if you're a bukowski fan, then this a must read--some poems hit you hard--others not so hard but thats the risk with hk and most often well worth it

call the roller of big cigars the muscalar one and bid him whip in kitchen cups copubisciant curds

let the wenches dawdle in such dress as they are used to wear and let the boys bring flowers in last months newspapers

let be, be finale of seem the only emporer is the emporer of ice cream.

Like drinking, so it is w/ Bukowski's poetry: it is all a gamble. Some nights the liquor or atmosphere is right and you get good and drunk and feel fine; other nites you get ill and nauseous and spend the early morn puking on the old rug. Some of his poems are excellent, they help one deal w/ this life here; others, well, maybe they should have been used as rolling papers. Still, like drinking, it is time well-spent. We must have endurance and courage to keep on drinking and keep on reading. My hand shakes as I finish...

Bukowski's carnival of the grotesque culminates in a collection of shorts that take you through booze, broads, cockroach-infested rooming houses and inevitably, skid row. Buk banalizes wretched despair making it seem comic, terrible and commonpace as a car wreck. Not for the uninitiated, these pages show Buk at his hardcore, least palatable best. (Beginners should try Ham on Rye for laughs and biographical insight.) For a quick sampler, juxtapose "The Most Beautiful Woman in Town" with "3 Chickens and "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice Beach, Ca." Who else could put the poetry in necrophilia and the pathos in suicide? Make you split a gut as two old whores do the dozens over his sexually spent body while the heat is ever at the door? Make you feel a tingle when two fat-headed slobs kiss the lovely lips of a stolen corpse and float her out to a sunlit sea? Make you cry when a gorgeous, self-lacerating nutjob drags a broken bottle across her neck and disappears forever into the LA night, never to warm the corner barstool again... If you ever manage to get your hands on this book, bring a flask, bottle of Peopto Bismol and a handkerchief. Strap yourself in and get ready for a bumpy night.

The tales in this book are from the Bukowski's greatests creations. They seem to be easily written, but with a quality (and rythm) that only a master could put on it. Definitely, one of the bests writers in English language in the XX century.

The movie "BarFly" is based on three days on author's Charles Bukowski's life when he was 29 years old. I have seen this movie numerous times (at least 50) and still get something new out of each time. One of my buddies once said of the movie, "I felt like taking a shower after watching Barfly." Exactly!!! While some may find it too gritty, I find the movie an honest look at a troubled man's life. Henry Chinaski is like you or me but he is a raving alcoholic. There is a sweetness to him that comes out throughout the film and that is what I see and what I like to focus on. He finds his match in Wanda, also an alcoholic, and together they try and make an honest go of their reltionship. What follows is drunken mistakes and a bond that is held together by a Scotch and water. There is a purity and beauty to their relationship and it is evident that they truly care for one another but problems arise because of their drinking. To me Henry is an almost "Buddah" like character who lives in the moment and dosen't seem to hold too many regrets about his life. I admire his honesty and generosity throughout the movie. At first glance you may say he is out for himself but if you really watch old Henry you'll see flashes of kindness and sweetness. He's a man who dosen't seem to fit in to 9-5p.m. society and he makes no excuses for it, or as Jim the bartender said to Lilly the barfly, "he's as right as any of us." Keep an eye out for Bukowski himself who has a cameo in the film, a bar scene where Henry and Wanda first meet. I lived in L.A. for 10 years and have been by some of Bukowski's old haunts and the film captures the "working man's" bar scene in L.A. These types of places exist, you just have to do a little searching to find them. Henry Chinaski is a beautiful man in an ugly world. I highly recommend Barfly and suggest you view it with an open mind and an open heart. As Henry says in the last scene of the movie as he buys the bar numerous rounds of drinks, "to all my friends, to all my friends." If you would like a look at an honest, but troubled, man's life I highly suggest you check out the movie "Barfly."

or at the very least rent it. It's great-if you like buk. if not you'll probably hate it, my girlfreind did. There's a two second shot of the man himself sitting in the bar drinking and looking all grizzled(he talks about this in HOLLYWOOD). one complaint-Frank Stalone!

I think this is a perfect companion to the millions of Buk fans. He read his poetry in a clear way, a lot better than Hostage. He has a unique voice. Some claim he is one of the most influential and imitated poet, i'm for this.

