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Ham on Rye

Charles Bukowski

4.14 · Rating details · 85,489 ratings · 3,623 reviews

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 ...more

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Paperback, 288 pages

Published July 29th 2014 by Ecco (first published September 1982)

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Aug 27, 2008 Ruth rated it really liked 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.

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Feb 18, 2015 Glenn Russell rated it it was amazing

I was sixteen, tan, blonde and good looking, catching waves on my yellow surfboard along with all the other surfers, handsome guys and beautiful gals, each and every day that summer. Little did I know this mini-heaven would quickly end and hell would begin in September. Why? My smooth-skinned tan face turned into an acne-filled mess. I suffered pimple by pimple for three years straight; many fat red pimples popping up every day. Oh, yeah, on my forehead, temples, cheeks, jaw, chin and nose. Unlike Charles Bukowski, my father never beat me as a kid but this was one thing I did have in common with Bukowski – being a teenager with a wicked case of acne. You can read all about his in this novel, Ham and Rye. Bukowski said, “The gods have really put a good shield over me man. I’ve been toughened up at the right time and the right place." Maybe this was part of my own toughening up, those three teenage years of enduring the red face fire of acne.

Anyway, this is one of my connections with Bukowski, the king of the hill when it comes to American raw-boned, hard-boiled, tough-guy writers. And this novel of his years as a kid and teenager growing up in a house where he was continually beaten with a leather strap and receiving a torrent of emotional abuses, particularly at the hands of his callous, obsessive father, sets the stage for his alcoholic, hardscrabble adulthood, an adulthood where, other than drinking, his sole refuge from childhood memories of cruelty and his ongoing life on the down-and-out edge was sitting at his typewriter composing poetry and fiction.

Ham on Rye. Every single sentence of this book is clear, vivid, sharp and direct, as if the words were bullets shot from a 22 caliber rifle. Here are just a few rounds: ““Words weren’t dull, words were things that could make your mind hum. If you read them and let yourself feel the magic, you could live without pain, with hope, no matter what happened to you.” Again, “I didn't like anybody in that school. I think they knew that. I think that's why they disliked me. I didn't like the way they walked or looked or talked, but I didn't like my mother or father either. I still had the feeling of being surrounded by white empty space. There was always a slight nausea in my stomach.” And, again. “The best thing about the bedroom was the bed. I liked to stay in bed for hours, even during the day with covers pulled up to my chin. It was good in there, nothing ever occurred in there, no people, nothing.”

Ham on Rye. There are funny, belly-laughing scenes and scenes that will make you shudder, scenes that are tender and scenes filled with pain, but through it all, you will stick with Hank Chinaski aka Charles Bukowski, the ultimate tough-guy with the heart of a poet.

...more

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Oct 26, 2015 Vit Babenco rated it it was amazing

There is this eminent poem by Philip Larkin:
“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had and add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn by fools in old-style hats and coats, who half the time were soppy-stern and half at one another's throats.”
And everything in Ham on Rye develops under this scenario…

So, that’s what they wanted: lies. Beautiful lies. That’s what they needed. People were fools. It was going

...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Jenn(ifer) rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: the outsiders

Shelves: read-in-2013, cross-continental-book-club, gr-group-coreads

Up until recently, all I knew about Charles Bukowski was what I learned in one of my all time favorite films, ‘Barfly,’ staring the incomparable Mickey Rourke as our antihero Henry Chinaski. If you haven’t seen it, you should remedy that immediately: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrpTDa...

This is a world where everybodys gotta do something, gotta be something... sometimes I just get tired of thinking of all the things that I don't wanna do.. that I don't wanna be

***

Henry Chinaski is a bit of a ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

Update: $1.99 Kindle special today --- Its not for everyone -- but I thought it was fantastic! -- I own it -- and couldn't pull away from it the first time I read it. I'd suggest reading high and low reviews. Then trust your gut! Its 'based' on a true story --but written as a novel.

"I had begun to dislike my father. He was always angry about something.
Wherever we went he got into arguments with people. But he didn't appear to frighten most people; they just stared at him, calmly, and he became Update: $1.99 Kindle special today --- Its not for everyone -- but I thought it was fantastic! -- I own it -- and couldn't pull away from it the first time I read it. I'd suggest reading high and low reviews. Then trust your gut! Its 'based' on a true story --but written as a novel.

