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post office: A Novel (Paperback)

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4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"It began as a mistake." By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel—the one that catapulted its author to national fame—is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski.



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.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Ecco (February 27, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061177571
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061177576
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

142 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (142 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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140 of 142 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A nightmarish look at the postal service, April 19, 2002
This review is from: Post Office (Paperback)
Charles Bukowski's novel "Post Office" is the first-person account of Henry Chinaski, a hard-drinking gambler and womanizer who goes to work for the United States Postal Service in Los Angeles. The story follows his experiences at the post office, weaving them together with his accounts of romantic affairs, sexual encounters, drinking, and gambling. Chinaski's life is full of encounters with various unsavory, tragic, or ridiculous characters.

"Post Office" is the ultimate "I hate this job" story. It's also an intriguing, and highly unflattering look at a quintessential American institution. Bukowski's prose style is crude, rude, and raw; often very funny, sometimes shocking, and sometimes poignant. But always highly readable. Bukowski effectively evokes a vision of a mind-numbing, soul-killing workplace that is ruled by a petty bureaucracy.

On one level, "Post Office" seems to have much in common with a classic "social protest" novel like Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," which also portrays the suffering and degradation experienced by the working person. But ultimately, "Post Office" seems like another species of novel altogether. Bukowski tells his story in a matter-of-fact style; he doesn't seem to care about offending or impressing anyone, and seems to offer no social agenda. He just tells it like it is. A fascinating book by an author who, I increasingly believe, is truly in a class all his own.

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77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bukowski's Classic Novel, October 31, 2001
This review is from: Post Office (Paperback)
This is the one, the book that launched Bukowski beyond small press cultdom, the book that launched Black Sparrow past its humble position in the publishing world, and its the book that to this day still initiates readers into the wild, wild realm of Henry Chinaski. This is the first Buk book I ever read, and remains my all time favorite. Is it his best book? No, my vote would go to HAM ON RYE for that, but it is, in my opinion, his wildest and most fun read of all! Along with CATCHER IN THE RYE, CATCH 22, and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, POST OFFICE should be regarded, and taught, as a CLASSIC American comic masterpiece! Kudos to any high school lit teacher or college prof with the balls to make this book required reading. If you've never read Bukowski, this is the place to start. If you've read all of Bukowski, and there are many of you out there, read this one again...just for the hell of it. Why not?
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars ----> RAW AND REAL <---- a great Amazon pick!, April 30, 2006
By John J. Ryan (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Post Office (Paperback)
Novels like this are rare, and writers like Charles Bukowski are one in a million. The word "authentic" comes to mind; his writing conveys a raw honesty and much needed non-mainstream point-of-view. Bukowski is the voice of dissent, the marginally employed, creatively frustrated working joe. Like the bird in the cage, his spirit is trapped in a world steeped in bureaucracy and bullsh*t.

Post Office covers Bukowski's 12 years as a postal employee and it follows his difficult working life, which echoes the working life and frustrations of millions. I can't help but think of David Henry Thoreau's famous quote (which applies to Bukowski): "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."

Bukowski, in fact, preaches a certain kind of civil disobedience.
We're all raised to want the same things: family, material possesions, a house, "respectable" jobs. I think now more than ever, we need Bukowski, we need to challenge the status quo and not buy into a shallow culture of materialism at the cost of trading our souls.

I recommend "Post Office" highly, also his poetry, particularly "You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense" and "The Last Night Of The Earth Poems." In addition, I recommend "A Working Stiff's Manifesto : A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Dead Letters
This toughly-written short novel tells the story of anti-hero Henry Chianski's two deadening periods of employment with the U.S. Post Office in Los Angeles. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Robin Friedman

4.0 out of 5 stars Sal Paradise in the Post Office
Henry Chinaski, the semi-autobiographical protagonist of Charles Bukoski's novel about a miserable postal worker, melds the world of the civil servant with the outlandish behavior... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Miami Bob

4.0 out of 5 stars Bukowski's First
I have recently gotten into Bukowski's writing and couldn't wait to read Post Office. I had spent 8 years of my young adulthood as a Postal Worker and looked forward to his take... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. J. Marsella

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the light of heart
This book will take the naive smirk off your face before you even get through the first act. It should be mandatory reading for college seniors to prepare them for the 'real... Read more
Published 7 months ago by K. Noe

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique, entertaining, and dirty ... it's Bukowski
After reading a hundred or so of Bukowski's poems and enjoying most of them, I decided to give Post Office a try. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Apollo Creed

4.0 out of 5 stars Raw and to the point.
One of my mentors Frank Kern recommended this author. So I went ahead and bout this book. It's a quick read and the man definitely brings you into his world. Read more
Published 7 months ago by T. Dickson

5.0 out of 5 stars great book
This is an excellent book. Bukowski may not be for everyone, but I absolutely love his style. He doesn't hold punches. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bartender

4.0 out of 5 stars The job from Hades
Henry "Hank" Chinaski gets a temporary Christmas job with the Post Office as a carrier, with an ease that is surprising to him. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Schtinky

5.0 out of 5 stars Great buk book for first timer
Wow, I was really surprised by how quick of a read this novel is and how engrossing overall it is. Bukowski is so very blunt with his words, "Bitch, whore" and his phrases, "I... Read more
Published 10 months ago by ModestAB

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't try . . .
Hank Chinaski and Hank Charles Bukowski can be used interchangeably, and both (or either, I guess) are the embodiment of freedom trying to exist in a society with an underlying... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ryan Werner

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