Hollywood by Charles Bukowski Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.05 You Save: $7.94 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.10 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Hollywood
Book Review: Bukowski gives a great peek at madness involved in Barfly.
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone who has seen the movie must read this book.
The film was a stretch for O'rouke and Dunaway to
capture the essence of the characters who actually lived this life. The debate that end with a saw.
One book that deserves a spot on my bookshelf.Book Review: Dissapointing
Summary: 2 Stars
"I drove north up the Harbor freeway toward Hollywood Park. I'd been playing the horses over 30 years. It started after my near fatal hemorrhage at the L.A. County Hospital. They told me that if I took another drink that I was dead.
`What'll I do?' I asked Jane.
`About What?'
`What'll I use as a substitute for drink?'
`Well, there are the horses.'
`Horses? What do you do?'
`Bet on them? Sounds stupid.'
We went and I won handsomely. I began to go on a daily basis. Then, slowly, I began to drink a little again. Then I drank more. And I didn't die. So then I had drinking and the horses. I was hooked all around" (176).
Bukowksi's prose, much like his persona is strong, dead-pan, and often touching and funny. This novel however, is weaker than much of his other works of fiction because the narrator, Henry Chianski, is constantly surrounded by his colleagues. Bukowski doesn't allow for any breathing room in this often redundant portraiture of the world of making film, a field Bukowski has nothing but contempt for. After 100 pages of endless negotiations and back-stabbings one wonders why Bukowski wasn't able to conjure any better scenarios than he was in `The Post-Office,' a far less interesting subject and setting. This novel is not without its moments and the prose is never embarrassing, but it removes the grit and loneliness of his earlier work, necessarily at that, as he composes it onto the screen. A minor effort from an otherwise effective and provocative author.
Book Review: Drunken Hilarity
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked this novel out in the library when I was a teenager. Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced with Bukowski. It was unexpected, to say the least. From an innocuous cover and title that exploded into the hilarious story of a drunk, his wife and a screenplay, I had to put the book down several times from laughing so hard. It would inspire even the stone sober to crave a drink.Chinaski doesn't seem to like much about life, save for booze. He and his wife swim in an alcoholic haze throughout the winding tale. The novel was based on Bukowski's experience with the writing for the movie 'Barfly'. The narrative here is patchy, the storyline not so important, and the novel ends up being not much more than an endless recalling of drunken days and nights, strange characters, and interesting occurrences as a result of them.
I am now a devoted Bukowski fan and nothing I have ever read by him has let me down. His humor is unmatched. He is vulgar, disgusting, entertaining and simply brilliant. While not for everyone, he comes highly recommended. Grab a bottle and settle in for a good time.
Book Review: Fun Read...
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, a couple of caveats...
First: Bukowski isn't for everyone. (In fact, it might be true that Bukowski doesn't appeal to the great majority of people. But hey, so what!)
Second: This book is best read AFTER having seen the movie "Barfly."
With that said, I found Bukowski's thinly-veiled recounting of the making of "Barfly" (via his alter-ego, Hank Chinaski and in his typical "straight, no chaser" style), a very enjoyable, fun, read. It's one of my favorite Bukowski books and certainly ranks quite high as an overall favorite book of mine.
Worth checking out!
Book Review: Good shot -- take the movie as a chaser.
Summary: 4 Stars
Book starts slowly, but rapidly picks up. I enjoyed it a lot. Then I got the movie,and enjoyed all the little bits he points out in the book.