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Mar 29, 2010

Ben rated it:

It all started in 7th grade with these stupid clubs they made us join. Some kind of “get involved” self esteem horseshit. Every other Friday was club day. An hour before school let out everyone had to pick a club to go to. They gave us a list. I left mine blank, so they put me in the Sports Cards Collecting Club. Better than the Baking Club, I guess. My friend Joe, whose dad was president of the Charles County fire department, didn’t leave his blank. He actually chose the Sports Card Coll More...

138 comments like (37 people liked it)

Sep 12, 2011

Adele rated it:

UGH!

Utter filth! Truly, this is the novel from Hell. While I know that Mr. B has a very particular worldview that is often...indigestible to some, I can appreciate that voice in his poetry... it, I don't know, functions better. But if I wanted to read about a pock marked adolescent pleasuring their dog, I'll read your 7th grade diary, thanks very much.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Matthew rated it:

It is true that Ham on Rye lacks a serious plot. It is also true that Mr. Bukowski writes in a crude, whiskey soaked style. However, the novel makes up for its deficiencies with a well-honed theme on the bullshit realities of middle-class existence and the ugly truth of how our society deals with those who reject that path. Such a novel should necessarily cause the reader to taste a tinge of bile in his or her throat. If you don't finish the book weary and angry, then you missed the point. More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2010

Tyler rated it:

No matter what, some folks are fated to become low-lifes, streetfighting bums or out-and-out thugs. In this semi-autobiographical account of youth, Charles Bukowski’s dirty realism describes just such a man. Bukowski is rare among outsiders, a poet and prose writer with the credentials to write about a pariah living on the margins.

The previously published Factotum covers Bukowski’s young adulthood. This book describes his growing up prior to World War II in Los Angeles. This book mi More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2008

Brendan rated it:

im reading this on the plane (qf12) and im nearly done (american term meaning finished). anyway reading it and deborah the chirpy as fuk flight attendant comes over and asks me what i do and i say im a writer and she says to me wow and sees what im reading and says that bokwoski was a very cynical writer. then she pours me a guava juice ('feed the mind') and continues to rattle on about how i NEED TO READ JEFFREY ARCHER and i said im not wild about jeff and she said you have to be open to things More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2008

Ruth rated it:

So what is a middle-class old woman who seldom drinks and never fights doing reading this book?

Enjoying the hell out of it.

4 comments like (43 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Nico rated it:

I hate Charles Bukowski.

5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2008

Raegan rated it:

Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite writers. This is one of his best books. It follows him from the age of 5 to his early teens. Heartbreaking and hilarious, this book was written at the perfect time by the man himself--if he had been younger it wouldn't have had the wisdom that it contains---this is probably Bukowski at his finest; all of the foundations for his later life and work are laid here: His father's thuggery, his mother's complacency, the cruelty of his classmates and his rejection More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 15, 2008

Schuyler rated it:

This is only the second novel I have read by Bukowski. I'm more a fan of his poetry. His poems are like his novels but condensed onto one page so they seem to carry more weight, more truth. His novels are like his poems but spread out over hundreds of pages so they seem a bit repetitive and watered down. The first half of the book was really good, recalling his childhood and abusive family life. The second half of the novel lost momentum as he describes his life after high school which fore More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 13, 2007

Kim rated it:

I read this book years ago, but most of it still sticks with me. I have a hard time giving it more than three stars because Charles Bukowski is such an asshole. It is also true though that he is an amazing writer. All of Bukowski's work is highly autobiographical (part of being a huge jerk is naricism) and this is his best. It deals with his horribly abusive childhood and adolescence is a way that is honest while pushing away all sympathy, a combination that creates a false intimacy. Reading Ham More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2008

Carolyne rated it:

In classic Bukowski fashion, this book works as a book of fiction but is painfully autobiographical. It casts shadows along the same archetypes as This Boy's Life, by Tobias Wolffe, but there is a much less forgiving tone in the writings, much less sentimental feel which could come from the distancing of Bukowski through the fictionalization. This book is humorous, dark, and relentless. The main character is mean, ugly, and misogynistic. But still, in all that, there is a pull towards feelin More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Alexandria rated it:

I started reading Bukowski backwards, read pulp first enjoyed that one more. The writing is crude, disgusting, depressing but amazing it works and is quite enjoyable espeically when you are in that kinda mood.

