Customer Reviews

Bukowski for Beginners (For Beginners Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There's really no great need for this book: Anyone who wants to begin reading Bukowski can start with Post Office, or Ham On Rye, or Run With The Hunted. There are decent starting points already in the canon.

This book mainly is like the title says: a primer for a reader who has never delved into the Wonderful World of Bukowski. It contains illustrations and a brief biography of buk's life. It's not really essential reading for his fans, but it's still fun to read anything involving THE MAN. If it pulls the uninitiated into Buk's books then that is a great achievement.

Polimeni and Rep have written/illustrated a nice overview and history of Charles Bukowski's life and work. I had read one collection of Bukowski's stories prior to reading this book, so knew a little bit about him; this book has definitely rounded out the picture and helped me decide what other books might be worth reading. I thought it was an interesting touch to lay out Bukowski's passion for drink and other suspect pursuits with no judgment whatsoever--they let the reader draw his own conclusions and focus on the writing. Also, the comic book style makes it a very easy read; I read it in an afternoon.

The purpose of the book is to give the unfamiliar reader a sense of who Bukowski was and the quality of his writing. And on that score, I think it succeeds very well.

P>I would not have read about this man but for this book so THERE!

All that said, Bukowski, though interesting, strikes me as the true author of the ideas of "Betrachtung eines Unpolitischen" first penned by Thomas Mann. Bukowski may write from the depths of poverty and the American working class, but his perspectives are politically ambigious or neutral...he should endorse socialism but doesn't.

Partly, this book makes me think of Maxim Gorky's _Lower Depths_ as a point of comparison...but Bukowski...it's hard to say...apolitical, uncritical...he expresses much angst and suffering but doesn't investigate significantly the root causes of such suffering and depridation;

I'll take Terry Eagleton's lit.crit any day in preference, I'm afraid. I sympathize w/ Bukowski but...

Nevertheless, I feel enriched to at least know about him--which I probably would not have known were it not for this intro book from a famous series of documentary comic boks I deeply respect.

Carlos Polimeni is a thief. This book is worst thing I have ever read. Worse than Sidney Sheldon.