Ham On Rye

A Novel

By: Charles Bukowski

Narrated by: Christian Baskous

In what is widely hailed as the best of his many novels, Charles Bukowski details the long, lonely years of his own hardscrabble youth in the raw voice of alter ego Henry Chinaski. From a harrowingly cheerless childhood in Germany through acne-riddled high school years and his adolescent discoveries of alcohol, women, and the Los Angeles Public Library's collection of D. H. Lawrence, Ham on Rye offers a crude, brutal, and savagely funny portrait of an outcast's coming-of-age during the desperate days of the Great Depression.

Disturbing and dark, laced with brilliant quotes

In this loosely disguised autobiography, Bukowski is the protagonist in a dysfunctional family with an abusive father and a mother who does nothing to help him. He quickly turns into a younger version of his father after suffering terrible, scarring boils and acne and the meanness of other children due to his lack of athletic ability.

The remainder of the book feels like the reader is looking at the world through the eyes of a psychopath or a sociopath. He picks fights and his moodiness is terrifying. The life he betrays is a lonely and frightening one where social norms do not apply.

Beautiful quotes line the dark narrative, and those silver linings make it all the more disturbing.

Inspirational to the tortured soul

A book that captivates the sad and the hard times and makes them comical I true Titan of the written word was Charles Bukowski

funny

he writes like a real man ought to. gots balls. not like other writers

Classic Bukowski

I’ve always loved Bukowski and his arrogant and yet somehow self-depreciating presentation of his alter ego. This book is definitely more character-study than plot-driven and if you aren’t familiar with his raw this-is-a-real-life style, it might not work for you. But he shows in excruciating detail how a human being can be at once his own hero and worst enemy. This book in particular ends on a poignant note that you can twist around in your head awhile trying to figure out. This and Post Office are great examples of his classic style.

Difficult on the ears.

Unfortunately the narration is difficult to listen to for any amount of time. I made it half an hour.