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Charles Bukowski

R. Crumb

The Captain is Out to Lunch Paperback – Illustrated, May 31, 2002

by Charles Bukowski (Author), Robert Crumb (Illustrator)

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A book length collaboration between two underground legends, Charles Bukowski and Robert Crumb. Bukowski's last journals candidly and humorously reveal the events in the writer's life as death draws inexorably nearer, thereby illuminating our own lives and natures, and to give new meaning to what was once only familiar. Crumb has illustrated the text with 12 full-page drawings and a portrait of Bukowski.

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From the Publisher

At HarperCollins, authors and their work are at the center of everything we do. We are proud to provide our authors with unprecedented editorial excellence, marketing reach, long-standing connections with booksellers, and insight into reader and consumer behavior. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement, HarperCollins also uses digital technology to create unique reading experiences and expand the reach of our authors.

HarperCollins was founded by brothers James and John Harper in New York City in 1817 as J. and J. Harper, later Harper & Brothers. In 1987, as Harper & Row, it was acquired by News Corporation. The worldwide book group was formed following News Corporation's 1990 acquisition of the British publisher William Collins & Sons. Founded in 1819, William Collins & Sons published a range of Bibles, atlases, dictionaries, and reissued classics, expanding over the years to include legendary authors such as H. G. Wells, Agatha Christie, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis.

The house of Mark Twain, the Brontë sisters, Thackeray, Dickens, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein, and Margaret Wise Brown, HarperCollins has a long and rich history that reaches back to the early nineteenth century and offers our publishing team a depth of experience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am not in a contest. I never wanted fame or money. I wanted to get the word down the way I wanted it, that's all. And I had to get the words down or be overcome by something worse than death." So writes the late Charles Bukowski in his entry for 6/23/92 (12:34 AM). The Captain Is Out To Lunch And The Sailors Have Taken Over The Ship, a delightful, posthumous gathering of excerpts from Bukowski notebooks, is loaded with such direct ruminations about writing, death, money, humanity, and how the author located meaning and value in his daily life and work. Richly illustrated with gritty drawings by Robert Crumb, Bukowski's legions of readers will want to add this prose volume to their collections. Autograph seekers, race track habitués and the dull thud of the nags ("I go to the track almost reluctantly. I am too idiotic to figure out any other place to go...I guess getting my ass out of here forces me to look at Humanity and when you look at Humanity you've GOT to react." p.66), Hollywood types, classical music and classy authors, poets and poseurs, all subjects frequently addressed by Bukowski over the course of his long, productive career, shape the book's contents. One observes Bukowski at home, going to the mall with wife Linda, driving the LA freeways, at his computer mulling over what does and doesn't add up. Charles Bukowski scrapped and fought for his rewards and, as "The Captain Is Out To Lunch" makes indelibly clear, it was honest writing and its publication, not money or fame, that empowered him. Ultimately he achieved acclaim and a fair measure of financial success, after establishing a beneficial relationship with John Martin of Black Sparrow Press, a committed independent publisher who enabled him to reach a world-wide audience of readers. They valued his work during his lifetime and continue to anticipate the thinning stream of books still coming out several years after his death. -- From Independent Publisher

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 1920 in Andernach, Germany, to an American soldier father and a German mother, and brought to the United States at the age of two. He was raised in Los Angeles and lived there for over fifty years. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp.

Abel Debritto, a former Fulbright scholar and current Marie Curie fellow, works in the digital humanities. He is the author of Charles Bukowski, King of the Underground, and the editor of the Bukowski collections On Writing, On Cats, and On Love.

Product details

Item Weight : 1 pounds
Paperback : 144 pages
ISBN-10 : 9781574230581
ISBN-13 : 978-1574230581
Product Dimensions : 5.88 x 0.38 x 8.94 inches
Publisher : Ecco; 1st Edition (May 31, 2002)
Language: : English
ASIN : 1574230581

Best-sellers rank #430,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#2,607 in Author Biographies
#7,038 in United States Biographies
#225,703 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

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Dayna A. Safranek

Great look back at Bukowski along with Crumb.

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2020

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Another saved Bukowski classic that like so many of them have been found by publishers and pieced together if they were not already in tact and made available for mass market purchasing. I’m a huge fan of Bukowski’s ever since I was in high school and I found a copy of ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in Town’ and ‘Tales of Ordinary Madness’ since then, I have purchased every copy of any book of his written by him ever since that I can get my hands on that won’t put me in the poorhouse. I’m glad for these books and the availability of them. Bukowski has a wonderful and raw writing style all of his own that seemed to mellow some with age. This is a good book to add to the collection to the Bukowski reader. If you’re new to Bukowski and you want his true first few novels in his beginning writing style, I would suggest ‘Post Office’ or ‘Ham On Rye’. This book contains Bukowski’s last journals.

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C. Davis

Charles Bukowski's Journal

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014

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I went through amazon and bought a couple of books really quickly, so I missed the fact that this book is more of a journal. I thought I had a purchased a novel! That being said, I wasn't disappointed. Bukowski is a unique, opinionated and completely genuine person. When I say genuine, I don't mean to insinuate that he's always right I mean that it always feels he's being honest in a very internal and personal way, not even necessarily honest about the specifics of events he describes but honest about his feelings and straight forward emotionally. The book is a quick read and made me laugh out loud at times. R Crumb's artwork is pretty much always a pleasure, though there are only a few pictures-somewhat less than what I was expecting. At the end of the book I felt pretty sad to think that Bukowski had died, throughout the quick entries I felt like he was talking to me and it was sad that he wasn't around anymore. If you are a Bukowski fan, I'd certainly suggest reading this!