"I had begun to dislike my father. He was always angry about something.
Wherever we went he got into arguments with people. But he didn't appear to frighten most people; they just stared at him, calmly, and he became more furious. If we ate out, which was seldom, he always found something wrong with the food and sometimes refuse to pay. "There's flyshit in this whipped cream! What the hell kind of place is this?"
"I'm sorry, sir, you needn't pay. Just leave."
"I'll leave, all right! But I'll be back! I'll burn this god-damned place down!

Yep, a real mensch of a father Henry Chinaski had.
From a very young age -- Henry was spoon fed...."children are seen and not to be heard". ( one of the more 'kind' things that came out of his father's mouth).

"Ham on Rye" alternates between being hilarious and horrendous.
The beatings from his father were so awful -- that just saying "this kid survived physical abuse in his insane - crazy dysfunctional household is not enough...( I felt so angry)!!!
His father was fucking brutal. The son-of-a-bitch deserved to be locked up for life.

So? What was hilarious?
Having acne and a gutless submissive mother--who can't stand up for Henry or herself isn't funny....
but Henry's cynicism is often funny...
It was very funny ( and cute), when Henry's little classmate, Lila Jane, ( a pretty girl), was proud of her clean pink panties - or blue ones--wanted to offer afternoon 'show and tell' for Henry's pleasure ....
however...this was the depression era in America ---Henry wasn't allowed to fulfill his other desires ... so he was often sexually frustrated. ('not' so funny)...but human.

The storytelling is wonderful ... It has everything...hitting us with a wide rage of emotions.
Terrific coming of age book involving family, school, other kids, teachers, struggles to survive --barely escaping poverty...Henry's anger, aloneness, rebelliousness, soooo much sadness it hurts....but also something beautiful was developing: Henry's love for literature. His time spent in the library reading D.H. Lawrence, Sinclair Lewis...etc.... 'He did that'!!! Awwww and what a phenomenal writer Charles Bukowski is. I'm aware this book is loosely based on his life story...but I read it as fiction!

The humanity in this book is extraordinary!!!!! I loved this book!!!! ...more

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Aug 17, 2007 Matthew rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: truth seekers

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. As to ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, american, literary-fiction, semi-autobiographical

The ultimate non-conformist

Wow. This is really something else. I was somewhat prepared for this after seeing the film "Barfly" which was based on Bukowski's alcoholic, pessimistic lifestyle - screenplay written by Charles Bukowski himself. But wow.

Bukowski, with Faye Dunaway and Mickey Rourke on the set of Barfly

Instead of Ham on Rye, this book should have been titled: "How I Became a Raging Drunk". Heavily autobiographical, this novel follows Bukowski's literary alter-ego Henry Chinaski through ...more

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Jul 28, 2016 Seemita rated it it was ok

Shelves: bio-autobio-memoir, fiction, america, bildungsroman, satire

Ham on Rye is flanked by sauces of happenstance and its delectability depends on the preferences of one’s reading tongue. Mine, for one, could not bear its sour, unsavoury ingredients.

In this bildungsroman, which is semi-autobiographical too, the protagonist, Henry Chinaski loads his bag of dilemma and expletives, and throws its weight around with nonchalance and non-disruptive disdain. The backdrop of the Great Depression, fuels the negative sentiments and Chinaski finds its shackles, throughou ...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Arthur Graham rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"The first thing I remember is being under something."

So begins this chronicle of the dirty old man's humble beginnings, his formative years, and the myriad oppressions he endured throughout his childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. In the most literal sense, this opening line represents baby Hank's first concrete memory, but it also sets the tone for the entire memoir to come. Dedicated to "all the fathers," Ham on Rye is both an indictment of and a tribute to every boss, bully, teacher ...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Tristan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“At the age of 25 most people were finished. A whole god-damned nation of assholes driving automobiles, eating, having babies, doing everything in the worst way possible, like voting for the presidential candidate who reminded them most of themselves.”

― Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye

description

Reading Charles Bukowski in public is a rather curious thing. Every once in a while, you come across some line or paragraph that is suffused with such a potent strand of open misanthropy it makes you chuckle. You thi “At the age of 25 most people were finished. A whole god-damned nation of assholes driving automobiles, eating, having babies, doing everything in the worst way possible, like voting for the presidential candidate who reminded them most of themselves.”

― Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye

description

Reading Charles Bukowski in public is a rather curious thing. Every once in a while, you come across some line or paragraph that is suffused with such a potent strand of open misanthropy it makes you chuckle. You think to yourself: "Surely this man is exaggerating here, merely going for comedic or shock effect?" What do you do? You decide to test his theory. You look up, take in your surroundings, watch ordinary humans go about their daily business and return to the passage you just read. Then it hits you. "Oh shucks, he's kind of right here. What does that say about me? Am I turning into a -toned down- Bukowski myself?" The ones who appreciate Bukowski have this experience often, I presume (also hope).

Ham on Rye tells of the formative years (1920-45, roughly) of Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. In effect it is a loosely structured, even somewhat sloppy autobiography. Writing this book surely must have been emotionally punishing for Bukowski though. There is some serious, unresolved pain here, one supposes most of it not dealt with through any professional channels. Which would have been very unlike him, of course. Bukowski is the quintessential lone wolf, he dealt with his pain on his own terms. It wouldn't have given him the venom he needed, nor made him the figure he turned into.

He goes into lengthy detail about his horrendous childhood. The domineering and abusive father, the spineless mother, and the soul-crushing social alienation he experienced as a child and young adult. Dreams are shattered, any sense of self-worth is ground into the earth at inception and even the tiniest hint of human warmth displayed is slowly being squeezed out. Unsurprisingly, the only route open to the character is direct revolt and nihilism. A rejection of all social conventions, common "wisdoms" and, above all, expectations.

Yet for all the abject misery this is a supremely funny and vigorous book, if you know what to look for and share Bukowski's brand of humour. What really did surprise me though was that there is a tenderness here that I didn't find in either Post Office , Factotum or Women. At the ending of the book Bukowski seems to have found some degree of peace, some acceptance of his present state and past. Considering the tumultous, unpleasant life he had led up until then, this is one hell of a miracle.

You can level many accusations against Bukowski, both as a writer and as a person. Sure, his writing is blunt, unrefined, perhaps too reliant on cheap gross out effects. He was an alcoholic, a misanthrope, even a thoroughly vile man when he got you in his crosshairs, but what he surely wasn't was unfeeling. Underneath all that bravado and machismo there beat the heart of a disappointed, yet true, romantic. Sadly, that person never had a chance to flourish. That is the source of Bukowski's greatness and tragedy both. ...more

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Sep 01, 2018 Lori rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I feel like this kid is someone that I've known well, not just read a book about him. ...more

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Aug 26, 2020 Lyn rated it really liked it

A masterpiece of ennui, isolationism and vulgarity.

Charles Bukowski’s 1982 semi-autobiographical coming of age story made me laugh, cringe and contemplate humanity – sometimes all on the same page.

Using as a vehicle his pseudonym and literary alter-ego Henry Chinaski, we follow the early years of a boy and young man who is outcast from society. Born in Germany after the first world war, he moves with his family to Los Angeles. The Chinaski’s are poverty stricken as are many during the depression ...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Tony rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: u-s-lit

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 absurdity of it all. The rejection ...more

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Aug 06, 2017 Dave Schaafsma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-20th-century

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me”—Hunter Thompson

“And my own affairs were as bad, as dismal, as the day I had been born. The only difference was that now I could drink now and then, though never often enough. Drink was the only thing that kept a man from feeling forever stunned and useless. Everything else just kept picking and picking, hacking away. And nothing was interesting, nothing. The people were restrictive and careful, ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Mutasim Billah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

“What a weary time those years were -- to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.”

Imagine coming to a world where you're treated as an outsider, a misfit. A world where you don't have many friends, where your parents fail to understand you. A world where mental connection is rare. Charles Bukowski's entire career could be written down as a single story, the story of the misfits. At the center of it all, Ham on Rye is arguably the one story people will most connect with.
...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Ben rated it liked it

Shelves: funny-shit, growing-up, tough-guys-and-gals, read-in-2010

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 Collecting 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 Collecting Club. The first Friday came. Same boring shit classes as usual. Then it was time to meet for our clubs. I had smoked a few cigarettes in the boys room before showing up, and was late. They gave us free football cards. I only like football when it’s tackle in the street without pads. Pads are for pussies. On top of that they gave us Redskin cards. Everybody was a Redskin fan, so I hated the Redskins. These cards: burning material.

