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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
at times downbeat sci-fi hard boiled thriller
Belane’s design is a masterpiece
Belane’s design is a masterpiece
4⭐️ I’m biased because I’ve grown up loving Bukowski. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anybody I know. I think having some familiarity with Bukowski’s work is essential to understanding and enjoying this book. Even I felt dubious at points, but by the end I loved every bit of it. It is shameless and crude, absurd and unlikeable. I loved it. Best dick in L.A.
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The reader is taken on a journey through the eyes of the character, Nicky Belane. He is a hard-boiled private investigator functioning within the framework consistent with classic noir. Nick is installed with some of the signature character traits that one expects to find within the leading role of a Bukowski novel. He is a troubled alcoholic who sees through the absurdity and bullshit of life. Whilst speaking of the sadly sobering reality around him, Belane brings numerous interesting thoughts to the surface as the novel progresses.
“Often the best parts of life were when you weren’t doing anything at all, just mulling it over, chewing on it. I mean, say that you figure that everything is senseless, then it can’t be quite senseless because you are aware that it’s senseless and your awareness of senselessness almost gives it sense.” (p.129).
“I was feeling unfulfilled and, frankly, rather crappy about everything. I wasn’t going anywhere and neither was the rest of the world. We were all just hanging around waiting to die and meanwhile doing little things to fill the space. Some of us weren’t even doing the little things. We were vegetables.” (p.147).
Pulp has an interestingly unorthodox storyline which caught me off-guard. It’s not quite what I was expecting (in a good way). This was the last novel that Bukowski wrote before he died and it appears he wanted to experiment with a new approach. The book is gravitates towards being a classic noir detective-style novel, but with an uncommonly fused fragment of sci-fi. Imagine Raymond Chandler meets H.G. Wells, or Dashiell Hammett meets Arthur C. Clarke, In doing so, you’ll find “Pulp” at the nucleus.
The events of this story dial in on Nick as he takes on various cases simultaneously and the escapades that follow. The first case concerns a woman named “Lady Death”. She is a mysterious figure who tasks Belane to track down the renowned French author “Celine”. Celine is supposedly meant to be dead, but is rumoured to still be alive and eluding death. The second case is a man named Jack Bass, who hires Belane to find out whether his wife, Cindy, is being unfaithful. The third case covers an anxious morgue technician, Hal Grovers, who claims he is being stalked by a space alien. The fourth and final case involves a client named John Burton who asks Nick to try and find an incredibly rare bird referred to as “The Red Sparrow”.
I assume that Bukowski was creating a parody of himself through writing this book, proving that absurdity exists everywhere in some form or another and that you can hone any craft to fit in with such absurdities. I saw this evidenced right at the start, from introductory line “dedicated to bad writing”. Ironically, he seemed to strangely pull off this new and experimental approach to his writing; affixing this duo of classic noir and sci-fi. I found the book to be intriguingly philosophical at times, brutally honest, and for the most part, utterly hilarious. It was a very enjoyable read.
Nice one, Buk.
“Often the best parts of life were when you weren’t doing anything at all, just mulling it over, chewing on it. I mean, say that you figure that everything is senseless, then it can’t be quite senseless because you are aware that it’s senseless and your awareness of senselessness almost gives it sense.” (p.129).
“I was feeling unfulfilled and, frankly, rather crappy about everything. I wasn’t going anywhere and neither was the rest of the world. We were all just hanging around waiting to die and meanwhile doing little things to fill the space. Some of us weren’t even doing the little things. We were vegetables.” (p.147).
Pulp has an interestingly unorthodox storyline which caught me off-guard. It’s not quite what I was expecting (in a good way). This was the last novel that Bukowski wrote before he died and it appears he wanted to experiment with a new approach. The book is gravitates towards being a classic noir detective-style novel, but with an uncommonly fused fragment of sci-fi. Imagine Raymond Chandler meets H.G. Wells, or Dashiell Hammett meets Arthur C. Clarke, In doing so, you’ll find “Pulp” at the nucleus.
The events of this story dial in on Nick as he takes on various cases simultaneously and the escapades that follow. The first case concerns a woman named “Lady Death”. She is a mysterious figure who tasks Belane to track down the renowned French author “Celine”. Celine is supposedly meant to be dead, but is rumoured to still be alive and eluding death. The second case is a man named Jack Bass, who hires Belane to find out whether his wife, Cindy, is being unfaithful. The third case covers an anxious morgue technician, Hal Grovers, who claims he is being stalked by a space alien. The fourth and final case involves a client named John Burton who asks Nick to try and find an incredibly rare bird referred to as “The Red Sparrow”.
I assume that Bukowski was creating a parody of himself through writing this book, proving that absurdity exists everywhere in some form or another and that you can hone any craft to fit in with such absurdities. I saw this evidenced right at the start, from introductory line “dedicated to bad writing”. Ironically, he seemed to strangely pull off this new and experimental approach to his writing; affixing this duo of classic noir and sci-fi. I found the book to be intriguingly philosophical at times, brutally honest, and for the most part, utterly hilarious. It was a very enjoyable read.
Nice one, Buk.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some of the book is a little dated. A character meant to be a very unlikeable detective. I found some of the double entendres throughout the book to be fun.
Full of sex, drugs, and violence. Sort of expect it to be straight forward detective, but fantasy elements get thrown in.
Full of sex, drugs, and violence. Sort of expect it to be straight forward detective, but fantasy elements get thrown in.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An enjoyable, easy read, but with somewhat sour notes of misogyny and misanthropy.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated