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graceknapp's review against another edition
4.0
This was a beautiful written book of poems. Bukowski has a really unique perspective but it’s something that I can’t quite relate to. I have it a 4 for the skill of writing but I really couldn’t connect to the poetry in the same way others maybe can.
skylergrace's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
belleisblue's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
annacristofano's review against another edition
challenging
dark
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
qi_'s review against another edition
i cant keep reading this bullshit.
what the fuck charles bukowski, i'm bored out of my mind.
the poem, 'they, all of them, know' was the final nail in coffin for killing me slowly with this book.
it was about 3 pages of him listing people you could ask that hold NO correlation and then when it's revealed what you should ask them, it doesn't make any sentence and the line is barely a fucking sentence.
there were a few good poems but that's the bare minimum for me (like you have to have good poems for a poetry collection right..)
ones i liked:
- 2pm beer
- the singular self (not great but reminded me of fear and loathing in las vegas)
- sway with me
- no.6
my main problems with his poetry
- misogynistic and lowkey antisemitic
BUT PUTTING THAT ASIDE
- his poems rarely make sense because they are just the ramblings of an annoying old man
- there is no clear point to most poems. i mean you don't need to have deep meaningful poems but you AT LEAST need some beautiful imagery or just pretty sentences OF WHICH THERE WERE NONE
- the poems were too fucking long. i get having a couple of poems that go for like 2 pages but his are way too fucking long. AND THEY SAY NOTHING.
im done with this bullshit bye.
what the fuck charles bukowski, i'm bored out of my mind.
the poem, 'they, all of them, know' was the final nail in coffin for killing me slowly with this book.
it was about 3 pages of him listing people you could ask that hold NO correlation and then when it's revealed what you should ask them, it doesn't make any sentence and the line is barely a fucking sentence.
there were a few good poems but that's the bare minimum for me (like you have to have good poems for a poetry collection right..)
ones i liked:
- 2pm beer
- the singular self (not great but reminded me of fear and loathing in las vegas)
- sway with me
- no.6
my main problems with his poetry
- misogynistic and lowkey antisemitic
BUT PUTTING THAT ASIDE
- his poems rarely make sense because they are just the ramblings of an annoying old man
- there is no clear point to most poems. i mean you don't need to have deep meaningful poems but you AT LEAST need some beautiful imagery or just pretty sentences OF WHICH THERE WERE NONE
- the poems were too fucking long. i get having a couple of poems that go for like 2 pages but his are way too fucking long. AND THEY SAY NOTHING.
im done with this bullshit bye.
cryptidreader's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
lilithmoon's review against another edition
3.0
I personally didn’t like the poems from the first section of the book, 1955-1963, (Bukowski really loves the use of the word ‘whore’ in his early poems) but I realized that as I continued to read I liked each section that followed more than the last.
At the start, most of the poems seemed like the thoughts of an angry and misogynistic man but he seemed a lot more reflective later in life. His later poems seemed to develop his thoughts more and the poems weren’t as abrupt as they are in the first section.
Bukowski manages to write very interesting and deep poetry from very mundane topics such as 'grass' or 'beerbottle'. I liked the honesty in his poems. Instead of making everything seem beautiful Bukowski tends to have darker poetry.
My favourite section of the book was Burning in Water Drowning in Flame, 1972-1973. All of my favourite poems came from this section of the book. I think this section has the most to offer in terms of life lessons and reflection of his life.
My personal favourite poem from this book was 'Dreamlessly' but 'Hell hath no Fury…' was a very funny second favourite.
At the start, most of the poems seemed like the thoughts of an angry and misogynistic man but he seemed a lot more reflective later in life. His later poems seemed to develop his thoughts more and the poems weren’t as abrupt as they are in the first section.
Bukowski manages to write very interesting and deep poetry from very mundane topics such as 'grass' or 'beerbottle'. I liked the honesty in his poems. Instead of making everything seem beautiful Bukowski tends to have darker poetry.
My favourite section of the book was Burning in Water Drowning in Flame, 1972-1973. All of my favourite poems came from this section of the book. I think this section has the most to offer in terms of life lessons and reflection of his life.
My personal favourite poem from this book was 'Dreamlessly' but 'Hell hath no Fury…' was a very funny second favourite.