Charles Bukowski. Pöörase elu rüpes

by Howard Sounes, Katrin Kiik (Translator), Tuuli Seinberg (Translator)

Charles Bukowskist sai kirjanik alles keskeas, nooremana oli ta ametilt postiljon ja eluviisilt alkohoolik. Bukowski on kirjutanud poolautobiograafilist luulet ja proosat, millest arvestatav osa on muutunud klassikaks. Näiteks "Postkontori", "Faktootumi" ja "Naiste" tabavad elukirjeldused on autorist teinud kirjandusliku staari.Käesoleva raamatu autoril Howard Sounesil on õnnestunud luua tõetruu pilt Ameerika kirjanduse "räpase vanamehe" elust, illustreerides seda Bukowski enda joonistuste ja rohke haruldase pildimaterjaliga. On öeldud, et Bukowskit mäletatakse rohkem legendi kui ta teoste järgi. Howard Sounes näitab, et see pole päris nii.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Writing, American

358 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Biographer of Bob Dylan, Charles Bukowski and Paul McCartney. Also histories and true crime - Fred & Rose, Heist - with The Fred West Tapes new in 2025.

Reviews

[Bryan Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan examining Bukowski's life is a little difficult. He was not what you could call a ‘good guy’; there was a lot about him that is less than admirable. It’s easy for his critics to take a reductive view of him and his works, the temptation for his admirers is to perhaps give him a bit of a whitewash. However, what this book does is present an unsentimental account of Bukowski’s life – certainly it does not shy away from the many less flattering episodes – yet in a way which shows the author’s clear love of his subject and Bukowski’s greatness despite, or rather because of all this. If you have read much Bukowski then you basically know his life story already. However, this book establishes a more clear chronology for iBukowski’s life and does a lot to separate fact from fiction. So If you do like Bukowski (if you don’t what’s wrong with you?) then give this a go.



Looking in the expansive notes you see that this is a thoroughly researched book, it’s also a mine of intriguing facts. From a footnote in the back I learned that there is a short French film based on Bukowski’s work directed by Eric Cantona. It seems an unlikely pairing but there you go. It seems that all along it was Bukowski’s influence, specifically his refutation of mainstream society and received values, that made Cantona wear his shirt collars up all the time!

[Virginija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't really remember why I decided to read "Post Office" few years ago but that's exactly when Charles Bukowski came into my life. Some say that his writings are meaningless, because the meaning isn't obvious. It's there deep down in the rivers of alcohol, bar fights, complicated friendships, failed relationships and under the roof of crappy rooms. He wasn't the best person (honestly, no one is) and had rough life but he tried and did what seemed best to get through. Whether you read his poetry or prose you can feel the realness of this crazy world even if you have nothing in common with him or his characters.

"I was still writing to keep from going crazy, I was still writing, trying to explain this god-damned life to myself."

Howard Sounes did a wonderful job with this biography. He did a lot of research, interviews with people who knew Bukowski one way or another and most importantly (for me at least), he didn't say that you should love or hate Bukowski. You have to make up your own mind while reading this book and whatever your opinion is after it, you still will be able to understand what and why Charles Bukowski wrote the way he did.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purely as a biographical/bibliographical resource, this is a useful volume to anyone interested in a more critical study of the man behind the legend. During his writing career, quite a lot of myths, distortions and even outright falsehoods (some fabricated by himself) concerning Bukowski's personal life have been floating around, which this biography seeks to correct. In that sense it is a solid and informative read, while not exactly groundbreaking. There is significant overlap with Bukowski's own semi-autobiographical writings, from which Sounes quotes regularly.

Where I find it lacking is in its presentation, which is rather uninspired. After a couple of chapters, it feels more like a dry recounting of -to the average Bukowski reader-reasonably well-known events, but without the literary panache to inject life in those events. It lacks vitality and texture. Still, it gets the job done. I will most certainly use it for future reference.

[Zygintas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirmas sakinys: Charlesas Bukowskis atsistojo nuo kėdės ir išsitraukė alaus iš ant scenos jam už nugaros stovinčio šaldytuvo.

Lengvai skaitoma detali Charles'o Bukowski'o biografija.

