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lcdolese's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
If I had to describe this book in two words, I'd say: Trigger Warning
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racial slurs
rachellkoo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
I have mixed feelings. He wrote about weird things in a poetic, beautiful writing style. Which was not the usual combo, a pretty weird one actually. But like... it worked, what the hell? Sometimes I was like holy shit this is actually... good.
It does have many problems, like misogyny, racism, and all that, but did it do its job in its time? Yes, and actually very well.
Might read some poems from Bukowski now.
It does have many problems, like misogyny, racism, and all that, but did it do its job in its time? Yes, and actually very well.
Might read some poems from Bukowski now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
nikwui's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This book was such a waste of time, I wouldn’t recommend this to my worst enemy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, and Animal cruelty
heather_lt's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have questions I need answering. What was the author's intention by having this published? Is the reader supposed to sympathise with the main character? How is this considered a classic?
There's no real plot, only snapshots as the story jumps from one stage of Henry Chinaski's tragic, hopeless life to another. You really get to learn all about him and he's really all kinds of gross. It's written in the same derogatory style reminiscent of the short stories I've read by Nathaneal West. Positively rife with all the -isms. The only reason this is getting a three star rating is because it was vaguely entertaining reading how Chinaski lived his life (in a I-can't-look-away kind of way).
There's no real plot, only snapshots as the story jumps from one stage of Henry Chinaski's tragic, hopeless life to another. You really get to learn all about him and he's really all kinds of gross. It's written in the same derogatory style reminiscent of the short stories I've read by Nathaneal West. Positively rife with all the -isms. The only reason this is getting a three star rating is because it was vaguely entertaining reading how Chinaski lived his life (in a I-can't-look-away kind of way).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Sexism
Minor: Animal cruelty
writtenontheflyleaves's review
dark
slow-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
2.5
Post Office by Charles Bukowski 📬
🌟🌟
-
I read this for a book club that convened on Sunday - it’s not a book I would have chosen to read otherwise, and to be honest, I don’t think I would have missed out on much if I hadn’t read it 🤷🏻♀️
-
✉️ The plot: Henry Chinaski is a postal worker in one of the largest cities in the United States. Across various roles, the exploitative and dreary nature of the job grinds Chinaski ever further into a cycle of depression and alcoholism, his only releases being in his (awful) relationships with women and in gambling.
-
The thing I enjoyed most about it was how easy it was to read, and how clearly it paints the dehumanisation of workers under capitalism. The thing I enjoyed the least was the treatment of women in the novel, which ranges from passive contempt and objectification to explicit sexual violence. Chinaski does not ascribe interiority to the women in his life, with the result not just that the women whirl through the novel notable mainly for their sexuality and shrill volatility, but that Chinaski himself becomes noticeably less human. Dismissing their fear and anguish requires him to bypass many of his own emotions, and you glimpse his pain mostly in the shadows of his actions - his passive responses to their departures, his arrangement of the funeral of an ex-girlfriend, resisting his suicidal urges by thinking of his newborn daughter.
-
📦 Read it if you have to? I guess? I’m not sure who I’d recommend this book to outside of an academic/ discussion setting - if you’re interested in the US post office, just listen to the Going Postal episode of You’re Wrong About, and if you want to read a funnier novel about absurd working conditions (albeit in the US army rather than the government, as the postal service was at this time) read Catch-22.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you are avoiding depictions of rape, sexual violence, alcoholism, exploitation, and suicidal thoughts.
🌟🌟
-
I read this for a book club that convened on Sunday - it’s not a book I would have chosen to read otherwise, and to be honest, I don’t think I would have missed out on much if I hadn’t read it 🤷🏻♀️
-
✉️ The plot: Henry Chinaski is a postal worker in one of the largest cities in the United States. Across various roles, the exploitative and dreary nature of the job grinds Chinaski ever further into a cycle of depression and alcoholism, his only releases being in his (awful) relationships with women and in gambling.
-
The thing I enjoyed most about it was how easy it was to read, and how clearly it paints the dehumanisation of workers under capitalism. The thing I enjoyed the least was the treatment of women in the novel, which ranges from passive contempt and objectification to explicit sexual violence. Chinaski does not ascribe interiority to the women in his life, with the result not just that the women whirl through the novel notable mainly for their sexuality and shrill volatility, but that Chinaski himself becomes noticeably less human. Dismissing their fear and anguish requires him to bypass many of his own emotions, and you glimpse his pain mostly in the shadows of his actions - his passive responses to their departures, his arrangement of the funeral of an ex-girlfriend, resisting his suicidal urges by thinking of his newborn daughter.
-
📦 Read it if you have to? I guess? I’m not sure who I’d recommend this book to outside of an academic/ discussion setting - if you’re interested in the US post office, just listen to the Going Postal episode of You’re Wrong About, and if you want to read a funnier novel about absurd working conditions (albeit in the US army rather than the government, as the postal service was at this time) read Catch-22.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you are avoiding depictions of rape, sexual violence, alcoholism, exploitation, and suicidal thoughts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence
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