Hollywood by Charles Bukowski

This novel follows, chronologically, "Women" and in it there is no promiscuous sex, since Chinaski is now married to the last woman from "Woman" which he calls Sarah in the novel, and who is Linda in real life. As in previous books, pretty much everything in it reflects Bukowski's real life, only the names are changed, and not much either.  As one of his former USPS colleagues said in the biographical movie "Born into this" - everything in the novel "Post Office" was true, only the names were (slightly) changed - the character in question was named Tom in the novel, while he is Don in real life.  Same with Hollywood.

Lots of crazy Hollywood types in the book, but by now (2020), we're quite used to Hollywood types being brainless idiots with egos larger than the universe, so it is not as shocking as his previous books.  I think Bukowski is getting older here and almost feeling his impending death, which occurred just after he finished his last novel "Pulp" - which is his only novel where Hank Chinaski is not the main protagonist, and is not based on Bukowski's real life, which makes it, as one critic put it, "the worst American novel ever written." 

I really got sick and tired of reading about horse races and horse race gambling.  I've never been a fan of gambling in my life, as it is only for idiots who can't do math, and I learned way too much about betting on horse races than I ever wanted to know.  Also boxing matches and betting on boxing.  Don't care and never will. 

It is a good idea to see the movie "Barfly" first, so one can compare the parts in the movie with the descriptions Bukowski gives in the book.  Some parts were changed, because his script was far more brutal and anti-social than what the Hollywood producers (Firepower=Cannon) allowed.  And also, while Mickey Rourke makes a passable Chinaski, Fay Dunaway is definitely not the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed broad from Bukowski's script.

An interesting read overall, however not as vile and shocking as "Women", not as well-written as "Post Office", not as relevant as "Ham and Rye" and not as comprehensive as "Factotum."

Factotum by Charles Bukowski

This book describes the 20s and 30s of Bukowski's life.  It starts where "Ham and Rye" finishes, and ends before "Post Office" begins.  Of course, in between are the "10 years of drunken blackout" as Bukowski likes to call it.  It is written in his recognizable style, and fans will love his flowing prose and conversational writing.  It has even less women in it than "Post Office", so any accusations of misogyny would have even less proof than in his other books.

The book describes Bukowski traveling around the US: St. Louis, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, etc. and working random menial jobs, from where the title of the novel comes from.  A couple of times he tries to get a job as a journalist, mentioning that he has two years of Journalism at LA City College, but editors are uninterested, and instead offer him job as a janitor, which he soon abandons.

The two important women in the book are Jan and Laura.  Jan is round-of-the-mill barfly, promiscuous alcoholic that Bukowski (Chinaski) shacks up with several times, but as he puts it, things went downhill when Jan would "not get her four fucks per day". Laura on the other hand has a rich sugar daddy, who also keeps two other women around, and she shops on his credit.  However, when the rich sugar daddy dies after consuming a bottle of vodka, the whole gig falls apart, and Chinaski says that he "never saw Laura" or the other two women again.

The 2015 movie "Factotum" is quite accurate representation of some plot points in the book, though Bukowski's writings are simply unfilmable.  The whole immersive experience in Bukowski's writings is to do with his internal dialogue, and his take on descriptions of places, things and people (with his dark humor and sarcasm), which cannot possibly be transferred to a visual medium, unless the entire thing is done as a full narration.

The 1986 movie "Barfly", for which Bukowski wrote the script, and appeared as a bar wino, and also used the experience to write a scathing novel about the film industry ("Hollywood"), is also based largely on "Factotum", but the script takes other liberties and veers off the actual book, which might a good thing, more original content.  Mickey Rourke had down the general leering, non-serious attitude that Chinaski shows in the books, but Matt Dillon is closer to how Chinaski treats other people, especially women.  Both films are interesting to watch, but nothing special in the big picture of things.  Just read the books.

"Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski

I always thought Mark Twain's novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were the seminal American coming-of-age works, but that was only until I read this work about Bukowski's childhood and youth. The title might be a word play on "Catcher in the Rye", another seminal coming-of-age American novel, which was actually banned for a while because it had some sex and suicide in it. If that's the criteria, then Bukowski's novel should have been banned for all times, since it has all that and way, way more.


First the random violence that his father bestows upon him is absolutely disturbing by today's standards. I read online reviews saying "that was normal in the 1930s and everybody did it", but hell, it is still disturbing, especially when teachers at school do it, like the principal who almost broke little Charles' hand to prove he is tougher than the little kid - what a psychopath!


The kids at school beating on each other, especially on the weaker ones, is also described very disturbingly, especially incidents like and older kid breaking smaller kid's teeth by shoving his mouth into a water fountain, which went unpunished. Growing up in such environment Bukowski realized that there is only one way to survive - became more asshole than all the assholes around him. And he succeeded!


 By the time he is in high school, he is one of the toughest kids around and nobody dares messing with him. That also leaves him with no friends as well, which is why he turns to alcohol about age 15 and keeps at it until the end of his life, just before his 74th birthday.


The book is written in a very flowing and conversational manner, as Bukowski always said that one should write as one speaks, and he hated the flowery, embellished language of the 19th century writers (which I actualy like, quite a bit). Things like a 13-year-old girl being raped by her father ("her father took her virginity"), suicide and egregious domestic violance are mentioned in passing, as if they are the most normal things.


Bukowski describes how he hit his own father eventually, although their relationship ended later, when his father threw out his short stories and typewriter, which Bukowski couldn't forgive (he had to draw a line somewhere).


Bukowski's advice for writers is, when a story or a chapter is finished, delete the first and last paragraphs, so this book ends pretty much in mid-page, mid-action, just like it starts.