Knygoje daug dėmesio skiriama informacijos patikrinimui, nes "Bukowskis piršo nuomonę, kad didžioji dalis to, ką yra parašęs, jo gyvenime nutiko iš tiesų" (21 p.). Howard'as Sounes'as atliko kruopštų darbą kalbindamas "jam artimus žmones: bičiulius, gausų būrį mylimųjų, sugėrovus, bendradarbius, kolegas rašytojus, leidėjus ir šeimos narius." (9 p.), skaitydamas rašytojo laiškus, klausydamas jo pokalbių įrašų.

Pagrindinis šios biografijos privalumas – susilaikymas "nuo komentarų apie Bukowskio gyvenimo būdą ir nuo bet kokio jo elgesio aspektų vertinimo. Esu įsitikinęs, kad mano užduotis yra tiesiog pateikti jums, mielas skaitytojau, patikrintus faktus apie Bukowskio gyvenimą – sužinotus iš artimiausių jam žmonių, laiškų ir mano aptiktų dokumentų, – ir tai mėginu daryti kiek pajėgdamas bešališkai. O kai jau perskaitysite knygoje pateikiamą faktologiją, pats galėsite nuspręsti, koks gi, jūsų nuomone, Bukowskis buvo žmogus." (10 p.)

Howard'o Sounes'o parašyta biografija leidžia geriau pažinti Charles'ą Bukowski'į, sužinoti, kas tapo vieno ar kito jo romano prototipu, į ką apeliuojama viename ar kitame eilėraštyje. Knyga neturėtų nuvilti net ir neskaičiusių ar nemėgstančių šio autoriaus kūrybos. Nekalbant apie tuos, kuriems Charles'o Bukowski'o romanai irba eilėraščiai patinka.

4.8/5✰

[Tim Boroughs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Bukowski was a writer who lived in down and out apartments and rooming houses in Los Angeles for for most of his life and endured a succession of menial and demoralising jobs whilst struggling to make a living as a writer. These experiences formed the basis for his literary work which was in large part autobiographical and whilst primarily a poet, Bukowski’s output included short stories, novels and a screenplay. The result is a brilliant record of his shambolic life of relationships gone wrong, nights of hard drinking and a determination to avoid a conventional working life. The great thing about Bukowski’s oeuvre is how his work exposes the underside of American urban life – the milueu of the run down inner city, a place of dark bars, desperation and failed hopes. What saves Bukowski’s writing from becoming a sad chronicle of skid row is his humour and observations of sparks of beauty and tenderness within what is undeniably a grim social context.
Sounes’ biography is a well researched account of Bukowski’s mad but prolific life. It details Bukowski’s desperately unhappy childhood and the beatings he endured by his father, his 20 years of bug infested rooming houses and his salad days lying out back under the trees in his Hollywood hills bungalow being feted by the likes of Sean Penn and Bono. Sounes work is an easy read peppered with anecdotes of the great Buk in action - drinking beer on stage at his readings, or abusing his fellow guests on a French literary chat show. Included in the book are some photographs of his hangouts and of him striking various poses like leaping onto a boxcar or sitting in a mess strewn room mid hangover. Sounes succeeds in writing a warts and all biography that goes beneath the mythology exposing a painfully honest and sensitive man, whose writing has an authenticity and lack of pretension that is far too rare in the fields of poetry or literary fiction.

[ger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Howard Sounes' decision to write in an 'American' way as opposed to his own natural English makes the writing a little dry in places. Most great Biographies seem to flow but I found myself being a bit underwhelmed by the journalistic quality of the chapters. That being said, once I got used to it, the book improved.

It was interesting to see how 'Established' facts in his life such as 'The ten year drunk' and the story of how his deal with John Martin came about really happened. There's plenty of source notes and it seems a detailed job.

Bukowski comes across as more obsessive than he does in his own work as well as much meaner. His attitude to women at times was appalling but when he wrote it up he left out key points that made him look tough and true and honest. The real stories make him look like a real asshole.

A lot of people loved him though and he clearly had two sides as we all do.

