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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Nobody can write about the mundane quite as well as Bukowski, and I find myself laughing out loud with his novels more than any other I've read. That being said I enjoyed the way this novel was paced and how something that should have been boring to read entertained me during a graveyard shift.
dark
emotional
funny
Bukowski writing about Henry Chinaski getting jobs, losing jobs, drinking, fucking, and occasionally succeeding at exercising his gift is better than you imagine. I love the terseness and the vision of old LA after the war.
Maravilla autobiográfica de su faceta narrativa, es un autor que no para de exhalar vida en cada línea, una vida que no es bella, huele a sudor, sabe agria, suena al vidrio de botellas chocando y a gente caminando por al lado y que esta repleta de momentos a olvidar.
Ver a Bukowski como un autor zafio es quedarse en la superficie, creo que su estilo puede tener detractores y adoradores y que la cotidianidad de sus escenas pueden hacer a las personas creer que es una escritura vacía, banal pero para mi es justo lo contrario, es la forma más directa, muchas veces dolorosa de destripar nuestros entresijos del alma y jugar con ellos sin repudio, creo que eso lo hace muy especial.
Ver a Bukowski como un autor zafio es quedarse en la superficie, creo que su estilo puede tener detractores y adoradores y que la cotidianidad de sus escenas pueden hacer a las personas creer que es una escritura vacía, banal pero para mi es justo lo contrario, es la forma más directa, muchas veces dolorosa de destripar nuestros entresijos del alma y jugar con ellos sin repudio, creo que eso lo hace muy especial.
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The title speaks for itself... Factotum.
The events in this novel follow on from the timeline based within Ham on Rye (which led up to 1941). Our outsider, Henry “Hank” Chinaski makes a return and we find him in the 1940’s. The focus of this book is on Chinaski’s arrival and departure from numerous menial jobs after being turned away for the WWII draft. He travels from one low-end neighbourhood to the next across different cities throughout wartime America; in search of work to support his vices and attempt to make ends meet. Naturally, he is boozing it up, brawling it out, and often whoring alongside his various jobs.
There is a strange paradox to Chinaski’s debauchery, disillusionment, and down and out lifestyle; it fuels him in some way. Despite this abstruse proclivity for self-sabotage, he comes out on top and just as resilient as ever. Chinaski is wise to the level of bullshit and hypocrisy of the American life that surrounds him, and thus, appears more free than the average man by not limiting himself to societal restraints and falling mentally victim the accompanying anxieties that attempt to hold him down. One of the few things that Chinaski refuses to be intoxicated by are society’s dogmas, judgements, and expectations of him.
The events during his childhood throughout Ham on Rye have led to Chinaski’s competence in playing the role of the tough guy, or “the man’s man” in order to survive in the outside world. Bukowski presents Chinaski as being an indifferent lone wolf, who sees that the world owes him nothing. Chinaski, in turn, equally upholds the belief that he is not indebted to the dysfunctional world around him and often seeks peaceful seclusion.
• “It was the first time I had been alone in five days. I was a man who thrived on solitude; without it I was like another man without food or water. Each day without solitude weakened me. I took no pride in my solitude; but I was dependent on it. The darkness of the room was like sunlight to me." (p.24).
Chinaski has no issue with accepting the role of fall guy and is able to laugh at his situation, as well as, laughing in the face of pompous people in the midst of absurd adversity. He fully comprehends the real bitter way of the world around him and will not go down without a fight. This helps solidify the overall theme and representation of the lives of poor folks in America. Primarily, how strong attitudes like resilience and the ability to govern and think for oneself are essential to a person’s survival in society. On numerous occasions, Chinaski expresses, with brutal honesty, that the society around him is just as every bit dysfunctional, if not more so, than he is.
• “The thought of sitting in front of a man behind a desk and telling him that I wanted a job, was too much for me. Frankly, I was horrified at life, at what a man had to do simply in order to eat, sleep, and keep himself clothed.” (p.46).
