, Bukowski gradually became commercially successful and wealthy.In the poem "you can't tell a turkey by its feathers", which recounts how Bukowski's father thought he wouldn't amount to anything, Bukowski boasts that "Last year I paid/ $59,000 income/tax."Many of the poems involve Bukowski's sucess and recognition, as he compares his late life with his earlier days.

The poems are unrhymed and unmetered and generally written in short stanzas.Most of them are short, but in some instances Bukowski tells stories in his poems, frequently set out as dialogues or conversations.In this book, the poems are arranged in four broad divisions: "I live near the/slaughterhouse/and am ill/ with thriving"; "she looked at me and asked/did you?/did you/did you?"; "it's a lonely world/of frightened people"; "I will never have' a house in the valley/ with little stone men/ on the lawn".

The poems I enjoyed in the collection include Bukowski's reflections on his past relationship with women.In "red hot mail" Bukowski contrasts his state as a successful poet with his younger years when women would not look at him.He writes:

"I only wish now some lass had
chanced upon me then
when I so needed her hair blowing in my
face
and her eyes smiling into mine,
when I so needed
that wild music
and that wild female willingness
to be
undone."

Among the many other poems which show Bukowski in a meditative, thoughtful mood are "alone again", "to the ladies no longer here" and "here we go again."Bukowski's poem "a close call" shows all too clearly the fine line that separated sanity and madness in his life.The poem "the nude dancer" consists of an elderly Bukowski's portrayal of an exotic dancer which complements nicely an earlier poem on this theme describing an encounter in Bukowski's youth, "Love poem to a stripper".One of the acclaimed poems in this collection is "the 'Beats'" in which Bukowski contrasts his own writing to that of the beat writers and concludes:

"my opinion remains the
same: writing is done
one person
at a time
one place
at a time

and all the gatherings
of
the
flock
have very little
to do
with
anything."

But I think the best writing in "Come on In!" is in the final section of the book.Bukowski offers meditiations on his own terminal illness and on the meaning of his life which are moving indeed.The poems I enjoyed in this part include"my cats", "two nights before my 72nd birthday", and "closing time" in which Bukowski discusses his love for Beethoven, "this composer/now dead for over 100/years,/ who's younger and wilder/than you are/than I am." Bukowski observes that "the centuries are sprinkled/with rare magic/with divine creatures/who help us get past the common/ and/extraordinary ills/ that beset us."

The final poem in the book "mind and heart" is a valedictory poem as Bukowski faces death."Unaccountably we are alone/forever alone/ and it was meant to be/that way", he begins. He reflects upon his life and finds that he has developed some had-won serenity of "peace of mind and heart."He advises his readers to "read/what I've written/then/forget it/all."And again:

"drink from the well
of your self
and begin
again."

Robin Friedman

After-death released poems
This book of Bukowski's work was released by his wife after he died. Some good stuff in here. its hard to tell if they werent released because he didnt theink them good enough while he was alive or these works were simply ready not for prime-time yet while he was living.

Well, damn, NOW I'm a fan!?!?
I read a few short stories when I was a younger woman and neverconsidered picking up Bukowski again. Twenty years later, and
I hear about the movie coming out, and then I see on the new release shelf of the library this new collection, and then later that night I find myself watching a documentary on Showtime about Bukowski that just totally enraptures me.
With his voice in my head, the next day I head back to the library hoping to still find the book on it's display, and since I am in a suburb of Dallas called Plano, I'm not too shocked to see it awaiting my itchy fingers.

NEVER have I read a book of poems from beginning to end, but I did just that over the next few days.
I can't believe I cheated myself out of Bukowski all these years.
I am a writer, but one of no formal education and I imagine I might have unearthed him earlier had I been ambitious enough to go to college. In any case, I'm basically a Billy Collins poetry lover, and I like my own work and that is generally THAT.
Bukowski is now top of my list for books to buy should I ever actually see a royalty check!

Another stunning collection...
I've become a real fan of Bukowski's work over the past four years, and read everything I can get my hands on. So far my favorite of all has been "Betting On The Muse", but this one is a very close second. Sure he's vulgar and rough, and it's poetry with images and language not for the weakhearted. But he still manages to deliver these lines within his world that just stun you. A definite must-read if you're a fan.