Joe spent that night at my house. Usually we stayed up trying to watch porn. HBO tits and an occasion bush through a fuzzy screen, because my cheap parents wouldn’t get pay channels. Softcore stuff was all there was then. No internet. This softcore stuff never showed cock though. That was good. I hate seeing another guy’s cock.

But that night all we could think about was lighting those Redskins on fire. After polishing off my Dad’s bottle of Wild Turkey, we went to bed. When we woke up the next morning, Joe threw up. I probably drank twice as much as he did. That shit for brains can’t ever hold his liquor. He didn’t even eat the scrambled eggs my mom made for breakfast. So I ate his too. My mother always told me that she loved me. I didn’t love her, but she made good eggs. When my mom went upstairs Joe said I ate those eggs like they were Marilyn Monroe’s cunt. Now I don’t mind having my dick sucked, but I never eat pussy, so I punched him in the face. Now he had a black eye and his headache hurt worse; because while I may have small hands, I always hit hard. People remember it when I hit them.

After this we went into the woods behind my house to burn those cards. We started cautious because it was windy and there were lots of leaves on the ground. It was so sweet watching those cards melt and burn. But that got old, so I said, “Joe, this burning football cards is for goddamn children.” Joe just shrugged his shoulders. All he ever did was shrug his fucking shoulders. I kind of liked that about him.

I decided to light a few small piles of leaves. Now that’s a fire. Burn baby, burn. I was starting to feel alive. We found a bucket and put the fires out with water from the creek. No problem. I couldn’t get enough though. Who could? Fire is life. Things need to burn, wither, and be destroyed. Life is this type of destruction: a fire slowly charring us until we’re seven feet under hanging with the worms.....

So I made larger, better fires. BURN BABY, BURN, BURN, BURN. If only there had been whiskey left for this occasion. Then one of the fires got out of control. The wind took it into more leaves and then into some trees. Joe tried throwing water on it, but there was no putting out this fire. I just stood and watched the beautiful destruction I had created. Joe started coughing from the smoke and threw up again. Then he ran back up to my house. I just stayed and watched, waiting on the sirens.....

It finally took nine fire trucks to take that sucker down. I wanted to see a house burn. Came close, but no cigar. I was always coming close but never really getting anywhere, it seemed. It was Mr. Robinson's house that almost got it. Twenty more yards and it would have happened. But I at least had seven acres to my credit.

The whole neighborhood showed up for the event. I didn’t run or act like it wasn’t me. Only pussies run. Joe showed up too. And would you believe that he was crying? Others were crying too. Like Mrs Robinson. And my mother. And people actually tried hugging me. I guess they felt sorry for me. I didn’t feel sorry for myself. A friend’s mom gave me a big hug, told me she knew I wasn’t really a bad kid deep down. I got a nice hold of her ass as she hugged me. It wasn’t bad for her age.

I went home and my parents tried to ground me. But that shit never works. I had had my fun. I even had a few beers in my coat pockets that I had taken from Mr. Robinson’s garage. It was a better day than most.
...more

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Apr 30, 2019 Greg Watson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ham on Rye is the rough-and-tumble tale of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego. In telling his story, Bukowski is alternately sad, funny, earthy, raunchy, and angry.

Bukowski's character sees no higher purpose to life. It's all about minimizing effort and maximizing the pleasures of the moment. Those who find fulfillment in marriage or careers are living a lie.

There are perhaps similarities to Bukowski's philosophy of life and that of Sartre's. However, instead of a cafe philosopher, Bukowski' ...more

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Dec 11, 2016 Edward Lorn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: men, and women who want to understand why men act the way they do

Masculinity is hilarious. Men are expected to kick ass and fuck anything that moves, as long as your peers approve of those whose asses are to be kicked, or that the housing for the orifice you seek to penetrate meets their requirements. In other words, dudes are fucking stupid. We covet the approval of other dudes when other dudes do little to nothing for us.