The only point I will make is that Sounes writes that U2 wrote a song as tribute to Bukowski but he gets the name wrong even though the source notes are cited. A simple error in a detailed book but its the only fact I know personally. I hope it doesn't reflect on other sources.

A great point for reference and an enjoyable, easy read.

[Kristina Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gera ir įdomi Bukowskio biografija.

Gera, nes ją tiesiog įdomu skaityti (autorius sugeba išaikyti dėmesį ir balansą tarp biografinių, buitinių, skandalingų rašytojo gyvenimo detalių), nes surinkta daug informacijos ir ji įvairiapusišką (radau daug nežinomos informacijos), nes autorius neperša savo nuomonės apie savo biografijos subjektą ir susilaiko nuo komentarų apie jo būdą ir elgesį (nei teisina, nei smerkia), nes ji ne sausa, o sukelianti emocijas (kaip ir pačio Bukowskio kūryba) - juoką, džiaugsmą, liūdesį.

Biografiją tikrai verta perskaityti mėgstantiems Bukowskį, nes ji geras papildymas jo kūrybai (romanų, eilėraščių), kurioje daug autobiografiškumo ir asmeniškumo. Čia galima gauti dar daugiau konteksto ir minčių.

Plius bonusas - knygoje nemažai Bukowskio eilėraščių. O užvertus paskutinį biografijos puslapį, norisi ir vėl kažką jo paskaityti.

[Reix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved Bukowski's books. There's no "poetry" in his words, but there's reality, he talks about the real world, his own life, a disturbing one, and I feel attracted to that kind of readings, that shows that bad side of life that not many want to look at.
Bukowski was seen most of his life as a weirdo, more an antisocial than an introvert, ignored by men and specially by women (something that later changed), a misogynist, a drunker who liked to polemicize.
Well, it's clear that nowadays he would have probably been considered one of those macho men, but I'm not going to judge his life, but his work, and I think that as a writer, maybe he's not the best using words or composing "beautiful" sentences, but he's got something crude, special and ironic, surrealistic, that sometimes makes you laugh and some other times makes you think.
Talking about this biography, I think that maybe is not the best to get specific details about his life, just generalities and some concrete details, but I think you know better his life by his own works than by these book. His childhood was hard, but I think this is something not very explored in this biography. Anyway, is very easy to read and is still interesting if you feel curious about this polemic writer.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard one to rate or recommend; if you haven't read a lot of Bukowski novels, then this is a very enlightening read. If you have read many of his very autobiographical novels, however, at least half of this book will be a repeat for you.

Still, this is a pretty thorough and very candid look at Bukowski. He definitely doesn't come off as a good person here, but I don't think there is anything here that Bukowski himself would disagree with.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard Sounes gives us a biography of Bukowski that reads like Bukowski could have written it. He quotes from the stories and poems as he gives background to the real people depicted. If you’ve read Bukowski’s novels, you come away understanding what was hyperbole and how he used real life to craft drama.

I wasn’t sure I’d like it enough to read the whole thing and it surprised me. I’d be interested in some of Sounes's other biographies after reading this one.

[Agris Fakingsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

..ar Bukovski viss skaidrs. autors radījis vienu no labākajām viņa biogrāfijām. papildus pienesums šim ir stāsts par to, kā autors nonāca līdz domai par šīs grāmatas rakstīšanu. un visu cieņu viņam par šo kolosālo darbu.

[Brent Legault · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography seemed to me to be more unnecessary than most, considering how much of his own life Bukowski used in his fiction, but I found it not entirely unentertaining.

[Jason Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decently written, fairly objective account of "The Bard of East Hollywood".

[Povilas V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nelabai supratau, kam reikalinga šita knyga. Apie Bukowskį daugiau sužinoti būtų galima tiesiog perskaičius "Paštą" ir "Arklienos kumpį".

[Anne-Lise De Ruysscher · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 woord: WAUW!
Een geweldig boek dat je meeneemt in de zoektocht naar de mens achter de cultfiguur. Een inkijk in zijn leven die boeit van begin tot einde.

Een must-read als je van Bukowski houdt!

[LATOYA JOVENA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bukowski is one of my favorite authors. Howard Sounes made me feel like I knew him.