Come On In! : New Poems (Hardcover) by Charles Bukowski
its all pure Buk, if you read Buk you'll want to read this.

gaxfax ... Read more

Book Description

the gas line is leaking, the bird is gone from the
cage, the skyline is dotted with vultures;
Benny finally got off the stuff and Betty now has a job
as a waitress; and
the chimney sweep was quite delicate as he
giggled up through the
soot.
I walked miles through the city and recognized
nothing as a giant claw ate at my
stomach while the inside of my head felt
airy as if I was about to go
mad.
it's not so much that nothing means
anything but more that it keeps meaning
nothing,
there's no release, just gurus and self-
appointed gods and hucksters.
the more people say, the less there is to say.
even the best books are dry sawdust.

Customer Reviews (1)

And it is the end
Sad to say, this book exhausts the remainder of Buk's poetry. The work is not as strong as earlier books, not as pointed. But as he would have understood, all ends. So what else is new? There are some strong poems: a eulogy, "legs"("she was a great woman/with great legs/but she found life too hard/she died 34 years ago and/I haven't seen/legs like that/since/and I have never stopped/looking"); one on fame and its burdens "I never bring my wife"("I would like to be human/if only they would let me"). You hear the weariness, Some shots come through, "he has a face women would love:utterly bland and blank/untouched by circumstance.")He tells us, "while most people converse away/I write it all down." We are better for it. ... Read more

Book Description
This book offers a unique look at the phenomenon Charles Bukowski-BUK-the battered and scarred postal clerk, odd-jobs man, and lowly factotum who became the best-known "underground" writer in the English language and whom Jean Genet described as "the best poet in America." His work-raw, crude, heartbreaking, and hilarious-has inspired imitators, emulators, sycophants, and detractors. In The BUK Book Jim Christy writes engagingly about the man, the myth, and his work. The book features 16 full-page photographs, all shot by Claude Powell, Bukowski's confidante and drinking buddy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Informative and Intertaining
Sometimes when reading Bukowski, it becomes rather hard to tell the difference between his fiction and when he's embalishing on his experience.The best thing about this little book is that Christy tells us who thereal people in Buk's stories were, and what really happened. It's almosta compact bio too, and I don't have the patience to read one of those hugeones about Buk's life when I could be much more pleased getting it from theman himself, even if it's not always true.A good book, but a littleoverpriced in my opinion.

The buk book: musings on charles bukowski
A shallow treatment, written by what must be a graduate school reject.Somebody who--though he makes it a point to say he corresponded with Bukowski favorably--Bukowski would have hated.A phoney.I ordered it fora class I teach and found it completely unusable.A series ofanecdotes--rehashes of autobiograhpical short stories--strung together byhalf baked theroies.The lesson is that just because somebody loves toread an author doesn't mean they can write well at all about that author.

Good but uneven
I enjoyed this book but felt like the author, who states that he spent a lot of time with Buk, decided to throw together this uneven, short book to make a few bucks.The only pictures appear to be from a single night inthe early 70's, and appear to be pictures Buk probably didn't expect toever be published.Enough whining...it did offer some good insights intothe genius of Buk!

Hank In A Nutshell
"The Buk Book: Musings On Charles Bukowski" is filled with every shade of Bukowski. While really more of a compact biography than a volume of "musings," Jim Christy's relaxing, yet tight documentation provides us with glimpses of an even more outrageous Buk than we hadimagined.

As a confidante and drinking buddy, Claude Powell'scontribution of twenty-four photos, depicting Buk mostly in a dishelveledalcoholic state, create a compelling visual component. Pictures not likelyto be found in a Black Sparrow publications any time too soon.

JimChristy's chronological text is smooth and refreshingly unrehearsed. Heslides cleanly through the years spanning from Bukowski's birth inAndernach,Germany on August 16,1920, to acquaintance Gundolf Freyermuth'sApril 1994 recollection of a physically "dimished" figure, butone still capable of laughing with "malicious delight." It wasseveral weeks after Freyermuth's visit to San Pedro, when Bukowskisuccumbed tothe lady featured in his last novel "Pulp." Death,even if you're Charles Bukowski, has the last say.

Along the way Christydrizzles in a handful of tense situations, a teaspoon of riot scenes andhumored accounts of mayhem squeezed from the days and nights in the life ofCharles Bukowski.

If you are new to Charles Bukowski, or if he's beenburning inside your brain for a while, this book will be received well byeither party. ... Read more

Book Description

Literary Criticism. Reach for the Sun is the third volume of Bukowski's letters from Black Sparrow Press, selected by Seamus Cooney.

