Lurid, uncompromising and hilarious, post office is a landmark in american literature, and over 1 million copies have been sold worldwide. The story follows his experiences at the post office, weaving them together with his accounts of romantic affairs, sexual encounters, drinking, and. Here, at long last, is your chance to choose your favorite bukowski books and influence the course of human events for all time. In 1962, he was distraught over the death of jane cooney baker, his first serious girlfriend. Originally published in 1971 the descriptions of working as a post carrier and clerk in post office are intriguing but can sometimes be as repetitive and boring as mail sorting. From iconic tortured artisteveryman charles bukowski, hollywood is the fictionalization of his experience adapting his novel barfly into a movie by the same name. I loved this book up until the point in which he started saying this shit that pissed me off and made me skip pages till the end. His regular spells of drudgery there are interspersed with lots of drinking, women, race track betting, and some cynically amusing commentary. Post office, by charles bukowski, is the selfrevelation of henry hank chinaski. Post office by charles bukowski, first edition abebooks.
Depression and three days in bed can restore your creative juices nsfw colin marshall hosts and produces notebook on cities and culture and writes essays on literature, film, cities, asia, and aesthetics. The story follows his experiences at the post office, weaving them together with his accounts of romantic affairs, sexual encounters, drinking, and gambling. Some consider me a black emo, although i dont even know what that means and i think the term is stupid to begin with. He was born in 1920 in andernach, germany, to an american soldier father and a german mother. Charles bukowski books biography and list of works. Henry chinaski, bukowskis alterego, is pushed to translate a semiautobiographical book into a screenplay for john pinchot. His novels, with an autobiographical character called henry chinaski, include post office and factotum. By middle age, henry chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the u.
Post office is the first novel written by charles bukowski, published in 1971 when he was 50 years old. Bukowski died in san pedro, california, on march 9, 1994. Interested i went to the book store and read the first couple pages of a few of his books, and it seems like they are poorly written. Chinakis personality, which is sincere, miserable, and aloof is very likeable. This visionary californiabased publisher was prepared to gamble on charles bukowski the lowlife, alcoholic writer other publishers wouldnt touch with a barge pole and a swathe of other avantgarde authors who didnt fit in founded by john martin in 1966, black sparrow also published paul bowles, john fante, diane. This was bukowskis first literary effort, or so it seems it is set after the events of factotum, which mentions from time to time bukowskis efforts to get his short fiction placed with a publisher, but in post office theres no real discussion of bukowskis. Life in a post office i happened to read a wonderful quote by bukowski, which eventually lead me to read his quasiautobiographical novel, post office.
The normally jobless, transient henry chinaski attempts to live a normal. Charles bukowski as famous for his notorious lifestyle as for his visceral books of poetry and prose, charles bukowski 19201994 mined his experiences on americas mean streets to become one of the 20th centurys most influential and widely imitated writers. Charles bukowski is one of americas bestknown contemporary writers of poetry and prose and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. Literary america owes a great debt to the black sparrow press. Post office by charles bukowski henry chinaski has only one steady thing in his life. Post office by charles bukowski seller the book merchant jenkins published 2009 condition new book edition later edition isbn 9780753518168 item price. Post office italian paperback july 6, 2017 by charles bukowski author. I have heard tid bits about how good some of charles bukowskis books are. He certainly has his fans, and post office was an interesting book, but always thought he was more. The new edition is augmented with an anecdotal introduction by the modern welsh cultliterary author, niall griffiths a writer who was working in a british post office when he first read bukowskis post. He later wrote about the filming of barfly in his novel, hollywood. It was christmas season and i learned from the drunk up on the hill, who did the trick every christmas, that they would hire damned near anybody, and so i went and the next thing i knew i had this leather sack on my back and was hiking around at my leisure. What polarizes me from bukowskis work is his use of the word monkey on page 116 of post office.
Post office, charles bukowski post office is the first novel written by charles bukowski, published in 1971 when he was 50 years old. What i found most remarkable about this short novel 162 pages is how enjoyable the author made me feel about such an apparent. Bukowski wrote the screenplay for the 1987 motion picture barfly. English audio book the sun also rises by ernest hemingway. We have broken the books down into categories, all you have to do is pick one from each group. Post office is bukowskis first novel and sets the style for his later books. Henry is a middleaged alcoholic willing to buck any system, void of ambition, yet exhibiting superior intellect and reasoning. This study guide consists of approximately 39 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of post office. Post office by charles bukowski audiobook duration. During his lifetime he published more than fortyfive books of poetry and prose including the novels post office 1971, factotum 1975, women 1979 and pulp 1994 all available from virgin books read more. Post office didnt hit me with quite the same knockout punch as factotum, but it still carried quite a heft all the same. This book chronicles the fictional later life of main character henry chinaski, who has for most of the book a deadend career at the post office over 12 years. He bounces around between woman, horse races, and alcohol but always has the postal service to come back to. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read post office.
Fear and loathing las vegas whole book part 1 duration. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on post office by charles bukowski. Listen to charles bukowski poems being read by bukowski. About charles bukowski during his lifetime bukowski published more than fortyfive books of poetry and prose including the novels post office 1971 and factotum 1975. Charles bukowski books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography. Post office by charles bukowski penguin books australia. It is a semiautobiographical story of henry chinaski, a lowlife loser living a daytoday existence revolving around heavy drinking, gambling at. The protagonist in post office is chinaski, who is considered as bukowskis alterego. Racist part in post office charles bukowski american. I got into the door, said goodbye, turned on the radio, found a halfpint of scotch, drank that.
He was born in 1920 in andernach, germany, to an american soldier father and a german mother, a. Supposedly written in three weeks, the book is highly personal. Charles bukowski author charles bukowski is one of americas bestknown contemporary writers of poetry and prose and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. Born in 1920, charles bukowski became one of americas bestknown writers. A novel, by charles bukowski online on bookmate it began as a mistake. Bukowskis first novel, post office, seemed as good a place as any.