[Mat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another exceptional biography by Howard Sounes. About 20 years ago, I read Down the Highway, his in-depth biography on Bob Dylan, on par with Clinton Heylin's Behind the Shades. (Those are probably the two best Dylan biographies).

This is the first biography I have read on Bukowski so I cannot compare it with the others, but based on what I have heard and read, this biography seems to be the most accurate and thorough to date. However, having said that, at the same time I felt that a writer as prolific as Charles Bukowski (who friends referred to as 'Hank'), who ended up (surprisingly) living until the age of 73, deserves an even more in-depth biography. This is definitely good enough, but here and there, I felt Sounes was skipping through his life and career quite quickly.

To sum up what I felt about this book: Sounes gave a very flattering portrait of Bukowski the writer/poet and artist, but a very unflattering portrait of Bukowski the person. It's a warts-and-all biography and I came away thinking 'damn, that Bukowki was a real asshole to some people'. But Bukowski was indeed complicated. Although he could be very vicious and cruel when drunk, he could be the sweetest and nicest person when sober.

Reading this biography confirmed for me what Jack Micheline once said about Bukowski in an interview - he said Bukowski was really kind, open and somewhat vulnerable before he became famous, but the fame really changed him, and that came through in this biography. Once he became a 'big shot' writer, he started treating some of his friends very poorly. The story about how he treated William Wantling, who had been so looking forward to meeting Bukowski, and then Wantling going off and drinking himself to death was really sad. And Bukowski didn't stop there. He then had the nerve to try and seduce Wantling's wife after her husband had passed away. What kind of person does that?

Therefore, this book made me realize, all over again, that we can respect someone for their art and work, but not necessarily for who they are as a person. So while I certainly enjoy reading Bukowski's books, and look forward to reading many more (he was very prolific), I am certainly glad that I no longer idolize him (about 15 years ago, when my life was going nowhere and I was heading for a divorce, I started idolizing the Henry Chinaski character, unfortunately, but have learnt since what a stupid idea that was ...).

If you are a fan of Bukowski's work, I recommend this but be warned, you might end up liking the poet/writer more than the man. At least, that's how I feel now.

[Michael Naughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writers and Poets, in particular, evince quite a bit about themselves through their words. Great Biographers like Howard Sounes distinguish the writer's personal life behind their words; they help us round out their complex life puzzle and personal history. Howard Sounes achieves this through credible sources and interviews with the women who knew Bukowski and his personal correspondence with: John Martin, Ferlinghetti, etc. IRS and FBI records.

Sounes clarifies and confirms the Bukowski we thought we knew: Sensitive. Intractable. Outspoken and of course, inebriated and anilalted, but passionately writing between swings and swigs.

He lived a hard life and fought back hard.

It is amazing he lived as long as he did.

Fante was his God and Ask the Dust sent him on his journey and galvanized his pen.
Interesting and tragic story included on Fante on his deathbed and at the end of his road when Bukoswki finally meets him.

When Hollywood came knocking and beat a path to his door, Bukowski got to realize his life on screen. He became his own screen-self/self-critique. For instance, he liked Mickey O'Rourke in Barfly, but disliked Tales of Ordinary Madnessand Ben Gazarra's interpretation of him. Sean Penn's relationship was honest and Bukowski liked him... Madonna (did not like her at all) whom Penn was married to at the time.

I have been reading Bukowski for years, but as a poetry publisher myself, Charles Bukowski's publishing history and dealings with various publishers was of particular interest to me (let's not forget the Webbs, Jon and Gypsy Lou) and John Martin who set Bukowski on his way and the infamous Black Sparrow years. Without Martin's vision and entrepreneurial efforts Bukowski might not have not have hit critical mass. He referred to Bukowski as "the Walt Whitman of our day." post office: A Novel was his breakthrough book at 49 years old. Pulp his last. Europe loved him. The rest is history.