Customer Reviews (4)

Correspondence entertainment
I was entertained by reading these letters between Bukowski and his publcists and others. I rated this book a 5 because I knew of tyhe man already and read almost all of his books. If someone is not knowledeable of Buksowki, then this book would not be enjoyable

The Best volume of the Selected Letters of Buk
As a long-time reader of Buk,and a friend to whom he wrote,I was deeply interested in what a few more letters from the last years might tell me about this spectacular American writer. I learned a lot. He made wisepoetry out of his correspondence, and this writing is as good as any of hisother writing. It's full of specifics, about writers, about Peformancepoets (whom he detested),about writing versus 'getting famous',about thebotched biography of him written by N. Cherkovski,about his leukemia,abouthis contempt for Hollwood, and about his dying. Mostly, it's about thecourageous and outrageous word-wizard, Bukowski, slinging his attitudes tothose who were listening,about how to keep life alive when so many aroundare just making life into a dead boring heap of competition. It is likelyone his wisest books, and his humor jolts out frequently at the oddesttimes, creating that laugh-out-loud shock of the Real as he lays hisdefining cement with the coolest, toughest trowelever used by an Americanwriter.This is more of Bukowski at his best, especially for those who liketo read between the lines.

Reach for the Gun...
In Reach for the Sun: Selected Letters 1978-1994, Volume 3, Charles Bukowski is once again revealed as the legendary poet slash literary critic slash self-publicist he was. We see the workings, the behind-the-scenesbusiness letters to editors (most to New York Quarterly's William Packard,to whom Bukowski dedicated his Run with the Hunted collection), hispublisher John Martin and various writers and book collectors. Calculating,vindictive, repetitive and self-obsessed as they are, many of the rants arehumorous...yet sometimes the reader is laughing at the one-man show and hisunironic [sic] contradictions. "Good move to get out of NewYork," he writes to Stephen Kessler on January 29, 1993; the book'svery next letter (written on the same day) to Packard begins: "Justreceived NYQ #49. I am honored..." Was he running out of outlets forhis work? He slams Marvin Malone, the late editor of The Wormwood Review,writing him off in late '91 as getting "...too picky but I feel thathe is picking wrong. As the years go on I see him more and more printingthe comfortable poem." As the years went on, Bukowski went back on hisword (see previous volumes 1 and 2) and did write forewords to poetrycollections by obscure poets like Douglas Goodwin. Again, it seems anotherbusiness-minded decision by the master. The backstabbing is tempered byinsight into Bukowski's life during his last years, making Reach for theSun a must-read for Buk fans. Regardless of its sometimes pandering subjectmatter and petulance.

Maintains high quality of first two collectedletters volumes
It's a pleasure to see some new names in this latest volume from Black Sparrow, new Bukowski correspondents that is.Douglas Goodwin, a poet whose work so turned on Bukowski that Buk wrote a Foreword to Goodwin's SLAMMING IT DOWN poetry volume - the only foreword Bukowski wrote for anypoet during the last l5 years of Buk's life. Many letters written to poetGerald Locklin are published herein.One main theme of these letters isBukowski's reaction to the biography of Bukowski written by NeeliCherkovski.Fascinating brilliant commentary from the subject of abiography focused like a burning searing laser beam on a biographer thistime. Mr. Cherkovski - take note!"Reach For The Sun" indeed.Butjust buy this book - don't burn yourself! This letters collection is worthten+ times what the book sellers are asking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Great Grounding In Bukowski
One poem here, "No Grounding In The Classics," makes it worth the price of admission all on its own. Puts genius in the proper perspective in the funniest, most searing, self-deflating few lines I've ever read.Among the ten best little narratives the man ever wrote.

This is his best book of poetry.
I believe this is the best poetry book written by Buk. Mabye the best of all his books. But the special thing about his work, is that you can't really seperate the books, but need to see them all as one-lifes-work! There are bad poens, and bad stories, and uninteresting ones, but there are so much good stuff too! And the novels allso arent allways perfect, sole works ... they glide in to the big picture. read the first 1/3 of post-office ... some of the stories in "south of no north, read poetry books like this one + "Play the piano..." "Mockingbird..." "Last night of the earth poems" and when you have finished, just keep reading all the rest as well! (Book no. 7 should be "Ham on rye")

My first experience with Bukowski
This is actually a collection originally published in 1969. Bukowski is a great writer simply because he can relate the humorous and the tragic with the same skill. sometimes in the same poem. sit around on a warm afternoon and read these out loud with your friends. you won't feel lame for laughing.

a winner!
I agree with the other reviewer. Contains some of Bukowski's best. Worth buying and keeping for additional readings.

not great bukowski but ok
not great bukowski but ok
not the one to read for his most potent impact--better to read this one after you're really into him and can tolerate the stuff that [stinks] ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (21)

America's greatest poet
Bukowski was a brilliantly vulgar poet and is remembered as "The Poet Laureate of Skid Row."

