The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills [Hardcover]

Charles Bukowski (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Black Sparrow (1997)
• ASIN: B000KT3E4U
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for fifty years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was twenty-four, and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp (1994).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential Bukowski, April 15, 2000

By 

Arthur (Lawrence, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses over the Hills (Paperback)

This collection of poetry is perhaps Bukowski's finest. It marks a significant transitional period in his work, from the earlier imagist poems--more clearly "poetic" in form and content--to the later style for which he is best known and loved--the raucous, colloquial, hard-boiled pieces that rendered the distinction between prose and poetry seemingly null. The book's opening piece exemplifies this new style and Bukowski's new poetic persona. "What a Man I Was" tells the story of a wild western outlaw who terrorizes a small town and is then hung from the gallows. He is misunderstood, vulgar, and reviled. When the outlaw swings from the gallows, he doesn't express fear, hatred, sorrow, self-pity, regret or uncertainty. He is a staunch materialist who looks at a woman's breasts, mouth watering. The best poems in this collection are those written for Jane Cooney, who died prematurely from a life of serious drinking. These poems betray an affection and tenderness that is typically absent from Bukowski's work and which is often obscured by the hard-boiled exterior of his persona.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Bukowski's poetic masterpiece., July 9, 1999

By 

Johnny Roulette ([e-mail]) (Atlanta,GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses (Paperback)

This book is Bukowski's finest collection of poetry ever published. As with all prolific writers, Buk's books often come with more filler than sustenance- that is not the case here. The poems written for/about Jane highlight his most soulful collection. The usual mask of nonchalance has been stripped away, along with the chains of his self-created tough guy/barfly image. The tenderness and warmth are unfiltered by his masculine facade. Moving, desolate, and often humorous, this book is nearly flawless. It is written in such a way that anyone can read and understand. It isn't written in a flowery, deeply symbolic style that makes younger readers hate poetry. This book is from the heart, mind and fists of a man who has loved, suffered, hated and laughed. Anyone who has done likewise should be able to appreciate the raw beauty presented within. Make no mistake, the alcoholism, sex and madness that made Bukowski famous are all represented here as well. This is the book to read if you are interested in the most three-dimensional portrayal of the late poet.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first experience with Bukowski, March 26, 2004

By 

evanjamesroskos "ejr" (nj) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses (Paperback)

This is actually a collection originally published in 1969. Bukowski is a great writer simply because he can relate the humorous and the tragic with the same skill. sometimes in the same poem. sit around on a warm afternoon and read these out loud with your friends. you won't feel lame for laughing.