Reviews

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

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ilovegravy's review against another edition

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3.0

Such a weird thing - to praise the book for its crudity and monotony.

uutopicaa's review against another edition

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5.0

Definitivamente la clase de lectura que necesitaba en estos momentos de mi vida. Algo adulto y cotidiano, una historia que narra algo 100% ordinario y que, al mismo tiempo, se escapa a lo usual. Una muestra de los aspectos extravagantes de la vida.
Eso sí, creo que no es para todos los gustos.

gearyofbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

Although I've read Bukowski before this is the first novel I have dived into and I have to say it matches the hype. This is a darkly humoured, occasionally tragic look at life living payday to payday.
Taking joy in the easiest and most accessible vices.
Dreams of landing it big.
Finding kindred spirits only to lose them or watch them take a new path.
The grind of working for a machine that doesn't appreciate the person will resonate with many.
Especially the section about time to complete a task!

guppyur's review against another edition

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2.0

Mostly what I've learned from reading this one is that I don't like Charles Bukowski. The man himself, not his books, though if this one is anything to go by that's true too. I've rarely seen such a disagreeable protagonist. No idea what people saw in this book. I thought Henry Chinaski was unlikable, but I also didn't think he was believable.

bmarchman's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have never believed that you have to love the main character of a book in order to enjoy it. In fact, some of the books that have changed me for the better were those that had protagonists which were terrible human beings. I think that has been the appeal of Bukowski for so long. He is not someone that you would probably want to be related to, or friends with, or really know in reality, but his drunken and gritty stumblings through our society do reveal some things. I think that is the case with Post Office, too.

Chinaski is by all measures a drunk, violent, misogynist who seems to care nothing for the people in his life. But through his warped prism he does raise important questions about modernity and capitalism. His job at the post office and its physical and mental toll over a span of 11 years does not seem much of a far cry from some even more mechanized back-breaking work of today. We cannot help but think of how the blind adherence to deadlines and rules in Chinaski’s time has morphed into today’s surveillance and obsession with workplace efficiency.

In other words, we can hate the guy, hate the fact that Bukowski was probably no better than his character, and still recognize some of the truths that have emerged into the light.