This book is a compilation of Bukowski's first 4 chapbooks (small books of poetry) covering his work from 1955 to 1973. His earliest poems appear in "The Roominghouse Madrigals," a collection of his less-than-stellar work from 1946 to 1955.

"Burning in water..." contains some of his first really good poems, and some at the end can even be considered among his great poems. It's a good introduction to his work and should be the first of his works you read. I know from experience that you won't understand his other books of poetry too well if you don't read this one first.

This book was also instrumental in formulating my own style of poetry. A must read for all readers and poets alike.

A great break from all those 'romantic' and 'beautiful' poets
Bukowski is vulgar, unsettling and insightful in his poetry. His poetry is a refreshing break from overly romantic poetry from the likes of Frost or Whitman. My girlfriend 'doesn't get poetry' but even she loved this book once I forced her to listen to a few. It is a great introduction to poetry to those who think poetry is only about frilly flowers and love; likewise 'poetry people' will find it refreshing and worthy of reading through.

Early Work by the Poet of Skid Row
From 1944 -- 1955, Charles Bukowski (1920 -- 1994) lived the life of a wastrel, wandering from city to city, holding menial jobs, while spending most of his time drinking or fighting.Bukowski began writing poetry in earnest in about 1955, as he continued his life of drink, horseplaying, and sex, while gradually finding a voice for himself as a writer.In a poem called "we the artists", included in "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame", Bukowski recalls these early years:"I keep thinking of myself young, then, the way I was,/ and I can hardly believe it but I don't mind it./ I hope the artists are still pround of me/but they never come back/again."

"Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame" (1974) is in part a compilation of several earlier Bukowski collections published as chapbooks in the years before Bukowski formed his relationship with John Martin and Black Sparrow Press. The poetry is unrhymed, in short free verse lines.It is largely but not entirely autobiographical as Bukowski explores his themes of death and suicide, drinking, womanizing, gambling, and finding meaning and redemption in life through art and poetry.Bukowski's early work tends to be more metaphorical and abstract than his later poetry.

The first part of the book, "It Captures my Heart in Its Hands" includes selections from a chapbook of that name published in 1963 with poetry written between 1955 and 1963.In addition to poems detailing Bukowski's experiences with women and the track, such as "to the whore who took my poems" and "a 340 dollar horse and a hundred dollar whore", it includes several poems about other people, including "for marilyn m." and "the life of borodin" as well as a meditative poem, "the singular self."

"Crucifix in a Deathhand" the second section of the book, likewise draws upon an early chapbook which included poems written between 1963 and 1965.In addition to the title poem, some of the writing in this collection shows Bukowski's compassion for the working poor, including the poem "the workers".The poem "a nice day" shows Bukowski trying to give meaning to the mundane, and the awful, events of daily life.

The third chapter of early poetry, "At Terror Street and Agony Way", (1065 -- 1968)includes, in addition to autobiographical poems, poems graphically describing the lives of outcasts and losers, including, "true story", "x-pug", and "he even looked like a nice guy".

The final collection in the book, "Burning in Water Drowning in Flame" Dates from 1972-1973.Bukowski, already attaining some recognition, had received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to write these poems.The poems "charles" and "my friend andre" are among those in which Bukowski offers portraits of other people.Some of the poems in this collection I enjoyed include "the sound of human lives" in which Bukowski observes " I don't know why people think effort and energy/have anything to do with/creation", "burned", which tells a story of rejection in a way unique to Bukowski, the philosophical "pull a string, a puppet moves" and "dreamlessly" which laments the lovelessness common to many people.

This is an excellent collection for those wishing to explore the early poetry of Charles Bukowski.

Robin Friedman

Old Man Poet
This is one of the best collections of poetry that I have ever read. I've recently discovered Bukowski after having one of my poems compared to his work. I did some research and a lot of people told me to start with this book. I am so glad that I did because it was a great introduction to Bukowski's work (and he does have a lot of work!) I am looking forward to reading my way through more of Bukowski's work in the near future.

