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Charles Bukowski

Tales of Ordinary Madness Paperback – January 1, 2001

by Charles Bukowski (Author), Gail Chiarrello (Editor)

175 ratings

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With Bukowski, the votes are still coming in. There seems to be no middle ground—people seem either to love him or hate him. Tales of his own life and doings are as wild and weird as the very stories he writes. In a sense, Bukowski was a legend in his time . . . a madman, a recluse, a lover . . . tender, vicious . . . never the same . . . these are exceptional stories that come pounding out of his violent and depraved life . . . horrible and holy, you cannot read them and ever come away the same again.

Bukowski . . . "a professional disturber of the peace . . . laureate of Los Angeles netherworld [writes with] crazy romantic insistence that losers are less phony than winners, and with an angry compassion for the lost." —Jack Kroll, Newsweek

"Bukowski’s poems are extraordinarily vivid and often bitterly funny observations of people living on the very edge of oblivion. His poetry, in all it’s glorious simplicity, was accessible the way poetry seldom is – a testament to his genius." —Nick Burton, PIF Magazine

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) published his first story when he was twenty-four and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. His first book of poetry was published in 1959; he went on to publish more than forty-five books of poetry and prose, including books published by City Lights Publishers such as Notes of a Dirty Old Man, More Notes of a Dirty Old Man, The Most Beautiful Woman in Town, Tales of Ordinary Madness, Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook, The Bell Tolls for No One, and Absence of the Hero.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany in 1920 and brought to Los Angeles at age three. Using the city as a backdrop for his work, Bukowski wrote prolifically, publishing over fifty volumes of poetry and prose. He died in San Pedro, California on March 9, 1994. His books are widely translated and posthumous volumes continue to appear.

Product details

Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
Paperback : 238 pages
ISBN-10 : 0872861554
ISBN-13 : 978-0872861558
Product Dimensions : 5.4 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Publisher : City Lights Publishers (January 1, 2001)
Language: : English

Best-sellers rank #148,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#370 in American Fiction Anthologies
#2,113 in Short Stories Anthologies
#2,937 in Short Stories (Books)

Customer Reviews:
175 ratings

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5 star		69%
4 star		14%
3 star		12%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Alex Morton

Pretty Lame

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2019

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I'm not a fan of his writing at all. If you're into stories about a sad, old, lonely drunk who glorifies rape then give it a go. There is nothing nuanced about him except that he was fearless in his writing during a time where that was a little more difficult, but honestly there is nothing fearless about hiding behind words that make you seem cooler than you actually are. He's gross.

8 people found this helpful

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Soup Sandwich

Bukowski at his best

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2018

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What can you say about Charles Bukowski's writing? He wouldn't care anyway, so there. I want to give the book both a 1 star and 5 stars because Bukowski elicits that kind of response. His writings bravely explore the most base of human nature and yet, also imply the highest of human aspirations. It can sometimes be an emotional keel haul to follow Bukowski through his stories of drink and gambling, but the dialogue is quick and full of hooks. This book has some great short stories that are free standing of his usual Henry Chinaski persona as well as Bukowski himself. All in all, I enjoyed reading it through high and low.

3 people found this helpful

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Richard Cephal

Have we been here before..?

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019

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Some of this is in Factotum and some is in Ham on Rye and some of those are in one another. It appears that either he or his editor enjoys - hash. However, my biggest turn off of this was the physical copy: the font was very small. I had to return as it was unreadable for me without a magnifying glass. And every other paragraph was much lighter than the next. Very strange. Anyway...

2 people found this helpful

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Zardoz

Love Bukowski but this is not his best work.

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020

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I loved Charles bukowski's post office and stories about Hank Cernaski. Times and places this book is entertaining but it's simply not his best work. Simple as that.

2 people found this helpful

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shippy

Bukowski has a vision of the side of life and society that can only be gained by living there!