Alright now, you must have this compilation... a must have to any true Bukowski fan.

This CD was the first one I bought when I first began to expand into the "audio" portion of my Bukowski collection. I've collected most of the BSP books, a few chapbooks, etc., and I can't get enough of this album! This CD, released barely a year after his death (this is the 'abridged' 1996 edition of the 1995 release), is an excellent example of him reading his poetry, recorded in the 1960s, and is also a great beginner CD for anyone wanting to hear Hank laugh, cough, and read some of his more important poems to date, such as "Sundays kill more men than bombs," "Winter comes to a lot of places in August," "a 340 horse and a hundred dollar whore" and his classic poem of love lost and money made, "Fire Station." I HIGHLY reccommend buying this CD for the history, the voice, and the almost desperate passion in his monotone, droning voice, intoning to you that he wasn't important, but his poetry was, and oh God yes, I'm glad I've been lucky enough to not only know it, and read it, but HEAR it! So pull up a chair, light up a good cigar, crack open a beer, and let Bukowski do the driving for you! This CD is approx. 61:13 minutes long, and well worth the price! Good luck!

In this book, editors Zlatko Šabiæ (University of Ljubljana) and Charles Bukowski (Bradley University, Massachusetts) construct a framework for addressing the process of NATO enlargement from the perspective of small states such as Slovenia aspiring to join NATO. In his foreword, George W. Grayson points out that more small states (with populations under ten million) abound in Europe since the end of the Cold War. These small states have found themselves in a "catch-22" situation vis-á-vis global and regional organizations. A small state is more vulnerable to the effects of membership in such an organization, and yet, if it remains outside the organization, it weakens its own political and economic standing and hence exacerbates its own vulnerability. The book is composed of seven chapters, mostly written by Slovenian scholars. The majority of the chapters are case studies of Slovenian-U.S. relations in light of Slovenia's efforts to join NATO. The book contributes to the literature by providing an insightful analysis of Slovenian foreign policy.---Johanna Granville, PhD

Some of the poems have a Zen like quality, the beauty, the simplicity of the line are extraordinary. Bukowski got better as he aged, there is no doubt. The great humanity of some of his writings are unmatched.

This is my second favorite volume of Bukowski. I know this because it has the second greatest number of pages dog-eared over so I can find them again.
Why do I like it? OK, it is because when I read most modern stuff, or watch modern films for that matter, I wonder what planet they are living on. It is seldom anything I recognise. When I read Bukowski, either the poems or the short stories or the novels, I recognise the real world. It is just so damn refreshing to see that there is someone being published that is not totally disconnected with reality- at least working class reality.
Will you like this book? Well, skip to page 282 and read "the masses." If you don't like it, then you ain't going to like the rest....
There is another reason that I like this book. It emphacises that the old horseplayer beat the odds and actually made it into his seventies. He "Buk'd" some steep odds there....

In the previous review I was telling that this book was published in spanish but ONLY the stories, not the poems. I can't understand why the guys at Anagrama did this. I cant understand why none of Bukowski poetry books are published in spanish either. And I say that this book is good, not Buk best, but good. (you'll wonder why 5 stars then? Because the good books deserve 10 or more stars)

an amazing look at the reality of life as illustrated by one who tells it like it is without shame

classic bukowski
long narrative thoughtful poetry carefully planned and executed regardless of how he may have described his own techniqe here
the ending short poem is classic

Absolutely top drawer. Whenever i get worked up over paying bills, decorating a house, having the right career, blah blah blah. I turn to this book, pick a page and start reading. Some of the poetry is distilled meaning of life. Some would say a woman wouldn't like bukowski. Some probably wouldn't. To me he's like the print version of Tom Waits. Knows the meaning of life and drinks a beer to the struggle.

Most fans of the late, great Charles Bukowski, myself included, list Ham On Rye as their favorite Bukowski novel - and rightfully so. This novel is actually a thinly-veiled autobiography of the man we knew and loved as "The Bard of Booze and Broads." We see through the eyes of young Henry Chinaski as he comes of age in Depression-era America, the product of a dysfunctional and physically abusive household. From his early childhood as a desperately lonely, yet antisocial little boy to his adolescence (where he struggles with crippling acne and develops a love of literature), we see the genesis of a great writer. Bukowski pulls no punches (no pun intended) in his descriptions of abuse suffered at the hands of his father, a coldhearted, arrogant, sadistic SOB. The reader is drawn in to Bukowski's passionate determination to be the exact opposite of what proper society tries to mold its youth into. A powerful and heartbreaking read. Great work, Buk! R.I.P - you will be missed!