These poems are full of humor, introspection, and managing to find inspiration in the smallest of things and occurances. Even though it may seem like some of the sentences are disjointed or out of place, every sentence is meant to be there and that is clearly visible when you reach the end of any poem in this collection. All of these poems seem to emanate with a jaded wisdom that one can't help but feel as if a lesson has been learned after reading each one.

My favorite poems in this collection that I recommend are "to the whore who took my poems", "for marilyn m.", and "i met a genius".

classic Buk
A must-have for any serious collection of Bukowski's poetry.Contains some earlier work previously released in chap books in the Sixties.The poems are generally classic Buk material;if you're a fan of his work as I am, you'll find a lot of good stuff here.Get hold of the book, rip open a beer, and start reading... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Awesome.
I'm going to make this quick. If you like Bukowski, you'd love it. If you've never heard of him... What the phreak is wrong with you? Buy it already.

All my friends are married, every Tom and Dick and....
...Harry,
You must be strong if you're to go it alone
Here's to the bachelors and the Bowery bums
Those who feel that they're the ones
That are better off without a wife

Cause I like to sleep until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
Going out when I want to and I'm coming home when I please
Don't have to ask permission, wanna to go out fishing
Never have to ask for the key

Well I've never been no Valentino
But I had a girl who lived in Reno
Left me for a trumpet player who didn't get me down
He was wanted for assault
Though he said it weren't his fault
You know the coppers rode him right out of town

I've been sleeping until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
And I've been Going out when I wanna coming home when I please
Don't have to ask permission, wanna to go out fishing
Never have to ask for the key

Kinda selfish about my privacy
Now as long as I can be with me
We get along so well I can't believe
I love to chew the fat with folks
I've been listening to all your dirty jokes
I'm so thankful for these friends I do receive

I've been sleeping until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
And I've been Going out when I wanna coming home when I please
Don't have to ask permission, I wanna to go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys, no

Yeah, I've got this girl I know, man and I just...she's been married several times. I don't wanna end up like her, I mean she's been married so many times she's got rice marks all over her face. Yeah you know the kind.

-I wrote a review for "THE LAST NIGHT OF THE EARTH POEMS" wherein I quoted "THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING" by T. Waits.A buddy of mine said I shoulda put that onehere, and I think, of course that woulda been way too obvious.But, maybe he was right.But, to h*ll with that and what's right.I always did know what the right path or choice was, but never took it anyway.It was just too damn hard.Except when it came to Buk.Buk and Waits.Buk and Waits and boxing.But here, you gotta know it's right to snatch this book up right away, because with Buk, you simply can't pick a bad one.Each one is as good, if not better, than the next and this one is no exception.Get it, get it, get it.You will not regret it.

Enjoy kiddies.Now I gotta make like a hockey player and get the puck outta here...

A good introduction to Bukowski's poetry
This book is like a 'greatest hits' from the 1970s for Bukowski. Ranging from 1970 to 1979, these poems show him working on familiar themes, but he's getting better at expressing himself. His chaotic life is drawing to a close as he settles into married life in the 1980s. These poems are more focused than his earlier efforts, but also a little looser --- he's able to sum up a mood, a day, or an old friend in half a page of non-rhyming verse. These poems are full of wry humor and romance, a far cry from his reputation for booze and sullen moods. If you haven't read his poetry, try this book. You'll find out what kind of writer Bukowski was. It's sure to inspire you to read more of his great work.

confessions of a first class maniac
This is the first Bukowski book that i read. All you have to do is take a look at both of my books, STONE HOTEL and RUSTY STRING QUARTET to see the obvious influence. Bukowski's importance as an American writer will only grow in the 21st century. The man is already a Hemingway-like figure in Europe;the cultural snobs of academia in America have tried to ignore his work, but that will change. This collection is a grab-bag of previously uncollected poems that Bukowski regularly submitted to small press rags during the late sixties and all the way up til his death. These are from the 70's and there are some great poems here dealing with a number of themes: alienation, lonliness, the emptiness of fame, the awkwardness of love triangles, and on and on. There is more truth and beauty in Bukowski's poems than in 500 yrs of philosophy and ersatz religions. A grand overstatement? Of course, but to heck with it; I am a poet too!