"GET ALL THE PUSSY!" is their battle song. But make sure the girl is sexy enough so that your buddies don't rag you over fucking some tro Masculinity is hilarious. Men are expected to kick ass and fuck anything that moves, as long as your peers approve of those whose asses are to be kicked, or that the housing for the orifice you seek to penetrate meets their requirements. In other words, dudes are fucking stupid. We covet the approval of other dudes when other dudes do little to nothing for us.

"GET ALL THE PUSSY!" is their battle song. But make sure the girl is sexy enough so that your buddies don't rag you over fucking some troglodyte.

"KICK ALL THE ASS," they cry! And when you don't, you're a pussy. Because all men want pussy more than they wish to be one.

"BEAT IT UP!" they scream. Because sometimes the line between sex and violence is blurred for men. But sex is just as important as violence and requires the same amount of masculinity to achieve. SO ONWARD WAYWARD COCK!

Fuck off. It's silly. The only thing required of you to "BE A MAN!" is that you have a penis. That's it. You only need one thing to be a woman. Guess what that is? You guessed it. A vagina.

And because it's bound to come up, I'm not here to debate gender identity. If you identify as something other than the sex you were born, I respect that. I'm talking about the prerequisites for gender status. Or, if you will, the absurdity of gender expectations.

I was called a "sissy" and a "faggot" a lot when I was younger because I'd only fight to protect myself. I wouldn't instigate a fight over words, or to defend my honor. Because of this, my masculinity was always in question. Years later, I got married and had two kids. Guess there was never anything wrong with my "masculinity". My parts work just fine.

I said all that to say this: I love this fucking book. It pokes fun at every aspect of masculinity and the absurdity of manhood. I find it funny beyond belief that Bukowski's character Henry Chinaski (allegedly an alias for himself, and this book a fictionalized auto-biography of his own life) would point out the posteriors of men just as much as he pointed out boobs and vaginas (or, in his words, "cunts"). He also used words like "pretty" and "beautiful" to describe men in the book. Everything about this novel challenges gender norms and that's probably what I dug most about it.

The book is vulgar and its crudeness speaks to the theme. You'll read about everything from old people fucking to guys jacking off dogs to teenage boys looking up through bleachers to scope out a bared vagina. Bukowski pulls no punches. He pours water into the male psyche to find all the holes and short circuit the machinery.

I dug every page of this novel. It is thought provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. Any book that pulls that off gets all the stars from yours truly.

In summation: This novel is, simply put, brilliant. It works as both parody and serious literature. If you think never the twain could meet, I suggest you read this book and look past the simple language to see the bigger message. Bukowski had Vonnegut-level skills, yo.

Final Judgment: Sings, "NOW YOU'RE A MAN, A MAN MAN MAN!" ...more

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Jul 14, 2016 Helle rated it liked it

Shelves: american

Holy shit!

This is the story of Henry Chenaski, Charles Bukowski’s alter ego, who had a helluva depressing childhood in large part due to a father who was a real son of a bitch and whom I blame for Henry’s later love of the bottle, to a lesser extent due to the Depression that hit the States, and Los Angeles, when Henry grew up.

My heart bled for young Henry; like when his father forced him to mow the lawn when all the other kids on the street were out playing. When Henry was done, his father put ...more

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Dec 05, 2019 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, german-american, literature, 20th-century, classics, novels

Ham on Rye, Charles Bukowski
The novel focuses on the protagonist, Henry Chinaski, between the years of 1920 and 1941. It begins with Chinaski's early memories. As the story progresses the reader follows his life through the school years and into young adulthood. Chinaski relates that he has an abusive father, and his mother does nothing to stop his father's abuse. She is, in fact, a victim of her husband's brutality as well. Henry is not athletic but wants to be and therefore tries hard to impro Ham on Rye, Charles Bukowski
The novel focuses on the protagonist, Henry Chinaski, between the years of 1920 and 1941. It begins with Chinaski's early memories. As the story progresses the reader follows his life through the school years and into young adulthood. Chinaski relates that he has an abusive father, and his mother does nothing to stop his father's abuse. She is, in fact, a victim of her husband's brutality as well. Henry is not athletic but wants to be and therefore tries hard to improve. Football is difficult for him, but he enjoys the violence that comes with it. He has only slightly better results in baseball. As Chinaski progresses through grammar school, the focus of Henry's attention is on sports, violence, and girls. As Henry grinds his way through Junior High School, he discovers the manifold pleasures of alcohol and masturbation. As Henry begins High School, his father, who is experiencing downward inter-generational socioeconomic mobility, makes him go to a private school where he fits in even less amongst all the well-heeled, spoiled rich kids with their flashy, colorful, convertible sports cars and beautiful girlfriends. To make matters worse, Chinaski develops horrible acne so severe that he has to undergo painful, and mostly ineffective, treatments, essentially becoming a human guinea pig for various experiments thought up by his uninterested doctors. The reader eventually follows Chinaski to college and reads of Henry's attempt to find a worthwhile occupation.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز ششم ماه سپتامبر سال 2016 میلادی
عنوان: ساندویچ ژامبون؛ نویسنده: چارلز بوکوفسکی؛ مترجم: علی‌ امیر‌ریاحی؛ تهران: نگاه، ‫1394؛ در 400 ص؛ شابک: 9786003760806؛ چاپ نهم و دهم 1397؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان آلمانی تبار آمریکایی - سده 20 م