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Sep 01, 2011

Richard rated it:

This was my first Bukowski experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. His sharp, blunt prose appealed to me and I liked the flow of the story, that of Henry Chinaski's childhood/teen years of beatings (receiving them from his father and others, giving them to friends and schoolmates), severe acne, awkward relationships, drinking, masturbation, and general struggle to do just about anything other than read and write.

I loved the observations/realizations interspersed throughout the story More...

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May 06, 2011

Ben rated it:

This is the second book I've read by Bukowski, and I was impressed. Again I read about the life of his character Henry Chanaski,written in first person. I'm guessing this book to be largely autobiographical.'Ham on Rye' begins with Henry's very first memories as a child and carry you along through his early twenties. He grows up in a low income area of L.A. during the 50's. Bukowski shows how being tough was a top priority in his world, and independence was all you could hope for.
Bukowski's More...

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May 01, 2011

Arnie rated it:

I love Bukowski's writing and poetry. This is a recounting of his childhood under the character name Hank Chinask. Fantastic book. These are some of my favorite passages:

"There would never be a way for me to live comfortably with people. Maybe I'd become a monk. I'd pretend to believe in God, and live in a cubicle, play an organ and stay drunk on wine. Nobody would fuck with me. I could go into a cell for months of meditation where I wouldn't have to look at anybody and they cou More...

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Mar 15, 2011

Matt rated it:

"For all the fathers"

An interesting dedication. This book was going to speak to me and my impending parenthood. Little did I know that it was going to be a lesson in "what not to do".

This is a autobiographical piece on Bukowski's childhood under the guise of fiction. It is certainly no go lucky tale and his father is no Atticus Finch. The story is filled with disturbing sadness and pure unbridled rage. Some words jump off the page and dance in front of More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I've never read any Bukowski before and judging by this I've been missing a real treat, so thanks, Teresa, for the awesome loaner!

There's not much of a 'plot' to speak of, which turns out really doesn't matter as this account of the young childhood and adolescence of Henry Chinaski is so compelling it really doesn't need one. Raised in a deprived, frequently violent family in a neighbourhood virtually decimated by the Depression, from the start Henry is an outsider, and doesn't particu More...

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Sep 14, 2010

Nikki rated it:

This book has completely destroyed all the preconceptions I harboured about Bukowski. I always thought of him as a writer only loved by immature men, someone who only wrote about drinking and sex. To be honest, I kind of always looked down my nose at him. I'd never actually read any of his work though and since I really hate people who voice opinions about matters they know nothing about, I decided to pick up one of his novels to prove to myself that I'd been right all along and that I wasn't a More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2010

Andrius rated it:

It's a rare sort of author who can pull off the sort of sparse, bleak, simple writing style that Bukowski has mastered. Most of the time it seems to hamper the narrative rather than enhance it. This is one of the reasons I couldn't get into Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Bukowski's works are reknown for their cynicism, incredibly flawed yet poignant characters and Ham on Rye seems to exemplify those traits simply due to it's autobiographical content of him growing up.

Having just read Br More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 18, 2010

Tom rated it:

I know a girl who loves Bukowski because he can't write. He doesn't pretty it up. Well, it's because he writes so ugly that this book is so beautiful. It's a troubling look back at the youth of a man who knows exactly where he went wrong, but isn't afraid to leave it unjustified. Because after all, he's no better nor worse than anyone else in the world.

There's a disarming quality to the frankness of the prose which I read as somewhat disingenuous. Bukowski writes ugly, so you assume More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2010

Theraysimon rated it:

This is the best Bukowski has to offer. Most of his novels trace the slow, hard grind of a humdrum existence and the small victories of sex, booze, and betting on the races. Ham on Rye is different. It chronicles Bukowski's childhood. There are wonderfully tender and sad moments. But the over-arching feeling is one of male competition, of growing up and having to jostle for position, of struggling to survive. The three chapters in which Bukowski (or Chinaski) goes to the hospital to receive trea More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

James rated it:

I would recommend to anyone who is interested in Bukowski the documentary: Born Into This (a title taken from one of his poems). Great documentary that does justice to the old man.