It's so easy to be a poet but so hard to be a man.
A friend of mine handed me this book and said that when she read them she wanted to throw Bukowski on the table and jump on top of him.Intrigued, perhaps a bit jealous, I plunged into this book.
My only knowledge of Bukowski had been the little biographical notes from Beat literature books or things like that.I was under the impression that I was going to get a beating from some cold unemotional degenerate, or something akin to the dry wit of William S. Burroughs.
Not so.
Bukowski's work is rich with emotion, but not sap.It is not the poetry of little delicate flowers and holding hands in the park; no, with this poetry you have to walk through a drunken hell before you can look at a woman with that special feeling of affection, before you can feel the grace of hearing classical music on the radio.Or maybe you can spend the in between time betting on horses, eating a sandwich, or just trying to understand a little bit about life.
Just dont' ask for any more than what's already here.Because herein lies all the secrets.Snapshots of heaven and hell, and how they are both right in front of us, whichever we see at the time. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Look out L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E poets, Beats, and bad-boy= comedians. Bukowski was running the show long before you. He's the guy you either love to love or love to hate. Big-mouthed, bold and brassy as always, Bukowski lets loose in this eclectic collection of letters, poems and drawings. An excellent addition to his poetry, Bukowski's letters depict a male heart that looks like it's encased in black leather. Look again; it's red-blooded, warm and blatantly honest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

FOR BUKOWSKI!

The second book of letters published by Black Sparrow Press, this volume gives the reader a good idea of the goofyness and despair of a working-class life. Leavened with humour and insight, ranking with the great books of letters of 20th-century American literature. The denizens of Bukowski.net take heed: the moderator is a failed artist who yearns for respectability, but has found none. His criticisms of Bukowski's editor, John Martin, are unfounded!

You Can't Help But Love Him
To be honest, I still haven't finished this book.I keep it next to my bed for when I feel most alone.Try to keep the amounts I do read to a bare minimum because I never want it to end. This collection of letterscaptures so many sides of Buk: his business side, his harsh side; but alsoa great deal of his sensitive, sad, depressive-but-loving side, that isrefreshing to see in any man, let alone one with such a weathered face. Ijust can't help but Love him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Mockingbird
Charles Bukowski (1920 - 1994) had a gift for creating evocative titles, including the title for his 1972 collection of poetry, "Mockingbird Wish Me Luck". The title is apt.It derives from a beautiful poem, one of Bukowski's finest, "Mockingbird".I read Bukowski's poem as a parable on death and loss and cruelty.During the summer, a mockingbird has been following and taunting a cat.In response to the taunting, Bukowski writes that the cat "said something angry to the mockingbird/which I didn't understand."One day, Bukowski sees the cat walk "calmly up the driveway" with the bird alive in its mouth "no longer mocking."Bukowski writes "it was asking, it was praying/but the cat/ striding down through centuries/ would not listen."The cat crawls under a car with its prey"to bargain it to another place."And Bukowski concludes, "summer was over".

Not every poem in this volume is as effective as "Mockingbird."Bukowski was a prolific but erratic writer of short, unrhymed and unmetered poetry.Bukowski wrote in the language of common speech, punchy and colloquial. At its best, his writing has passion, rawness, a tough vulgarity, and, frequently a sardonic humor.His poetry tends to be autobiographical, but he also writes short scenes and narratives, such as "Mockingbird."In the early parts of this volume, Bukowski writes effectively of the life of the urban poor, his experiences with women, his life at the racetrack, and his thoughts on writing poetry. The themes of his poems are frequently dark, including loneliness, death, suicide, and aging.The poems in the latter part of the volume begin to take a more positive, mellower tone, as Bukowski writes of his love for his wife and for his young daughter.

Besides "Mockingbird," the poems I enjoyed in this volume include "the last days of the suicide kid", Bukowski's reflections on growing old, "My friend William", a story of a friend who seemingly had attained success in his career and in his marriage, "consummation of grief", in which Bukowski writes that "I was born to hustle roses down the avenue of the dead", the poem "he wrote in lonely blood", Bukowski's tribute to his fellow California poet Robinson Jeffers, "a sound in the brush", a story of a casualty of war, "american matador", on the theme of sex and death, and, on, one of Bukowski's preoccupations, "I saw an old-fashioned whore today".

The poems I have mentioned show the qualities of Bukowski, the toughness and grit, that will be familiar to most of his readers. I want to conclude with a poem by Bukowski that shows a part of him that may be less familiar.This poem, "marina" is written to his young daughter.