This was the first Bukowski book I've ever read, and I don't plan for it to be my last. I picked up this title because I'd read that, at Christmas, Bukowski's books are among the most stolen from NY bookstores. I love to read books that end up banned or those that end up stolen, usually because they're astounding pieces of work, and this book was no exception. Henry utterly hates life (especially his father), and it's easy to see why. Through Henry's eyes, the reader sees and feels some terrible things -- Henry's beatings, the treatments for his skin, the repulsive traits of fellow characters. The book will leave you drained and angry because the images Bukowksi gives you are very vivid, some bordering on disgusting. It wasn't until after I read the book that I learned it's a thinly disguised bio. No wonder Bukowski's tone is bitter and fierce; if you read this, you'll see why. I couldn't help altering my feelings for Henry at almost every chapter. You get one side of Henry in one chapter, and in the next, you'd swear it was a whole new character. Henry isn't a very complex character, but his observations are. One of the saddest parts of the book comes when Henry's skin treatments end; the nurse who performs his therapy seems to be the only person in the entire book that cares about him, albeit in a medical capacity. Bukowski shows us a seamy side of life with rich descriptions and chracters that no fiction writer could create. Can't wait to try more of his books!

I guess it all stands to this with Bukowski, can you find humor associated with drinking? And do you mind something funny mixed with something tragic? If you can, then this author will please you.
He never battled with drinking, he loved it. He wrote some beautiful poetry and entertaining autobiographical novels. The novels based on his life go from birth to end as follows, HAM ON RYE, FACTOTUM, POST OFFICE, WOMEN, HOLLYWOOD. This book is from his birth until the age around 21.
I would not recommend this book to my mother, because she finds alcoholism a disease and very tragic. I also do sometimes find it tragic, but at times find it funny to follow the exploites of a gifted drunken bum. I have read most of his books many times.

The bookstore clerk summed this up as one of Buk's better works and said, "If you can overlook the fact the main character is a misogynist (seeing I was female), its a good book." The main character, Henry Chinaski, details sexual exploits with women in a raw, uncolored manner, which actually makes it tolerable and even entertaining, although by the middle of the book there is still no hint of character growth. Perhaps that is the point, I thought, until the very end. Sorry to give away the end, but if character growth is important to you, you would be disappointed even if I didn't tell you, because it is poorly done (it is great until it becomes a "happy ending" kind of book but that is only the last page and you can overlook that and pretend it didn't happen if you are so inclined). Somewhere around the middle, I began to get bored because his attitude and actions became too predictable. In spite of all this, or maybe because of it, I enjoyed this book and stayed up all nite reading it. Henry appears to suffer from an alienating depression in which he views the whole world as if he was a different species and is just kind of testing things out, or doing what Feels Right. To sum it up: the book is about going from that lustful being in love feeling you get at first to finding out things that annoy you in a person, and most people overlook those things; Henry does not...

This was the first Bukowski book I ever read and the first novel I read on my own (without it being assigned for a class!) in a long time. A friend of mine had a couple of Buk's books lying around and this title intrigued me. I read the first page and I was hooked. It was a very easy and enjoyable read. I was surprised at how an author could be so hilarious, vulgar, and honest at the same time. I could easily relate to many of Chinaski's gripes with women and to his many (and I mean many!) drinking bouts. Although this might not be for everyone (especially the easily offended! Bukowski gets extremely graphic at times), those with an open mind and a sense of humor should find this book delightful.

This is the first Bukowski book I ever read. I was instantly hooked on the coarse, gritty language best used to describe course, gritty situations (he seems to have plenty of those). I found myself laughing out loud often at this book, and so has everyone I've recommended it to. A friend of mine actually took the book with her on a trip and had her passenger read it aloud to her as they drove up and down the east coast. It didn't matter that they both had already read it, there are just some passages that are worth hearing again!
If you are ready for some serious insight into the minds of men, read Women. Oh, and look for my favorite passage with the German girls and the curve to the left.