Bukowski is not especially prose-conscious. If you read Post Office, his first novel (which I guess he was basically paid to write, so he dashed it off pretty rapidly) you'll see that he's not an attentive, neurotic stylist. Nevertheless, there's a heart and passion and authenticity in his work that few int More...

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Mar 05, 2010

Katie rated it:

"I could see the road ahead of me. I was poor and I was going to stay poor. But I didn't particularly want money. I didn't know what I wanted. Yes, I did. I wanted someplace to hide out, someplace where one didn't have to do anything. The thought of being something didn't only appall me, it sickened me . . . To do things, to be part of family picnics, Christmas, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Mother's Day . . . was a man born just to endure those things and then die? I would rather be a dishwa More...

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Dec 12, 2008

Cwn_annwn_13 rated it:

Like most of his books this is loosely based on Bukowskis real life experiences. Ham on Rye covers Bukowskis childhood and early adulthood, ending around his second year of college. Even though he had a pretty terrible childhood if your to believe this book he finds a lot of humor in some very horrid situations. I found myself laughing out loud constantly while reading this, so this is not some depressing whine fest. Even though its sad at times its also a VERY funny book. One slightly annoying More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

Tony rated it:

My life did not resemble Henry Chinaski's. No abusive father here. No ritualized beatings. No helpless mother. No culture of fighting. One lost fight was enough to teach me the purposelessness of all that. I liked school. Not that I go to the reunions. Sure there was the pimply phase, but nothing like the scourge of boils that rendered Henry a monster.

And yet...and yet...

Something rang so true reading this book. The sense of alienation. The understanding of the More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2009

Ryan rated it:

As a fictional memoir covering Bukowki's Hank Chinaski, Ham On Rye serves as a tome of explanation and unorganized insurrection towards both his detractors and followers.

Defending the late Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) and his rebellion against societal norms is a lost cause, and while his abuse of alcohol, women, himself, and humanity in general have often gotten him slagged as a misogynistic wino with no karma left to burn, the freedom and honesty of his writing in 1982’s Ham On Rye More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2009

Melissa rated it:

This is my first experience reading Bukowski - I apparently stumbled across his name 5 years ago when searching for something interesting to give my daughter for Christmas. I had never heard of him before, which is strange because he has a huge list of books. This was an easy read from the perspective of it was quick, short chapters. The character is someone you want to hug, but that would be most unwelcome. The story takes place in the 30's and Hank is a sort of gritty, uncharming, defensiv More...

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Jun 11, 2011

Lisa rated it:

"...Предвидя свое будущее, я частенько посещал район притонов и ночлежек, дабы быть готовым. Меня воротило от того, что я там наблюдал. В обитателях «дна», и в мужчинах, и в женщинах, не было ни отваги, ни куражу. Они жаждали того же, что и все остальные. Встречались там и явные психи, которые беспрепятственно разгуливали по улицам. Примечательная вещь — на пиках нищеты и богатства сумасшедшим часто позволяется обретаться совершенно свободно. Я и сам был не совсем нормален. С раннего детств More...

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Nov 09, 2010

George rated it:

LESS THAN I HAD HOPED.

“We were all in it together. We were all in one big shit pot together. There was no escape. We were all going to be flushed away.” –page 249/250

The ‘life-is-a-cesspool’ / ‘life-is-a-bitch-and-then-you-die’ genre of art and entertainment has never quite done it for me.

The Goodeads.com synopsis for this novel begins: “In what is widely hailed as the best of his many novels…”, and the average rating is 4.13 out of a possible 5. Thus, were my More...

1 comment like

Feb 18, 2011

Catherine rated it:

I stumbled upon Bukowski's novels by accident; I knew his poetry, and for some reason didn't associate him with 'Factotum', a movie I'd seen and loved a year or so before. That being said, I can't emphasize enough how glad I am to have picked up 'Hollywood' and now 'Ham on Rye'. From what I've heard, 'Rye' is one of his more popular novels, especially with men. That is interesting to me; I always thought that Bukowski was misogynistic without actually being misogynistic, if that makes sense. He More...

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