"majestic, magic
infinite
my little girl is
sun,
on the carpet-
out the door
picking a
flower, ha!

An old man,
battle-wrecked,
emerges from his
chair
and she looks at me
but only sees
love,
ha! And I become
quick with the world
and love right back
just like I was meant
to do.

Bukowski had his sentimental and tender side that he usually kept carefully hidden. This collection will appeal to lovers of the "Poet of Skid Row".

Robin Friedman

Bukowski...poet
Charles Bukowski had a rare gift.He could make desperation beautiful.He could make hate and pain beautiful.Bukowski had a magic way of twisting emotions into poems of unimaginable shapes.Each poetic flash serving as a portal into one man's interpretation of life.And that, I think, impresses me most about Bukowski.There is no pretension.His work... simply is.Mocking Bird came out in 1979 and some readers commented that B. was going soft.What they fail to realize is that people evolve.Bukowski was still Bukowski, but perhaps his poet eyes began to see some different shades of gray.And we certainly can't fault him for that..

Bukowski's Own Words
I'm not sure what the reviewer from "southern california" was smoking when he wrote his review, but he couldn't be more wrong. It's a well-known fact that Martin never (I stress NEVER) got away with changing Buk's writing. The Buk himself said enough in regards to the problems with WOMEN, where Martin did in fact try to spice things up, but Buk caught EVERY SINGLE CHANGE, and demanded they be changed back, thus producing the only Buk/BSP book to be reprinted due to errors. Why then, would anyone think Martin got away with this with Buk's poetry? As far as literary attacks go, Buk fueled these on his own, and was notorious for burning numerous bridges (i.e the Webbs, the aforementioned Wantling, Steve Richmond, Marvin Malone, etc.). A good poem is a good poem regardless of who gets attacked. Most of these people retorted on their own, and understood the nature of the attack. I'm quite suspicious of this reviewer and am positive it is one of those poets who was villified in this collection, namely in the poem: "300 poems." "he was rich and I was poor / and the sea rolled in / and I turned the / white / pages." You know who you are. Regardless of any of that, this is one of Bukowski's finest literary achievements, hail the Buk!

very strong, angry poetry
Charles Bukowski is by sure one of my favorite poets.His work is vivid and very powerful.This book has my favorite poems by him, "Rain" and also "The Mockingbird"

Classic Bukowski
This collection, along with Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame and The Roominhouse Madrigals is absolutely essential to anyone who loves Buk's poetry.I agree with the reader who loves "The Mockingbird," butthere are others in this volume I like even better."if we take"may be my favorite Bukowski poem ever.Another great one is "theworld's greatest loser."And then, of course, there's"WWII." And the list could go on and on.There is just so muchwonderful stuff here. . .

Bukowski rules in heaven and on earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

perspective of an old man
i was spoiled by bukowski when i read "love is a dog from hell". poems written about the time when the man stood close to the heat of the fire of his life. "last night on earth poems" seem to be looking at the glowing embers of that life. some good ones in there, to be sure, but if you expect the fire, you had been put a coat on. read it and understand more the thoughts and words of a man reflecting back.

Fantastic!!
I wish I discovered Bukowski earlier in my life. This book is just wonderful! Highly recommended!!!

Bukowski Still Going Strong
Having been a long standing fan of Bukowski's work I am partial to this book because it represents his later work which is just as powerful as any of his early lyrical work like Crucifix in a Deathand and It Catches My Heart In It's Hand. Poems like Dinosaura,We; In The Shadow of the Rose and My Uncle Jack capture the author still at the peak of his creative powers. Of course there are the typical Buk topics like horseracing, boozing, women, the outsiders, but Bukowski takes a soft turn by dedicating a poem to his wife which will catch many Buk fans surprisingly off guard. If you are new to Charles Bukowski's writing you will definitely want to get this book; it will inspire you to try his other books. If you're a long time Buk reader, you probably have this one in your collection already. I highly recommend The Last Night of the Earth Poems to everyone
that has a taste for earthy, lyrical and ballsy poetry.

Death is smoking my cigars...
...and.....