• “Bums and indolents, all of us working there realized our days were numbered. So we relaxed and waited for them to find out inept we were.” (p.64-65).
• “How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?” (p.97).
• “I always started a job with the feeling that I’d soon quit or be fired, and this gave me a relaxed manner that was mistaken for intelligence or some secret power.” (p.99-100).
• “The bums lived down there by the hundreds in little cement alcoves under the bridges and overpasses. Some of them even had potted plants in front of their places. All they needed to live like kings was canned heat (Sterno) and what they picked out of the nearby garbage dump. They were tan and relaxed and most of them looked a hell of a lot healthier than the average Los Angeles business man. Those guys has no problems with women, income tax, landlords, burial expenses, dentists, time payments, car repairs or with climbing into a voting booth and pulling the curtain closed.”(p.128).
The events in Factotum establish real world insights into the life of the working person and the types of tribulations associated with being employed in a place where someone does not truly want to be. It is reminder concerning the necessity of retaining personal authenticity and self-belief, regardless of where one might find oneself at any current stage of life.
Underneath the layers of Chinaski’s debauchery, antics and sojourning, he still holds on to his aspirations of being a writer before anything; the essence of that previously noted self-belief and authenticity in oneself.
• “There were always men looking for jobs in America. There were always these usable bodies. And I wanted to be a writer.” (p.130).
This unveils another core of theme of the book... Pursuing a passion. The importance of finding a living in doing what one truly enjoys. Not to allow a lifetime to be consumed by a possessive and menial job which will likely lead to the miserable existence and the realisation of one’s own expendability within the working world.
I have only one regret about reading Factotum. Here it is…
Chronologically, Chinaski’s timeline within Factotum is set after the events of Ham on Rye and before the events found in Post Office. My only regret is that I messed up Chinaski’s timeline for myself a little by reading Post Office before Factotum. Still, it is not the end of the world.
What else can I say about Bukowski’s novels that I haven’t said already? - Not much.
Once again, he maintains realism in his signature bullshit-free approach and a supreme, yet simplistic command of fluency throughout his use of language. These elements are fused together by his laconic and remarkable writing style. Collectively, this writer’s recipe panders to my soul and eye once again.
The book may be short, but it packs a brilliant punch, not unlike Hank himself. It offers none of that wordy ostentatiousness or any unnecessary slow-paced protraction. Despite being a slow reader, I couldn’t help, yet again, flying through the pages with both ease and ecstasy.
Another great Chinaski experience fully enjoyed and under my belt.
The events in this novel follow on from the timeline based within Ham on Rye (which led up to 1941). Our outsider, Henry “Hank” Chinaski makes a return and we find him in the 1940’s. The focus of this book is on Chinaski’s arrival and departure from numerous menial jobs after being turned away for the WWII draft. He travels from one low-end neighbourhood to the next across different cities throughout wartime America; in search of work to support his vices and attempt to make ends meet. Naturally, he is boozing it up, brawling it out, and often whoring alongside his various jobs.
There is a strange paradox to Chinaski’s debauchery, disillusionment, and down and out lifestyle; it fuels him in some way. Despite this abstruse proclivity for self-sabotage, he comes out on top and just as resilient as ever. Chinaski is wise to the level of bullshit and hypocrisy of the American life that surrounds him, and thus, appears more free than the average man by not limiting himself to societal restraints and falling mentally victim the accompanying anxieties that attempt to hold him down. One of the few things that Chinaski refuses to be intoxicated by are society’s dogmas, judgements, and expectations of him.
The events during his childhood throughout Ham on Rye have led to Chinaski’s competence in playing the role of the tough guy, or “the man’s man” in order to survive in the outside world. Bukowski presents Chinaski as being an indifferent lone wolf, who sees that the world owes him nothing. Chinaski, in turn, equally upholds the belief that he is not indebted to the dysfunctional world around him and often seeks peaceful seclusion.
