Scan barcode
xoeastbay's review against another edition
5.0
God, lines from the poems in this book are like cats who remain by my side circling my ankles and rubbing against my legs and that occasionally leap up into the lap of my mouth to fill it in moments when I'm speechless. I love, love, love this book.
msteasam's review against another edition
2.5
I started reading this collection in 2022, forgot about it for two years, and have just now finished it. That probably speaks for itself.
I probably enjoyed about 4 poems in this book. Special mention to Mama, Machine Gun, Towers and Timeclocks (though only the second half of it), and The Body. The last quarter of this collection was an unfocused, rambling mess.
I'll leave this review on maybe the only poignant poem in the collection.
it was a splendid day in Spring
and outside we could hear the birds
that hadn’t been killed
by the smog
I probably enjoyed about 4 poems in this book. Special mention to Mama, Machine Gun, Towers and Timeclocks (though only the second half of it), and The Body. The last quarter of this collection was an unfocused, rambling mess.
I'll leave this review on maybe the only poignant poem in the collection.
it was a splendid day in Spring
and outside we could hear the birds
that hadn’t been killed
by the smog
jacob_manniche's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
samirasbt's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first collection of Bukowski’s poetry I read and many of the poems truly did something to me.
He writes in such a cynical and realistic way about the fragments of his life, blurred through alcoholism and struck down by futility and a deep loneliness, and the words felt so raw and sharp and insane at the same time. The things he writes about mostly aren’t what you’d title pretty or beautiful, but his mundane and trivial way of talking about them somehow fills each with such captivating beauty.
Reading this felt like wandering through the edges of his mind, some of his words came across so randomly and bewildering, others were so bare and likewise picturesque, somehow ahead of everything.
He writes in such a cynical and realistic way about the fragments of his life, blurred through alcoholism and struck down by futility and a deep loneliness, and the words felt so raw and sharp and insane at the same time. The things he writes about mostly aren’t what you’d title pretty or beautiful, but his mundane and trivial way of talking about them somehow fills each with such captivating beauty.
Reading this felt like wandering through the edges of his mind, some of his words came across so randomly and bewildering, others were so bare and likewise picturesque, somehow ahead of everything.
djecak's review against another edition
4.0
old grey-haired waitresses in cafes at night have given it up, and as I walk down sidewalks of light and look into windows of nursing homes I can see that it is no longer with them.
I see people sitting on park benches and I can see by the way they sit and look that it is gone.
I see people driving cars and I see by the way they drive their cars that they neither love nor are loved— nor do they consider sex. it is all forgotten like an old movie.
I see people in department stores and supermarkets walking down aisles buying things and I can see by the way their clothing fits them and by the way they walk and by their faces and their eyes that they care for nothing and that nothing cares for them.
I can see a hundred people a day who have given up entirely.
if I go to a racetrack or a sporting event I can see thousands that feel for nothing or
no one and get no feeling back.
everywhere I see those who crave nothing but food, shelter, and clothing; they concentrate on that, dreamlessly.
I do not understand why these people do not vanish I do not understand why these people do not expire why the clouds do not murder them or why the dogs do not murder them or why the flowers and the children do not murder them, I do not understand.
I suppose they are murdered yet I can’t adjust to the fact of them because they are so many.
each day, each night, there are more of them in the subways and in the buildings and in the parks they feel no terror at not loving or at not being loved
so many many many of my fellow creatures.
I see people sitting on park benches and I can see by the way they sit and look that it is gone.
I see people driving cars and I see by the way they drive their cars that they neither love nor are loved— nor do they consider sex. it is all forgotten like an old movie.
I see people in department stores and supermarkets walking down aisles buying things and I can see by the way their clothing fits them and by the way they walk and by their faces and their eyes that they care for nothing and that nothing cares for them.
I can see a hundred people a day who have given up entirely.
if I go to a racetrack or a sporting event I can see thousands that feel for nothing or
no one and get no feeling back.
everywhere I see those who crave nothing but food, shelter, and clothing; they concentrate on that, dreamlessly.
I do not understand why these people do not vanish I do not understand why these people do not expire why the clouds do not murder them or why the dogs do not murder them or why the flowers and the children do not murder them, I do not understand.
I suppose they are murdered yet I can’t adjust to the fact of them because they are so many.
each day, each night, there are more of them in the subways and in the buildings and in the parks they feel no terror at not loving or at not being loved
so many many many of my fellow creatures.
hornmp's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
salbulga's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jeffreywbush's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0