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/lit/ - Literature

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1181080 No.1181080 [Reply] [Original]

so, what do you guys think about this book (or about Bukowski in general)
It actually reminds me of The Catcher In The Rye only if Holden was poor, ugly, living in L.A, and not whining as much.

>> No.1181084

Big fan of Bukowski. Post Office and Ham on Rye were my favorite books of his.

I wish I had read Ham on Rye first to get a sense of why Chinaski was such a bum. With his life, I would have acted like a hobo too.

>> No.1181087

>>1181080
yeah, I haven't read Post Office yet. but i should have read Ham On Rye it before Factotum.

>> No.1181130

i read ham on rye first, then women. it turned out great, these two are my favorites.

he's The Man, no doubt about it.

>> No.1181140

>>1181087
Factotum was my least favorite of his books. Good for you for going on to read another Bukowski after. If it had been my first I would have given up.

Factotum was so repetitive and uneventful. Get woman, drink too much, lose job, lose woman. Move to a different city. Get woman.

That drove me nuts.

>> No.1181162
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1181162

Whenever I see a friend with a Bukowski book, I reassess my relationship with them, and only keep them on if they are good at picking up the check or if their parents have a cabin in the mountains. Or if they usually have pot. Otherwise I defriend them.

I used to work in a bookstore, and when it was dead and we were bored we would read Bukowski to each other and laugh, laugh, laugh.

Bukowski is a fucking idiot who made fake poetry for people who hate poetry, so they could look cool without actually having to read poetry.

If you don't eventually outgrow Bukowski, you're an asshole.

>> No.1181172

>>1181162

'fake poetry'?

Bukowski is truthful and honest. He took his work seriously. It wasn't always that good, but sometimes it really hits the mark.

Bukowski seems to get a lot of mixed reactions. I love him though.

>> No.1181334

>>1181172
actually, I agree with you, every thing he writes feels to me just to fucking fake. he's a nice read over-all, but if feels like he's faking is all persona just to be "the cool writer".
he does have a few good poems though.

>> No.1181338
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1181338

>>1181334
I mean, just look at this guy.

>> No.1181352

>>1181334
Bukowski didn't give the slightest shit about being a cool writer. He just wanted money for beer.

I hated his poetry and thought the same thing as you guys: it was just a bunch of sentences with awkward line breaks, not real poems. About a year ago, someone sent me audio recordings of Bukowski's old poetry readings. The crowd at those readings wasn't the typical poetry reading crowd. They were tough bikers, miners, welders, construction workers, and mechanics. They drink beer and heckled constantly. Bukowski hollered back, "Shut the fuck up, I'm trying to read!" and laughed right along with them. He really enjoyed that interaction, and he really read his poetry well. It meant a lot to him. He always thought of himself more as a poet than as a prose author. He called writing poetry "playing with the poem."

If you can find the audio recordings, give them a listen. They're short but will help you view Bukowski's work in a different light. He did a lot for poetry and breaking it out of the cardigan-and-tweed stereotype. He wasn't Keats and didn't want to be.

>> No.1181355

>>1181338

He looks like a fucking legend. He IS a fucking legend.

>> No.1181359

>>1181352

I have about four of Bukowski's albums. Some are live and some are studio recordings. Listening to him read is fantastic, and I agree, the way he interacts with the crowd is a riot.

The Bukowski albums are worth a listen. ;Hostage' is a particularly good live recording.

>> No.1181362

>>1181352
i'll look them up...
I loved "Genius of the Crowed" and "Let It Enfold You", can you suggest me with more of his GOOD poems?

>> No.1181366

>>1181362
I liked "Style" and "The Death of an Idiot." Both are better when read, in my opinion. Youtube probably has both of them as read by Bukowski himself.

>> No.1181367

>>1181359
found it!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CHP3V068

>> No.1181381

>>1181367
Looks great, thanks!

>> No.1181403

>>1181362

bluebird is one of my favourites, also For jane is a beautiful testiment to mourning a loved one. Also check out:

the strongest of the strange
i met a genius
the last days of the suicide kid
friendly advice to a lot of young men
the proud the thin the dying
A RADIO WITH GUTS (a famous one, really good)
Dinosauria, we
are you drinking?
I was born to hustle roses down the avenues of the dead
the nine horse
the secret of my endurance

those are his best IMO

>> No.1181413

Been a big fan of him ever since high school.
His comedy is fabulous, nothing beats it for me in literature. I'd put him up there in the classics realm. Everyone should read some Bukowski. The world would be a better place.

>> No.1181420

"Bukowski was a jerk! Berryman was best! He wrote like wet papier mache, went the Heming-way weirdly on wings and with maximum pain We call upon the author to explain!”

My thoughts exactly, thanks Nick Cave.

>> No.1181582

Trouble is hilarious too. Just been listening to it on the hostage album

>> No.1181591

I have read three books by Bukowski and I didn't like any of them very much. He reminds me too much of an uncle of mine. That's probably why I didn't like them.

>> No.1181783

bump for Hostage mp3

great find anon! I'd love to hear more of this type of thing from other authors.

>> No.1181800

I read women and thought it a load of SHIT

>> No.1181801

>>1181591
This could be hot. Go on...

>> No.1181802

I've only read half of Post Office, and so far its just okay. It reminds me of some old guy rambling stories that don’t really flow that well

>> No.1181829

I loved 'women'. Not many books have made me laugh out loud like that.

>> No.1181838

I read all of Bukowski's books and become a drunk horse-gambler. I'm so fucked.

>> No.1181850

I just get incredibly indifferent to most things, but I really like him when I get out of my Bukowski mindset

>> No.1181870

>>1181801
It was pretty terrible. I can understand it being fun if you're old but I was like 7-12 when I was around him so much. I'm kind of surprised I'm not a raging alcoholic now. Not a day went by when I was with him that he wasn't drunk as fuck.

/lit/ - Livejournal

>> No.1181873

Oh, this is /lit/! Haha, I meant to go to /fit/ and suddenly books, books everywhere!

Haha

>> No.1181880

>>1181873
You'll like Fight Club.