• “It was the first time I had been alone in five days. I was a man who thrived on solitude; without it I was like another man without food or water. Each day without solitude weakened me. I took no pride in my solitude; but I was dependent on it. The darkness of the room was like sunlight to me." (p.24).
Chinaski has no issue with accepting the role of fall guy and is able to laugh at his situation, as well as, laughing in the face of pompous people in the midst of absurd adversity. He fully comprehends the real bitter way of the world around him and will not go down without a fight. This helps solidify the overall theme and representation of the lives of poor folks in America. Primarily, how strong attitudes like resilience and the ability to govern and think for oneself are essential to a person’s survival in society. On numerous occasions, Chinaski expresses, with brutal honesty, that the society around him is just as every bit dysfunctional, if not more so, than he is.
• “The thought of sitting in front of a man behind a desk and telling him that I wanted a job, was too much for me. Frankly, I was horrified at life, at what a man had to do simply in order to eat, sleep, and keep himself clothed.” (p.46).
• “Bums and indolents, all of us working there realized our days were numbered. So we relaxed and waited for them to find out inept we were.” (p.64-65).
• “How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?” (p.97).
• “I always started a job with the feeling that I’d soon quit or be fired, and this gave me a relaxed manner that was mistaken for intelligence or some secret power.” (p.99-100).
• “The bums lived down there by the hundreds in little cement alcoves under the bridges and overpasses. Some of them even had potted plants in front of their places. All they needed to live like kings was canned heat (Sterno) and what they picked out of the nearby garbage dump. They were tan and relaxed and most of them looked a hell of a lot healthier than the average Los Angeles business man. Those guys has no problems with women, income tax, landlords, burial expenses, dentists, time payments, car repairs or with climbing into a voting booth and pulling the curtain closed.”(p.128).
The events in Factotum establish real world insights into the life of the working person and the types of tribulations associated with being employed in a place where someone does not truly want to be. It is reminder concerning the necessity of retaining personal authenticity and self-belief, regardless of where one might find oneself at any current stage of life.
Underneath the layers of Chinaski’s debauchery, antics and sojourning, he still holds on to his aspirations of being a writer before anything; the essence of that previously noted self-belief and authenticity in oneself.
• “There were always men looking for jobs in America. There were always these usable bodies. And I wanted to be a writer.” (p.130).
This unveils another core of theme of the book... Pursuing a passion. The importance of finding a living in doing what one truly enjoys. Not to allow a lifetime to be consumed by a possessive and menial job which will likely lead to the miserable existence and the realisation of one’s own expendability within the working world.
I have only one regret about reading Factotum. Here it is…
Chronologically, Chinaski’s timeline within Factotum is set after the events of Ham on Rye and before the events found in Post Office. My only regret is that I messed up Chinaski’s timeline for myself a little by reading Post Office before Factotum. Still, it is not the end of the world.
What else can I say about Bukowski’s novels that I haven’t said already? - Not much.
Once again, he maintains realism in his signature bullshit-free approach and a supreme, yet simplistic command of fluency throughout his use of language. These elements are fused together by his laconic and remarkable writing style. Collectively, this writer’s recipe panders to my soul and eye once again.
The book may be short, but it packs a brilliant punch, not unlike Hank himself. It offers none of that wordy ostentatiousness or any unnecessary slow-paced protraction. Despite being a slow reader, I couldn’t help, yet again, flying through the pages with both ease and ecstasy.
Another great Chinaski experience fully enjoyed and under my belt.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
lighthearted
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
I had no idea who Bukowski was until recently, and I’m thrilled I’m no longer living in the dark. This was my first, but won’t be the last. His hilarity gives off a similar vibe as Hunter S. Thompson, which is fine by me!
Miserable to a comical degree, Factotum tells a lightning fast, engrossing story about being a loser and failing to be better.