Reviews - Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness

138 reviews for:

Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness

Charles Bukowski

3.63 AVERAGE

talaalkamil's review against another edition

2.75

dark 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: Yes

my biggest issue with this is how similar it felt to Post Office, which I read immediately before this. it was incredibly repetitive, genuinely identical stories and characters, so i think i need a bukowski break now. the content is repulsive and graphic, his writing style blunt, which is entirely what one expects from him. it is different, but probably only tolerable in small doses. some of the short stories were far too graphic and for what!

stories i liked: would you suggest writing as a career? the great zen wedding. a rain of women. animal crackers in my soup. the blanket.

Content Warnings

mareeva's review against another edition

3.0

This book effectively sucked my soul out & demolished my will to live

jmrivera's review against another edition

2.0

I just dont like early bukowski. once he gets to the 70s there's a change.

elizarapsodia's review against another edition

4.0

Hay que aclarar que este libro no es para todo el mundo. Como ya reseñé hace poco más de un año este autor fue uno de los malditos de la sociedad americana de los años 50. Charles Bukowski: poeta, escritor, cartero, apostador empedernido, bebedor, fumador y varias cosas más.

Este libro de relatos es parte de una serie que editó la editorial Anagrama, ya que la producción de relatos del autor fue bastante importante. En este volumen hay varios cuentos e historias donde predomina la voz del alter ego de Charles, Henry Chinaski, y a través de él iremos conociendo los personajes y vidas de una tragicomedia americana: prostitutas, apostadores, bebedores empedernidos y demás personajes peculiares. En ellos encontraremos relatos con el autor como protagonista, aunque hay otros donde siempre nos queda la duda si el es el verdadero personaje o no. Las historias que encontramos tienen humor negro, sexo y muchos otros ingredientes picantes y bastante interesantes.

Reseña completa: http://rapsodia-literaria.blogspot.com/2013/02/la-maquina-de-follar-de-charles-bukowski.html

eya_b's review against another edition

4.0

This book is very Bukowski. I don't know how else to describe it.
Most of these stories are not only funny but somehow educational. This is the kind of book that makes you stop and think for a second, which is impressive considering bukowski was drunk when he wrote most of these (according to him).
My favorites were:
• a dollar and twenty cents
• a quiet conversation piece
• a bad trip

emmoudesbois's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

DNF on page 88, I am a little disappointed bc i really wanted to like this book and this author but It was really boring (I like how he write btw but I didn’t like the novels)...
maybe I should have started with another one... (sorry for my English I’m French)

intostarlight's review against another edition

1.0

People say you either hate or love Bukowski. Well I didn't love him and I didn't hate him. This book just wasn't for me. Maybe I'll try another one of his books some other time but for now I'm staying away from Mr. Bukowski and his bleak look on life.

ninomagro's review against another edition

Charles Bukowski est un type bizarre, et ses nouvelles sont pour le moins étranges. Certaines sont belles, d’autres dégoutantes voire répulsives. Mais elles ont toutes quelque chose en commun : elles sont magnifiquement écrites. Dans un style très moderne, parfois un peu déroutant, mais qui intègre parfaitement les différents récits. Parfois les nouvelles sont très glauques, et m’ont mises mal à l’aise en tant que lecteur. Mais sur l’ensemble de l’ouvrage, j’ai l’impression que l’avoir lu m’a beaucoup apporté. Je ne considère pas les nouvelles comme des exemples de vie, pour la plupart c’est même le contraire, mais la manière dont le fond et la forme s’intègrent parfaitement entre eux est très inspirant.
C’est à la fois un beau livre, et in livre horrible. Je ne sais pas quoi choisir, mais ce qui est sûr, c’est qu’il est d’une certaine manière, passionnant.