[Jeremy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out rather dull, much of the earlier chapters seemed like much had been sifted from Ham On Rye. But the book was good, I would've liked to have seen more on his parents. At one point near the end the Bukowski returns to Germany for a book event and visits with his fathers brother. This was an intresting moment for Bukowski whose childhood was marred in verbal and physicla abuse at the hand of his father. The book didnt go as indepth as I would expect of a biography (like Maher's Kerouac or Boyd's Hurston or Herb Boyd's Baldwin or even the wonderful portraiture of Nell Harper), I expected more. or the most part, the book seemed to reinforce the popular idea of the man people assumed Bukowski to be. At times, Sounes book tended to be more journalistic than biographical. But the book is a good primer and a good beginning. Bukowski had an amazing life! True laureate of skid row, played by his on rules, lived hard and defied the establishment. There is certainly a lesson here to learned for anyone seriously interested in the life of a bona fide artist.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

He drank but “had little time for drugs”; he could be misogynistic but as soon as he got a woman pregnant the first thing he did was propose; to put things in perspective he was really more of a misanthrope than a misogynist; “when he was sober, Bukowski was quiet and polite, even deferential [but:] when he got drunk – especially in sophisticated company, which made him uneasy – he became Bukowski the bad: mischievous, argumentative, even violent;” he gambled – he once totted up that he’d frittered away $10,000 – but he was also extraordinarily careful with his money. He is far more interesting than even he would have you believe.

Not a perfect biography but I think it’ll be the best we’re likely to get.

You can read a full review on my blog here

[Özgür Tekin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabın sonlarına doğru kendi kendime şunu söyledim: "Bukowski hakkında ne çok şey biliyorum." Bu bilginin büyük çoğunluğu durmadan kendini anlatan Bukowski'nin kitaplarında yazdıkları, bir kısmı hakkında izlediğim belgeseller, filmler; bir kısmı da Barbet Schroeder'in çektiği Charles Bukowski Tape'leri. Ilımlı bir fanlık durumu oluşmuş galiba.
Niye böyle bir düşünce aklıma geldi diye soracak olursanız, artık okuduklarım Bukowski ile ilgili fikrime katkıda bulunmuyor. İsimler, olaylar, yerler; hepsi tanıdık artık. Yine de mavi kuşu özlüyor insan, ölüp gitmiş bir akrabayı özler gibi.
Kitapla ilgili özet fikrim: Moruğu tanıyorsanız tanıyorsunuz, tanımıyorsanız da fena bir başlangıç noktası değil gibi.

[Dezign · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a bit strange. Not only was the majority of the book simply a retelling of stories appearing in Bukowski's own work, at times Sounes attempted mimicking Bukowski's style, as if he was not writing a biography, but writing a novel in the style of Bukowski about Bukowski. If in fact Sounes did so much research (as he claims), why is there so little in the book outside of what Bukowski had already recounted in his work? Did nothing happen to Bukowski inbetween the times he wrote about in his novels? In any case, it's not a bad book, but overall there was very little in it that I already didn't know from reading Bukowski and watching documentaries about him on YouTube.

[Pretzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, sometimes funny, gritty, raunchy. My first swim through the "river Bukowski" and it was pretty good for me.

The part about the buffalo chasing him so he had to run and dive over a fence, was hysterical!!

[Brian Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought there wasn't much more I could learn about the old man, but this bio proved me wrong. Reads more like a novel than some ordinary biography. Fitting. How could anything Bukowski be ordinary?

