Reviews

A brilliantly bawdy, raucous and disreputable account of working for The Man and redeeming a brutish, dissolute life through art. I quite liked Dustin Hoffmann's One Hundred Knuckled Fist (a 2017 Michigan Notable Books honoree, I might add), but Bukowski's visceral, plainspoken, and, yes, frequently repulsive and regressive, account of life at the lowest rungs of the civil service system rings truer, and might just be better recognized as documentary truth by the workers in the system than Hoffmann's explicitly "literary" account of blue-collar work. Braid with Studs Terkel's Working and a generous helping of Harvey Pekar's American Splendor to create a mosaic of a particular moment in the American class and employment system.

labonno's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective fast-paced

3.0

jleone1002's review against another edition

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4.0

Bukowski has a great style of writing that really draws you into his mind and life. An interesting, albeit slow at times read from start to finish.

sofie06's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

brianataylor's review against another edition

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1.0

Gross.

springe's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lergoo's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was solid but I did enjoy this less than other stuff I have read of him. It sometimes felt quite flat and at times I felt that it might've worked as a short story. Because that's what it felt like, a short story stretched out into a novel.

Still enjoyed it despite this subjective flaw. It's Bukowski, y'know? His voice and way of thinking always shines through, if you like it or not.

Not really much more to it. Solid read.

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