Love is a Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Love is a Dog From Hell
Book Review: My First Bukowski Book
Summary: 4 Stars
i've never been a really big fan of bukowski. i've read his stuff in anthologies, and like maya angelou, his stuff come off as being too easy for my tastes. i like challenges. plus the whole hard-drinking, hard-living lifestyle doesn't exactly move me. but i got a copy of this book for next to nothing at a garage sale, and decided to try it out... his poems aren't really " poetic "...he doesn't utilize alot of poetic devices...he's just content to tell you his story...
three of the poems in particluar; " my old man," " how to be a great writer," and " a poem to the shoeshine man, " i really liked and if i had hated all the other poems, i would've given the book at least three stars, soley because of those three pieces, but most of the poems moved me. he's writing about life in the low rent world and the affairs of the ( often broken )heart, so the language doesn't need to be flowery or pretentious...he has a way of making you feel the loneliness and desperation of a writer's life...bukowski once said " to expose your a-- on paper is the most dangerous thing in the world." and it's true, a writer puts himself out for everyone to see, too late to take it all back. he not trying to come across as fashionably obscure or ambiguous, he's just telling his poem. they're not p.c. or academic, but they're honest. i look forward to reading one of his novels
Book Review: Not for the happy, or the shiny
Summary: 4 Stars
These poems are the most edgy, raw and unpolished bits of writing I've ever grimaced at. Bukowski's imagery turns my stomach and makes me want to look away from the page. But at the same time there is this current of satisfaction running throughout the book that I could not stop from falling in love with. This was my first Buk book, and I plan to read much, much more.Book Review: Not for the happy, or the shiny
Summary: 4 Stars
These poems are the most edgy, raw and unpolished bits of writing I've ever grimaced at. Bukowski's imagery turns my stomach and makes me want to look away from the page. But at the same time there is this current of satisfaction running throughout the book that I could not stop from falling in love with. This was my first Buk book, and I plan to read much, much more.Book Review: one of the soon to be forgotten giants
Summary: 2 Stars
Charles Bukowski is a member of a group of twentieth century poet/writers (the others being Ginsberg, Burroughs, Merton, Reznikoff and Kerouac) who I like to call "the soon to be forgotten giants." Here we sit, only a year and a half since the year on the calendar started with a 19, and these guys are starting to fade. They still sell well enough (Kerouac's novels always will and Merton's non-poetry will always have a niche market among Christians), but with the exception of Reznikoff's brief appearance in one of The Library of America's volumes of twentieth century American Poetry, you can't find these guys in an anthology to save your life.I say all this to point out that in his time, Bukowski was a master...In my opinion, "Love is a Dog From Hell" is his best volume of poetry. It is proof that he was a massive talent who, when compared with a lot of the drivel that sells, comes off looking like a veritable Giant (though a quite depraved one). In fact, as a teenager, he was my favorite poet. Yet now that I am a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and from a theological point of view a new creature, I have to say that I am saddened to reflect on how a writer of the immense talent of Bukowski wasted what he was given.
All of this aside, Bukowski did not leave me with nothing for having read him. Once, I looked at Bukowski as a master in his field...I used to wish I would someday be able to write as well as he did. In his work he expresses a great deal of forthrightness. This quality, which I picked up from reading Bukowski, was instrumental in my spiritual journey. So thanks in part to the unwitting aid of Bukowski I now have a new master--not merely a poet, but the author of all poets..."And my tongue shall declare His righteousness And His praise all day long" (Psalm 35:28).
While the poems contained within this volume can be quite striking and darkly humorous, I must say that reading it is very similar to eating all frosting and no cake. Bukowski doesn't know love from a hole in the ground.
In the end, I cannot give "Love is a Dog From Hell" my recommendation. Neither can I give it or its author condemnation...but for the grace of God, there go I.
Book Review: BUKOWSKI--A BRILLIANT BARFLY
Summary: 5 Stars
As the author of current mystery novel that features a Southern California private eye who is also a small-press poet, I am a great admirer of Charles Bukowski and his work. LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL is my favorite Bukowski collection, and it provides the reader with a comprehensive selection of this great contemporary poet's work. Bukowski's work has had a strong influence on my own poetry as well as on the poetry of my fictional private cop. Upon his death, I wrote tribute poem honoring this admirable writer, and it quickly found publication. I would recommend LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL to any reader who wants to become familiar with Charles Bukowski's life's work.