“It began as a mistake.” By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of … sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel—the one that catapulted its author to national fame—is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski.
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The story goes that prior to this novel, Charles Bukowski had written an abundance of short stories and poetry, which peaked the interest of his soon to be lifelong publisher, John Martin of Black Sparrow Press. Martin struck a deal with Bukowski–who was the basis for starting Black Sparrow Press–where Bukowski would quit his job at the post …
Bukowski drew heavily on his own life to write this short masterpiece. You don’t have to like the guy to like his writing.
I read this while working on a consulting project at the national headquarters of the USPS. Outstanding work.
The story is told from the viewpoint of a postal worker. It’s a grueling workplace described with some humor. This was an unfamiliar way to look at life, but I found it interesting.
Disappointing. A repeat narcissistic story written poorly.
Maybe it would have been considered interesting in the 70’s but I found it boring and underwhelming.
I originally picked this book up to read because I used to work for the post office. I started to read it and thought I wasn’t going to like it. Some of the language is smutty and OTT. However, I loved it. It was so amusing. What a character! I can understand now why it has a massive following.
There’s nothing I can say about Charles Bukowski that hasn’t been said, or written. Except to say that I wish I had discovered him sooner.
For anyone who has ever worked at the post office they will find this book funny. It really hits the nail on the head on some topics. Some of the story is really dumb and not needed .
Not Bukowski’s best but definitely worth reading. His commentary on working in the public sector is hilarious yet scathing. His narrative voice is totally unique.