Charles Bukowski

[Skip Brutale]

Have any of you read him? I read factotum and it inspired me to be drunk for about a month straight last month. I would get drunk before work, drink during my lunch break, and not really do anything at work. If I got fired I would just get another job. The book kind of put things in perspective about what was really important.

Since drinking a bottle of Jack on new years eve in like an hour at 9 o'clock I've slowed down the drinking since that really ruined that night. But when I read the next book of his I get I imagine some more important life changes will come.

[nothumb]

Bukowski, sure, I like him a lot.

But I think you should try to separate yourself from what you're reading a little bit.

NT

[Skip Brutale]

[ QUOTE ]
Bukowski, sure, I like him a lot.

But I think you should try to separate yourself from what you're reading a little bit.

NT

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Reading it kind of made me realize that none of it really matters. Plus my friends are all reading him now and there was a general kind of attitude of "you work tommarow at 9? Bukowski would keep drinking, keep drinking!".

Who cares if you get fired or you never go anywhere. There is nowhere to strive to, nothing to bother achieving. Just have another drink.

[ethan]

Bukowski's great. Both his prose and his poetry, and I say that as someone not generally all that enthused about poetry. Try "Play the Piano Drunk..." or "You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense". For prose, "Post Office" is among his most popular works and for good reason. Same for "Ham on Rye". After those you might consider "Hollywood" and "Women".

At this point, I should note that I drink a fair bit /images/graemlins/smile.gif (Read my responses in Augie's recent booze-shopping thread.)

[ethan]

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Who cares if you get fired or you never go anywhere. There is nowhere to strive to, nothing to bother achieving. Just have another drink.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm. I'm not sure taking things quite to that extreme is a good idea. Bukowski's life is an ugly, miserable story and that comes through clearly in his writing. I can't imagine reading it as something to aspire to.

He finds a certain calm despite the ugliness of what's surrounding him (and that in himself), and that's where I find him uplifting.

[thatpfunk]

He's amazing. His poetry > prose.

Also Post Office > Factotum. They're pretty similar though.

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
Reading it kind of made me realize that none of it really matters. Plus my friends are all reading him now and there was a general kind of attitude of "you work tommarow at 9? Bukowski would keep drinking, keep drinking!".


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Yeah, sounds more to me like you're an unmotivated, wishy-washy borderline nihilist looking for someone or something to enable or glamorize your pointless, self-destructive behavior.

Bukowski is not trying to tell you that life is pointless and drinking is cool.

I hate hate hate when people appropriate superficial elements of literature or pop culture into their daily lives as if it is a statement that has meaning or value...

NT

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Reading it kind of made me realize that none of it really matters. Plus my friends are all reading him now and there was a general kind of attitude of "you work tommarow at 9? Bukowski would keep drinking, keep drinking!".


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, sounds more to me like you're an unmotivated, wishy-washy borderline nihilist looking for someone or something to enable or glamorize your pointless, self-destructive behavior.

Bukowski is not trying to tell you that life is pointless and drinking is cool.

I hate hate hate when people appropriate superficial elements of literature or pop culture into their daily lives as if it is a statement that has meaning or value...

NT

[/ QUOTE ]

word. NT is just about entirely right.

If you (as a college student) read Bukowski and think "Cool! I can spend 12 years drunk at the post office!" you're not getting the point.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
His poetry > prose.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. The original post made me start rereading "You Get So Alone..."

If this book doesn't hurt to read, you're not paying attention. It's probably the most brutal thing I've ever read, and that's from a respectable selection.

[thatpfunk]

I am a big fan of that as well as When the Days Run over the hills like Wild Horses

[blendedsuit]

I recommend Post Office. Afterwards, I also read Women, but didn't care for that nearly as much. I have delivered mail as a carrier, so his stories really hit home for me. I heard about Post Office by a friend that recommended it to me, and by no means think delivering mail is a prerequisite to enjoy that novel. It's a pretty quick enjoyable read.

[Rushmore]

I have read all the responses, and two things need to be said.

First, Bukowski was an alcoholic who wrote about being an alcoholic. If you have this much trouble detaching yourself, I strongly suggest you never read William Burroughs or Martin Amis.

Secondly, the absolutely REQUIRED Bukowski reading has not yet been mentioned: Erections, Ejaculations,Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness, which is truly marvelous. Bukowski was much better-suited to short story writing than novels, and it really shows here.

Think Raymond Carver. Same sort of thing.