The piano has been drinking
My necktie's asleep
The combo went back to New York, and left me all alone
The jukebox has to take a leak
Have you noticed that the carpet needs a haircut?
And the spotlight looks just like a prison break
And the telephone's out of cigarettes
As usual the balcony's on the make
And the piano has been drinking, heavily
The piano has been drinking
And he's on the hard stuff tonight

The piano has been drinking
And you can't find your waitress
Even with the Geiger counter
And I guarantee you that she will hate you
From the bottom of her glass
And all of your friends remind you
That you just can't get served without her
The piano has been drinking

The piano has been drinking
And the lightman's blind in one eye
And he can't see out of the other
And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid
And he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
Without fear of contradiction I say
The piano has been drinking

Our Father who art in ?
Hallowed by thy glass
Thy kindom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in the lounges
Give us this day our daily splash
Forgive us our hangovers
As we forgive all those who continue to hangover against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver from evil and someone you must all ride home

Because the piano has been drinking
And he's your friend not mine
Because the piano has been drinking
And he's not my responsibility

The bouncer is this Sumo wrestler
Kinda cream puff casper milk toast
And the owner is just a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
I'm going down, hang onto me, I'm going down
Watch me skate across an acre of linoleum
I know I can do it, I'm in total control
And the piano has been drinking
And he's embarassing me
The piano has been drinking, he raided his mini bar

The piano has been drinking
And the bar stools are all on fire
And all the newspapers were just fooling
And the ash-trays have retired
And I've got a feeling that the piano has been drinking
It's just a hunch
The piano has been drinking and he's going to lose his lunch
And the piano has been drinking
Not me, not me, The piano has been drinking not me

Enjoy this book kiddies.Buk can do no wrong, he never did.Turn on only one lamp, with no shade (as if there ever was one), open up a bottle of Ol' Red Eye, throw the cap away, put on some T.Waits, and cherish the fact that you and your misery are not as alone as you thought.

Read them out loud
This was the first Bukowski I've read. The poems are less poetry-like and more short stories in columns. They've got a great rhythm. They're better when you read them out loud, which works better when you live alone. What amazes me is that this book is 405 pages long, and it's one of forty-five books by Bukowski, mostly books of poetry. That's pretty prolific. This one was published in 1992. There's a lot of poems about being old and getting ready to die. And a lot about drinking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

AVOID
I love Buk, but honestly, the story is 6 pages long, theres a few pages of cartoons, & NONE of it is funny.

This is worth buying because of the people involved.
There's No Business is about a stand-up comedian whose losing his touch. In typical Bukowski fashion the main character is someone you feel sympathy for even though they have no one to blame but themselves for theirmisfortune. This is worth buying because Bukowski and Crumb are masters ofwhat they do and anything they team up on is instantly a classic. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (25)

Engaging account of a fascinating man....
I first discovered the work of Charles Bukowski approximately five years ago, and I was immediately impressed.The more I read the more I enjoyed.I had heard all the legendary tales, the horror stories and the millions of tales of drunken mania, but I purposely stayed away from reading anything ABOUT the man.I didn't want to be disappointed when the reality is often times a far cry from the truth.
Eventually I broke down and bought this book, simply because the countless stories of his life were really becoming too much, and I wanted to know a little more about the man.If at all possible, from an independent observer who was not a Bukowski crony.I think this book accomplishes the task of being a reasonably detached look at the life of a complicated individual, with a few complaints.
First, the author obviously fell in love with Bukowski during this book (or perhaps before he even wrote it), and it shows constantly.There are admitted mistakes in his life, but the real warts are brushed over rather quickly.
Second, the book felt rushed.I think the book would have been much better if the author took his time and wrote a comprehensive 500-700 page book, which he obviously could have done.There are more than enough things to write about.Whole accounts of his womanizing and his time with the LA Free Press are just glanced over.I think it cheated the reader
Lastly, the author quickly passes over the interpersonal relationships Bukowski formed and spoke almost exclusively of events.Events don't tell us the whole story, and what he did write about the relationships was shallow at best.Linda King was the only one who had any depth added.The lack of interpersonal discussions really failed to bring out the third dimension in this book, and it fell a little flat.
The good thing for the author is that he writes well, and thankfully, Charles Bukowski is an interesting subject.I find it hard to believe anyone could really make his life boring.So the book is worth reading, especially if you are like me and don't know much about the man, but if you do I think the reader might find this a bit overly simplistic.

If I could have I would have rated this a 3.5 star book.Because I like Bukowski's work, I will round up.I am huge fan of biographies and this just isn't one of the better ones.

kept my head from the noose
a year ago i was out on my duff