book data
1,717 ratings,
3.89
average rating, 98 reviews
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published
June 5th 2002
(first published 1380)
by Ecco
binding
Paperback, 224 pages
isbn
0876855966
(isbn13: 9780876855966)
description
No descriptive copy available
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avg 3.89
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Just because your book is filled with a lot of drugs and a lot of sex and a lot of cursing doesn't make it good. I hate Charles Bukowski almost as much as I hate Hemingway. I'm pretty sure that last sentence knocked me out from ever holding a prestigious place in the literary world.
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Read in January, 2008
شخصيت محوري داستان هاي بوکفسکي،هنري چيتانسکي نام دارد.او اديبي است بدمست که درباره همه امور با صراحت و بي رحمي نظر مي دهد،به موسيقي علاقه مند است و از زنان گريزان.
در داستان هاي موسيقي آب گرم،ويژگي هاي جامعه ادبي و روشنفکري آمريکا را از منظر يکي از اعضايش مي توان ديد؛اين کت...more
در داستان هاي موسيقي آب گرم،ويژگي هاي جامعه ادبي و روشنفکري آمريکا را از منظر يکي از اعضايش مي توان ديد؛اين کت...more
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Read in May, 1991
recommends it for:
buk fans, natch!
Thrilling collection of Bukowski short stories: lots of sex, booze and gambling, yeah!
"Home Run" is about the beating of a cocky bartender, "Broken Merchandise" is a brilliant account of road rage, "The Man Who Loved Elevators" is like a Todd Solondz movie about an apartment house sex maniac, and "900 Pounds" is about a fat guy in a bathing suit about to kill you. Other stories are nothing more than drunken phone calls, but the dialogue is very, very...more
"Home Run" is about the beating of a cocky bartender, "Broken Merchandise" is a brilliant account of road rage, "The Man Who Loved Elevators" is like a Todd Solondz movie about an apartment house sex maniac, and "900 Pounds" is about a fat guy in a bathing suit about to kill you. Other stories are nothing more than drunken phone calls, but the dialogue is very, very...more
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An explicitly brutal portrayal of human relationships, addiction, sexual ache and emotional carnage this book repulsed and attracted me in a way that only Bukowski can. It fueled many conversations of how writers put themselves into their work on different levels, leading to several questions revolving around the one bit in the book where a man swiftly asks for a match and then slits a stranger’s throat all in a few minutes and without a second thought. Why was this man a genius. I don’t ...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommended to Chris by:
Christian B.recommends it for: Buk fans who have already read the novels & some poetry and want something a little different
This was the first book of Buk's short stories I ever read. In my mind I keep twisting the title around trying somehow to get it to mean "you should read this book on the crapper" but it just won't fit. But ah who cares? It's an apt description anyway. In fact I bet the old dog would be proud to have his words mingling with the stench of a Sunday morning beershit. These short tales are full of crude humor, gutter-dwelling characters, alcoholism, addiction, depression, angst, misery, ad...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
insomniacs
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The sociopathic and, sometimes, psychopathic tendencies of the characters in this book of short stories far outweighs any of the apathetic-coast-thru-life-and-just-get-by-ness of Henry Chinaski in the only other Bukowski book I've read so far, Factotum. I was surprised to see these clearly fictional stories from Bukowski as I had gotten the impression he's really more of a "creative non-fiction" writer than a maker-up-of-tales. So, it was good to read this book of short stories (most u...more
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Read in December, 2008
Bukowski from the 60s when he was walking the line between titillation and literature. No one ever tap danced on that line the way Buk did. Lots of steamy, seamy sex. Lots of people doing other people wrong. Lots of funny, human moments. I read this right after I broke up with a crazy woman, so I really enjoyed his depiction of some of the wacko babes he encountered. Great thing about Buk? The men are just as evil, wacko, dissolute, lost.
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Read in August, 2000
I know "Buk" is more celebrated as a poet, but for me his novels and short stories will always be front & center. It's a damn shame critics in his own country don't hold the same high opinion of his fiction as do readers in France, Germany and Italy. This collection of short stories is pure, unadulterated Bukowski: stark, well-honed sentences that connect like a left hook to the jaw, and a sardonic wit as sharp as barb wire.
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03/23/08
Jennpants
added it
I´ve heard so much about Bukowski, people talk about him, love his work, etc.
So I finally picked up a copy of Hot Water Music to take with me while traveling.
I hated it. It was easy to get through and, admittedly, there were moments of brilliant succint-ness (spelled right? a real word?) where things were summed up neatly, wrapped up perfectly, in only a few small words...I liked that. That takes brains, thinking, restraint.
But really, how many stories about ...more
So I finally picked up a copy of Hot Water Music to take with me while traveling.
I hated it. It was easy to get through and, admittedly, there were moments of brilliant succint-ness (spelled right? a real word?) where things were summed up neatly, wrapped up perfectly, in only a few small words...I liked that. That takes brains, thinking, restraint.
But really, how many stories about ...more
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More stories, some of the Best Buk stories they is :) Hate everything? Think the world is some sick place where everything we value is falsely raised to be somehow important when it all actually means shit? This is the book for you. Bukowski got it, and he also managed to write some crazy shit about it and lucky for you it can be find just in these pages. Crack her open, and instead of being angry that he's such a douchebag, be furious that you're not.
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Read in March, 2009
Wow, what an experience. This book is crude, gross and severely disturbing. That said, I couldn't put it down. The book consists of a series of very short stories, mostly about artists and writers and their circles. Main themes include drinking and sex, with some violence and death mixed in. Very few stories leave you feeling good, many leave you feeling dirty by association, but all leave you wanting to read more.
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Read in December, 2007
This is not an intellectual book. This is not a pretty book. There are no morals. Nobody wins. This is a gritty book filled with short stories about ugliness. I thought it was Bukowski's finest work.
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This one is my second favorite Bukowski. Lots of weird ones in there. It seems like he was having a lot of fun on this. Just letting his mind roam to whatever strange place it wanted to go.
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Read in February, 2005
recommends it for:
Aspiring misanthropes
I picked up this book on a whim at a Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first couple of stories seemed pretty edgy, but nothing over-the-top. The further I got, the more depraved the stories became--and yet, like a child peeking through his fingers during the gory parts of a horror movie, I was fascinated by these horrible, disgusting characters and the unspeakable acts some of them committed. Admittedly, this book is not for those with delicate sensibilities, but if you've go...more
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در کل کتاب جالبی بود اما شخصیت مزخرف نویسنده اش رو آشکار می کرد!!!
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03/09/09
Kim
added it
i loved this one. a little crass, a little melodic...a good way to be reminded that we are just human
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
assholes
i know it's lame - the only reason i bought this book was because of the modest mouse song named after bukowski, but with the lyric "god, who'd wanna be such an asshole?" i was instantly intrigued by this author. hot water music is a series of short stories that involve, in one way or another, assholes. modest mouse was right on. this guy horrifies, makes you very uncomfortable, disgusts you. he implants pity into your heart over his characters that never garner much sympathy themselve...more
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