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camuscontemplator's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Uninspired, unimaginative, and repetitive. Immoral subjects in most chapters, even for Bukowski. An easy skip, spare yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Addiction, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Alcoholism, Blood, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Vomit, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse
vorpalblad's review
3.0
I'm a fool for short stories. This one has hits and misses. Some of the better stories are the more disturbing ones, ones that actually could cause nightmares, not because they are scary but because they could actually happen. Really an exploration of some of the worst impulses in humankind but with an eye to explaining it from that point of view.
The title story, on the other hand, looks in from the outside and is stronger for it. Everything seems to be about motivations. Understanding it, rationalizing it, not understanding it.
The title story, on the other hand, looks in from the outside and is stronger for it. Everything seems to be about motivations. Understanding it, rationalizing it, not understanding it.
tessoaks's review
5.0
He's so damn sexist as well as an outright awful human being but I laughed out loud several times during this book. There's nobody who writes quite like him.
itzme_mandy's review
adventurous
dark
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ratgrrrl's review
1.0
I somehow have gone my whole life not knowing anything about Bukowski, before picking this up from the Audible Included library. Made it part way into the title story and was getting weird vibes, so I did a bit of a look into him and his writing and I'm no longer interested in anything this guy had to say. For me, good prose and some powerful poetry don't excuse being a creep and exuding that in your work.
Not telling or judging anyone who has a different perspective, but I'll never manage to read every author and book I want to before I die, so it's a very simple thing for me to cut the bigots and chauvinists that I'm aware of from my reading pool.
Not telling or judging anyone who has a different perspective, but I'll never manage to read every author and book I want to before I die, so it's a very simple thing for me to cut the bigots and chauvinists that I'm aware of from my reading pool.
thomasgoddard's review
5.0
I like the voice of Bukowski. What he’s saying isn’t always pleasant, but he had a clarity to his writing that is really readable. And humour too! I laughed out loud a few times.
This is a great collection. If you haven’t read any Bukowski, and I must admit I’m more familiar with his poetry myself, then this is a great place to start.
It runs from classic anecdote to bizarre fever-dream horror.
I think when Bukowski speaks of women, he is speaking of them in the same way you would a car or a fine bottle of wine. They’re lumped in amongst the finer things in life. But don’t let that confuse you into thinking he valued them. They are there to be used and consumed, just the same as the cars and the wine. For some reason he saw women as just another sort of poison. Like the drink. A fine activity that will land you in a bad place soon enough.
I’m not going to pretend I don’t indulge when I read these sorts of books. There is something of the anarchistic and the chaotic about them. There’s a nightmarish freedom, like the brakes failing on a motorway, to the whole experience.
You know, we know, the world knows, god knows, the birds know... heck, even the stones know that none of that shit he got up to was aligned with the divine. And it sure as hell doesn’t deserve any glorification or re-enactment. His work is an outpouring of the digestive tract. But everyone makes, man. Everyone makes. Not one of us can claim to be an angel either. That’s best left to beings without sexual organs. We all have it in us. That nasty side. Its best to accept it and tame it down. Domesticate.
Bukowski is just Bukowski. Something went missing in him. And maybe he never knew, or maybe he knew but never wanted to find it again. Bukowski wrote some really raw stuff and the world needs that. For the same reason it needs its horror movies and rock music. Its holy catharsis.
This is a great collection. If you haven’t read any Bukowski, and I must admit I’m more familiar with his poetry myself, then this is a great place to start.
It runs from classic anecdote to bizarre fever-dream horror.
I think when Bukowski speaks of women, he is speaking of them in the same way you would a car or a fine bottle of wine. They’re lumped in amongst the finer things in life. But don’t let that confuse you into thinking he valued them. They are there to be used and consumed, just the same as the cars and the wine. For some reason he saw women as just another sort of poison. Like the drink. A fine activity that will land you in a bad place soon enough.
I’m not going to pretend I don’t indulge when I read these sorts of books. There is something of the anarchistic and the chaotic about them. There’s a nightmarish freedom, like the brakes failing on a motorway, to the whole experience.
You know, we know, the world knows, god knows, the birds know... heck, even the stones know that none of that shit he got up to was aligned with the divine. And it sure as hell doesn’t deserve any glorification or re-enactment. His work is an outpouring of the digestive tract. But everyone makes, man. Everyone makes. Not one of us can claim to be an angel either. That’s best left to beings without sexual organs. We all have it in us. That nasty side. Its best to accept it and tame it down. Domesticate.
Bukowski is just Bukowski. Something went missing in him. And maybe he never knew, or maybe he knew but never wanted to find it again. Bukowski wrote some really raw stuff and the world needs that. For the same reason it needs its horror movies and rock music. Its holy catharsis.
migdala's review against another edition
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
0.25
dont read it
khader's review against another edition
1.0
ما الفكرة؟؟ وكيف وصل تقييم هذه المجموعة القصصية الى 4 نجوم ؟؟ لا تنخدعوا ارجوكم ولا تقرأوها الا اذا كنتم بحاجة للاطلاع على التخيلات الجنسية لـ "تشارلز بوكوفسكي" وليس أكثر.
الكثير من الجنس والمشاهد الجنسية بدون اي فائدة لدرجة شعرت بالاسف للورق الذي طبعت عليه هذه المجموعة. هذا بالاضافة الى الترجمة التي قامت بها "ريم غنايم" والتي لم تحاول حتى استخدام مصطلحات وتعابير باللغة الفصحى واستخدمت العامية مما زاد من تدني المستوى اكثر واكثر لهذه المجموعة.
الكثير من الجنس والمشاهد الجنسية بدون اي فائدة لدرجة شعرت بالاسف للورق الذي طبعت عليه هذه المجموعة. هذا بالاضافة الى الترجمة التي قامت بها "ريم غنايم" والتي لم تحاول حتى استخدام مصطلحات وتعابير باللغة الفصحى واستخدمت العامية مما زاد من تدني المستوى اكثر واكثر لهذه المجموعة.
gabijaz's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75