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became obsessed with Charles Bukowski twenty plus years ago. Multiple people had told me that I would like his stuff, but it wasn't until a remarkable poet who I was dating at the time recommended him, that I scooped one up. I was at a Barnes and Noble in beautiful New Jersey, when I came upon Tales of Ordinary Madness. I opened to a random page and within two lines I was hooked. Fort the next five or so years I read as much of his stuff as I could get my hands on. I wanted to be like him—a dirty, gross, old man who drank too much, moved around a lot, and wrote to stay alive.
I ordered Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life from my local library because it had been so long since I read anything by or about Bukowski. I think about him often, but it's only because his face is tattooed on my arm, but he didn't seem to fit into my lifestyle anymore. Over the past couple years I've went back and read books from a few people who I read when I was younger and then forgot about. Besides Stephen King, I was disappointed by each and every one of the books I read. Locked in the Arms was better than any of them though.
Sounes obviously did his homework,which allowed him to tell the tale of old Hank in a lot of detail. He begins when Bukowski begins and 244 pages later, ends with his death. In the middle, he takes us on a fun journey that reminded me both why I idolized him and why his shittiness created distance between us eventually.
I always knew that the way he talked about women in his writing was bullshit (to quote Sage Francis, “What would Bukowski do? He'd make you his mom, and then lie about it in a poem later on”) but never dived deep enough into his life to learn how true that was. Turns out it wasn't very true. He wasn't as sauve as he sometimes made himself out to be, but he mistreated women in just about every way imaginable. He was a softie when he was sober, but when drunk (and he was drunk more than a lot) he became a piece of shit.
Another thing I learned about him that I don't like is that he was a troll. He would talk about his respect for Hitler and joke about r@p3 like he was a 12 year old boy. Sounes interviewed a lot of women Bukowski had been with and the overwhelming feeling was that he loved hard and deep down was a good person, but he was definitely too volatile to have anything resembling a healthy relationship with.
Still, spending a week reading about his life put me back in the dirty old man mindset. I want to go back and read everything he wrote; I want to pretend to be a writer again; and I want to get blackout drunk and do something really stupid.

[Nc Hegarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, but at least half of it you would already know if you have read Bukowski. The last third was really great because I knew next to nothing about his later life. The stories of 'Hank' hanging out with celebrities such as Sean Penn, Madonna and Harry Dean Stanton. The gift of a computer and the increasing productivity in his later years is priceless.

I suppose part of the allure of Bukowski is the myth, so why dispel the myth? Does it cheapen his work? It could be argued it does.

This is reportedly the definitive biography, I feel like it was rather short and didn't bring as much to the table as I would have liked but I did enjoy it. I would say check out "Ham On Rye" by Bukowski himself if you haven't already, it is basically a biography of his earlier years.

This did rekindle my interest in the work, made me want to check out some poetry collections I haven't read and re-read some of the novels. But, I feel like there is potentially a better Bukowski bio still waiting to be written. 3.5/5

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

sounes has done a really good and respectable job at finding sources and tieing every little detail into the narrative. bukowski mostly wrote about his own life, so reading the specific bits of poetry to illustrate those specific events helped to see a fuller picture.

the book is hard to chew sometimes because of how densely some paragraphs are packed with facts. or how there is a lack of narrative to jump from one name to another.

generally, the book was very eye-opening for me. previously known facts (or myths) blended in the whole story and shifted my feelings towards bukowski. he's still fascinating as a person and a hard working poet, but the details in the book made me realise his attitude and behaviour is more morally grey or even morally wrong than i initially thought.

sounes' book is relatively easy to read, however i think it would be harder/less compelling to read it if the person is not interested in bukowski in the first place.

[Teodor Burnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well documented take on Bukowski, its greatest strength being that it does not glorify the author, but it shows him just the way he probably was: a flawed human being touched by the gods. Although there are many episodes that reflect badly on "Chinaski" (like leading a fellow writer to kill himself, or kicking his partner in a rage), the book is also full of anecdotes that give a glimpse into Bukowski's mesmerising, Lucifer-like personality. I think the main gain from reading Sounes' book is that it makes one dig deeper, especially in regard to Bukowski's poetry. Alas, more poetry was required on the part of the biographer in this book.

[David Lai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really absorbing biog of the writer/professional bum Charles Bukowski. Bukowski must have had loads of personal charm, because in this account, approved by many of the major figures in his life, he comes over as mostly an obnoxious and contemptible man; the most egregious example of his behaviour being his attempt to seduce the grieving widow of one of his erstwhile friends, a struggling poet who committed suicide shortly after Bukowski slagged him off in print.

Well-researched, thorough and vivid.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished Howard Sounes' biography of Charles Bukowski. I don't know how to describe it to you other than to say if you enjoyed Bukowski's _Post Office_ or _Ham on Rye_, this book provides excellent context. He was definitely a character for his time, Bukowski was. Deeply flawed man with demons a plenty, yet somehow attractive in a bizarre gritty way. I don't think many people read him these days, do they?