post office: A Novel by Charles Bukowski Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of post office: A Novel
Book Review: Bukowski was a funny guy!
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of what I've read by Bukowski at this point in time (I've only read four of his books as of today) I would rank this and Ham on Rye as his best.
Most of Post Office revolves around his two stints as a Postal Worker, boozing, gambling, relationships with women and his trying to keep on with his writing while juggling all the other facets of his life. Its actually no wonder he was so miserable working at the post office considering he would drink and peck away at the typewriter every night till 2 a.m when he had to be at work the next morning. But hey you have to keep your dreams alive and it obviously paid off for him in the end.
Like everything else I've ever read by Bukowski he finds great humor in some hellish situations. This is something that kind of gets lost in the shuffle by many of the idiot hipsters that are into Bukowski. They tend to overly romanticize Bukowskis skid row/working class/bohemian lifestyle but neglect to make much of the great humor on his work. Bukowski was a VERY funny guy. Not that there isn't plenty of sad content in his books but I often feel like I'm watching a great stand up comic (including the self loathing that so many of them exhibit) when I read Bukowski.
Book Review: Bukowski's First
Summary: 4 Stars
I have recently gotten into Bukowski's writing and couldn't wait to read Post Office. I had spent 8 years of my young adulthood as a Postal Worker and looked forward to his take on his years in the PO. Bukowski was a writer who pulled no punches. He writes in a spare style influenced by Hemingway but his prose is often crude and graphic. One aspect of his work that I find disturbing after reading 3 of his books in close succession is his treatment of women. All of his female characters are ... let's say less than admirable. I googled Bukowski and misogyny and found a couple of articles and essays addressing this aspect of his work.
Despite that one misgiving I find his writing pretty entertaining and compelling in other regards. Post Office is right on the money in it's descriptions of the working conditions and attitudes of his coworkers and supervisors. And let me say that I have many friends who work for the PO and I come from a family of Postal workers so I know the territory and mean no disrespect to people who earn their living there.
Book Review: Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Please read this book. If more people read things like this, the world would be a better place.Book Review: Classic Buk
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to read Bukowski's poetry 20 years ago and loved it. This is the first time I have read one of his novels. It was damn good and written true to life. From what I know this book is written about Buk's own life when he was in the employ of the post office. Great book. I plan on reading "Ham and Rye" next.Book Review: Dead Letters
Summary: 4 Stars
This toughly-written short novel tells the story of anti-hero Henry Chianski's two deadening periods of employment with the U.S. Post Office in Los Angeles. "Post Office" was the first published novel by the now famous underground novelist and poet, Charles Bukowski (1920 -1994). Chianski is the protagonist in Bukowski's other novels, and he is modeled loosely on the author. Bukowksi did, in fact have two long stints at the post office. The second, of more that twelve years, ended when John Martin, the publisher of Black Sparrow Press, offered Bukowski a monthly stipend to quit the job and devote his time to writing. Bukowski agreed and wrote "Post Office" within a month after resigning. Thus, unlike some of his later novels such as "Ham on Rye" and "Factotum" where an older Bukowski looks back on his younger life, "Post Office" has a strong feel of immediacy. The novel is funny, sharp, vulgar, and in-your-face.
The writing in "Post Office" is raw and simple. Bukowski turns his back on what many today regard as political correctness, especially in his attitudes towards women and sexuality. Also, many people, particularly those in the professions and those with substantial education, tend to define themselves in terms of their work. As far as the post office is concerned, Bukowski rejects this attitude as emphatically as a bucket of ice water in the face. He shows no sentimentality towards the post office or towards the value of his occupation. But in part this is because Bukowski had not found what he wanted to to. His vocation was as a writer.
The novel is written in six chapters, each of which is divided into short paragraphs. The opening chapter deals with Chianski/Bukoswski's initial two-year employment with the post office as a letter carrier. This section is more concentrated than the rest of the book, as Chianski describes his relationship with Betty, probably the love of his life, and a series of short affairs with other women. Chianski describes his difficulties with an overbearing supervisor, and there are funny scenes, such as that involving mailman Chianski's encounter with a German shepherd who seems enamored with him.
When Betty splits with Chianski, he becomes involved with the wealthy Joyce who divorces him after two years of marriage. Chianski has returned to the post office, this time as a clerk, where he remains for 12 years. Chianski hates his job and malingers whenever possible, spending his time at the racetrack, with women, and drinking. The book includes effective scenes of life at the track and of its hangers-on. Chianski is written-up often for misconduct but somehow never gets fired. He manages to walk away freely, on his own terms. During this time, Chianski fathers a daughter with an aging hippie named Fay. When Fay moves out, Chianski pays child support and remains surprisingly attached to his daughter. Also during this period, Betty, whom Chianski has continued to see intermittently, dies. Chianski takes Betty's death hard.
There is no John Martin in "Post Office", as there was for Bukowski, but Chianski finally works up the courage to leave a job he hates. Bukowski wrote of himself and his own decision to leave the post office: "I have one of two choices -- stay in the post office and go crazy -- or stay out here and play at writer and starve. I have decided to starve." At first Chianski does not know what to do with the freedom he has chosen for himself, and he goes on a drunken binge. But "Post Office" ends on an optimistic note as Chianski finds his vocation at the conclusion:
"In the morning it was morning and I was still alive.
Maybe I'll write a novel, I thought.
And then I did."
While "Post Office" is not as good as either "Ham on Rye" or "Factotum", it has much more of a sense of presence -- as Bukowski wrote the book immediately upon quitting the post office without the opportunity to reflect upon the experience through distance and the passage of time. The book in its humor,irreverance, and directness makes an excellent introduction to Bukowski.
Robin Friedman