ساندویچ ژامبون یکی از رمان‌های شاعر و نویسنده آلمانی تبار آمریکایی «چارلز بوکوفسکی» است؛ که نخستین بار در سال 1982 میلادی منتشر شد. این رمان در واقع یک اتوبیوگرافی از زندگی نویسنده‌ است. «چارلز بوکوفسکی» در این رمان به روایت زندگی‌ خویش می‌پردازد. رمان با راوی اول شخصی به نام «هنری چیناسکی» پیش می‌رود، و روایت‌گر سال‌های نخستین زندگی «بوکوفسکی» است. نقل نمونه هایی از متن کتاب: «اغلب از پدرم بابت بیرون رفتن با فرنک کمی کتک میخوردم، اما فهمیدم که من به هر حال سهمیه کتکم را خواهم داشت پس بهتر است کارهایی که دوست دارم انجام بدهم.»؛ «هر کسی میتوانست خوب باشد، اینکه جرئت نمیخواست!»؛ «خیلی خب خدا، فرض میکنیم تو واقعا مرا در این شرایط قرار داده ای تا امتحانم کنی. تو مرا با مشکلترین امتحانها یعنی پدر و مادر، و جوشهایم به آزمون کشیدی. فکر کنم امتحانت را قبول شدم… کشیش به ما گفت که هیچوقت شک نکنید. به چی شک نکنیم؟ همیشه بیش از حد به من سخت گرفته ای، پس من ازت میخواهم که بیایی پایین و شک مرا برطرف کنی!»؛ «نمیشد به آدمها اعتماد کرد. هر طور حساب میکردی باز آدمها ارزش اعتماد کردن نداشتند.»؛ «در کتابخانه راه میرفتم و کتابها را نگاه میکردم. یکی یکی از قفسه در میآوردم. همه شان احمقانه و بی روح بودند. صفحه ها پر از کلمات بودند، ولی چیزی برای گفتن وجود نداشت. اگر هم حرفی داشتند، آنقدر کش میدادند که وقتی به آن حرف میرسیدی دیگر حسابی از حوصله افتاده بودی.»؛ پایان نقل. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Glenn Sumi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemp-classics

Review to come, after I pick my jaw up from off the floor. Bukowski’s rude, crude alter ego, Henry Chinaski, drunkenly but oh so convincingly knocked me out with his story of growing up poor in LA during the depression, his sadistic Dad and ineffectual mom, and lots more. I didn’t know I was getting into a fight, but I will gladly step into the ring with him again.

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May 21, 2019 André rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, literature, classics, favorites, novels