5 people found this helpful

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Steve V.Top Contributor: Drawing

Bukowski + Crumb = Worth Reading

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014

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I first discovered Bukowski while I was in college, struggling to find poetry I liked enough to read for a writing class. The drunken sage rescued me from a banal semester reciting and dissecting the works of TS Elliot and, for that at least, I am grateful. I was SO grateful, as a matter of fact, that I picked up his prose work, starting with the incredibly funny "Pulp" and moving backwards.

This book is a selection of journal entries Bukowski made in 1992-1993 where he ruminates on death, celebrity (not the ham), writing, his past and of course the racetrack. It's a slim read (144 pages) and is written in Buk's usual no frills style. It's not my favorite, but it provides insight into the author's life and trials as he knowingly ventures along the edge of oblivion.

This book is billed as a cooperative effort between Bukowski and R Crumb; however, I didn't feel Cumb's contribution was anything special. His illustrations are great, but they don't add information or meaning to the writing they accompany. Still, for getting two demented geniuses' work together in any form is something worth looking into and, although the sum doesn't feel equal to the parts that went into it, this remains a delightful read for Buk's fans.

3 people found this helpful

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Carl Contrera

A very happy reunion for me

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2018

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This book which I found many years ago in passable condition is a vast improvement over that copy. The book is in wonderful condition, crisp, bright pages to soak in all the brilliance of Crumb's art and with Bukowski's tangy prose it was truly a match made in heaven. Wonderful experience, can't recommend this company enough.

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John H.

A soft ending

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2013

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A bit of the bite is out of Hank in this one, but there's definitely enough substance in this collection of journal entries to get you through. Some of the pages are just observations and musing of what's happening in his day, while other times, there's some serious poignant reflection. It ends with a biting commentary on the human experience - a fitting end for a collection of some of his final work.

As for the illustrations, they're top notch, of course. R. Crumb never disappoints.

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Spaceman

Pretty good read.

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2017

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Just his day to day life towards the end of his life. Going to the track and getting drunk. Meeting famous people and random observations about life and everyday things.

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Steven Murdock

Old man Bukowski's final words

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017

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The final sitdown with the old man Bukowski. Bon voyage.

One person found this helpful

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David S Farrar

He thought journals were stupid

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2016

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But this one ... because it's Bukowski...fun to read. It's interesting as one of his final works. Fun is a weird word to use with Bukowski, but hey, it's Bukowski!

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Robert van Vaals

First Bukowski prose

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2018

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This is my first prose book from Charles Bukowski and I think it's utterly brilliant. The man writes about going to the horse race track, about driving the freeway in his Acura Legend (to and from the horse race track...), about Linda Lee, about his cats, about writing - and nothing more really. In his writing I find profound and eternal wisdom, about life, about death. Charles Bukowski makes my anxieties, depressive feelings, feelings of sadness to evaporate. This book is of great clarity and tranquility. Zen master Bukowski. Gassho. What a man. What a writer. Buy. This. Now. And. Read. It.

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Philip Webb

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2018

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Has the best advice ever for any aspiring writer.

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rosec

Captain is out to lunch . . .

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2012

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The book was a gift for my son. He tells me it is very good - mixing two of his favourite authors. A good buy!

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Pongo1

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2014

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Arrived in a day, will be greatly recived

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FrankiemudUnknown

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2014

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great book

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Federico Dassereto

Good

Reviewed in Italy on February 9, 2020

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A diary, to be read with softness

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Steve Beaudin

Good book no illustrations

Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2015

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Loved the book even tough it's different than what he normally writes.
Be warned that in the Kindle edition you do not have the Crumb's illustrations.
Which is kind of a bummer.

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Ted Laturnus

Linda Lee Not Chinaski

Reviewed in Canada on July 22, 2017

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Realized that Linda Lee Bukowski basically cobbled this together after Chinaski died. Pretty drab stuff, but still, nice to have anyway....

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Rogier van Neerven

A day at the races

Reviewed in Germany on December 23, 2013

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Charles Bukowski diary entries not long before his passing. Excellent illustrations by Robert Crumb, although I would have liked to see more of them. Lovingly produced yet cheaply printed, makes for a nice book at a friendly price.

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Bo Schafers

Careful...

Reviewed in Australia on September 16, 2017

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Robert Crumb Illustrations are not available for this e-book edition.

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toppy

サイコー☆☆☆☆☆

Reviewed in Japan on December 21, 2010

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個人的好み全開ですが、今まで読んだ本の中でサイコーの中のひとつです。
マックに向かってひたすらタイプする陶酔のような境地。　感動しました。
こういうことを書く作家は多いですが、表現がストレートでシンプルで。

ロバート・クラムの挿絵は・・個人的にはビミョーですが、雰囲気出てます。
表紙など、全体的にいい感じです。
作家の日記ものとしては三島由紀夫やダヴィンチに勝るとも劣らない。
天国から続きを書いほしいです。

3 people found this helpful

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