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019

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He allows the foreigners of this ignored, darker, seemingly throw-a-way side of life to peek in and pretend they can decipher the hieroglyphics of his writing He wears his life as a badge of thought and observance and considered each day alive as nothing more than another day of being alive and considering what might really matter.
Great writing, thought provoking.

2 people found this helpful

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honestjuan

The Master Buk!

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018

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Bukowski's finest book of memoirs and short stories... amazing.

3 people found this helpful

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Eurocat

I love the writing of Charles Bukowski

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2016

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I love the writing of Charles Bukowski. But it is not for the timid reader. There is explicit wording and sexual content. One has to appreciate the man and the brilliant "down and out" writer he was during his lifetime.

6 people found this helpful

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P. Doherty

Mixed quality in places, but complete genius in others

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2015

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Bukowski is not always great, but when he is great he is a giant, a god among men, a writer of such insight and intelligence, inspiration and genius. There are some great stories in this compendium, some, and in fact one in particular are the best things I ever read.

7 people found this helpful

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Happy Masked Guy

Mixed Bag of Bukowski Madness

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2019

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A mixed bag of Bukowski. Lots of horse racing, which often went into too much technical detail and therefore right over my head. I sometimes think his interest in the races came down to a desire to impress the hyper-masculine ghost of Hemingway.

Animal crackers seems to be the most memorable story for me here. Many other stories had a shaggy-dog quality. Regardless, the quality of the writing is wonderful. If you appreciate the craft and voice of a writer, this is great. If you value the story more than anything else, this will likely be lost on you. Maybe even bore you.

If you’re already a Bukowski fan, you’ll enjoy it. But I wouldn’t recommend it as a first foray into the man’s work. Start with Post Office, or Ham on Rye, or explore his poetry, which is both accessible and entertaining.

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Richard

Amazing reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018

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Charles Bukowski is someone who resonates with me so much, I love reading his material. Yes he wasn't to everyones taste, and a lot of people said he was a drunk (obviously), and someone who lived a 'dirty' lifestyle, whatever, the reading is good.

One person found this helpful

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Vladi

You must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2020

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Good book

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Shibani

Delivery on time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2020

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Can’t go wrong with abit of Charles - delivery was on time and the book itself is nice and neat. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.

Thanks guys!

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2017

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Great read

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Katarina

Certainly worth all of those 5 stars even though many reviewers say it's not even his best work.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2016

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The first book by Bukowski I've ever read. Certainly worth all of those 5 stars even though many reviewers say it's not even his best work... Can't wait to read more of his writing.

One person found this helpful

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Benjamin Wearden

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2015

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Brilliant writer! I would recommend Bukowski to any literature lover. Very dark in places, but exceptional nevertheless.

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Fab

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2018

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Great book, love Bukowski

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Aamu Superfoods

An excellent book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2019

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I just love Bukowski's style.

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James

Perfect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2020

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Received earlier, perfect.

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christina-chara

Very nice book and brand new!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2018

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always a winner!

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Mr. S. Bayley

Just okay

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 15, 2016

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I'm a CB fan but a little disappointed in this. It's just ok.

One person found this helpful

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Lucca

Gamble

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2020

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It’s Bukowski. You either like it or you don’t.

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PATRICIA LLOPEZ

Favourite author at great price

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2016

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It's Bukowski what's not to like. Recommend truly.

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Biffer Spice

the best collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2005

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I have read (as far as I know) all of Bukowski's stuff. I love a few of the poems but a lot of them drift over me. It is with the stories that he has won me over. All the novels (especially Post Office and Ham on Rye) are wonderful, but his writing is best suited to short stories (and I would say the novels Factotum and Women, great as they are, are basically a novelised series of short stories...) The best collections of short stories are The Most Beautiful Woman In Town and this one, with this one the more consistent. There are examples of the short story in this book that I firmly believe could not be bettered, enough to make you put the book down for a minute, just to think about what you've read, and just marvel at the sheer word-economical perfection, and how his incredible turn of phrase can sum up inner thoughts and philosophies with a paucity of words. As long as you're not easily offended, there is plenty here to blow you away.

46 people found this helpful

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