Henry Chinaski, our fellow laureate of American lowlife, is back and "younger" than ever!
Sharp, honest, and crude that's how Bukowski delights his readers, in his special and humorous way. In this novel, Bukowski narrates his youngest years. Like the previous novels, Ham on Rye narrates his childhood, between the years of 1920 and 1941. It begins with Chinaski's early years in Germany, with his own grandmother ranting at him and his family "I will bury all of you" until young adulthood, jobless Henry Chinaski, our fellow laureate of American lowlife, is back and "younger" than ever!
Sharp, honest, and crude that's how Bukowski delights his readers, in his special and humorous way. In this novel, Bukowski narrates his youngest years. Like the previous novels, Ham on Rye narrates his childhood, between the years of 1920 and 1941. It begins with Chinaski's early years in Germany, with his own grandmother ranting at him and his family "I will bury all of you" until young adulthood, jobless and living like a bum. Chinaski recounts his experiences with his abusive father and idled mother. He hates them and narrates all of it, in a simple manner. Furthermore, during his early school years, Henry befriends and unfriends his school colleagues, most of them poor, just like Chinaski himself. Most of them are temporary people in Chinaski's alienated life. Sports are too hard for him, violence is the easiest escape and masturbation is his newest amusement. As Henry's school progresses, he suffers from severe Acne and dwells in his own frustration towards his colleagues, neighbors and family members. Meanwhile, our fellow Protagonist develops his self-interest in literature, alcohol, cigarettes, fights and female anatomy.
"Ham on Rye" is more than a story about a frustrated kid with his (cliché) teen questions - “What a weary time those years were -- to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.” - It's a teenage diary written by a nostalgic and mature adult. Unrefined and amusing, that's Chinaski's early life concerning relationships, poorness, societal values and growing up. The protagonist is indeed a misanthropic anti-hero - “The best thing about the bedroom was the bed. I liked to stay in bed for hours, even during the day with covers pulled up to my chin. It was good in there, nothing ever occurred in there, no people, nothing.” - but also a little warrior who has to face the struggles of harsh periods, such as the great depression of the US, his family issues, and all conflicts within himself. Any reader might identify himself with Chinaski's personal struggles, and that's what makes this novel so Great. Personal struggles, reality escapes, and the " individual against the system" subject look like revolutionary acts at the eyes of any teen. Childhood is a period of change, a complicated leap, but, Charles Bukowski ironically manages to recreate his greatest experiences, in a raw and uncomplicated way. Bukowski's story-telling and sincerity, spiced with black humour, are the main elements to excite most of the readers , and that's what makes him so Great, a tough guy writer with a poetic soul.
“It was a joy! Words weren't dull, words were things that could make your mind hum. If you read them and let yourself feel the magic, you could live without pain, with hope, no matter what happened to you.”

Rating: 5/5 ...more

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Jan 04, 2017 Don rated it it was amazing

A Portrait of the Bastard as a Young Man...

My second Bukowski book. Just as I did the first time, I assumed this novel would be profane, profane for the sake of being profane. And yet here I am, again surprised.

This is a compassionate, humane story. The obscenity exists, not because Bukowski wants to shock us, but because it's simply a part of his world.

There's just so much heart here, and the storytelling is raw and masterful. ...more

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Oct 07, 2014 Jonathan Ashleigh rated it liked it

Charles Bukowski has led me to some amazing books, but this was not one of them. It was well told, but I personally prefer fiction. The problem with non-fiction is that, whenever you get to a part you enjoy - it doesn't last long. There were incredible parts, but then the main character grew older and all of the supporting characters changed. ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Steven Godin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: america-canada, non-fiction, memoir-autobiography, fiction

"I would rather be a dishwasher, return alone to a tiny room and drink myself to sleep"

Just one of many brilliant lines from the dead beat king Henry Chinaski, in what is probably Bukowski's best work. From his early roots as a troubled kid who was treated appallingly by his father through to his angst teenage years of feeling miserable and looking at everything in a downtrodden and pointless way Bukowski simply doesn't hold back on anything . Chinaski's wallowing about the world gets more bitte ...more

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Dec 03, 2017 Wayne Barrett rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, classics, autobiography

I've read bits of Bukowski's poetry throughout the years but this is the first of his books that I have read... and it won't be the last. Hilarious, gritty, raunchy stuff. This book literally had me laughing out loud. ...more

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Apr 28, 2008 Raegan Butcher rated it really liked it

Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite writers. This is one of his best books. Heartbreaking and hilarious, this 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 brutality, his mother's complacency, the cruelty of his classmates and his rejection by just about everyone once his acne erupted;these exper ...more

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Nov 12, 2015 Henry Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: permanent-collection

This was a reread for me, so I knew what I was getting myself into. Nevertheless, Bukowski never bores, no matter how many times I read his stories.

Ham on Rye is a quintessential tale of an angry young man. What sets this one apart is the fact that he has a plenty to be angry about. Bukowski's writing is always a breath of fresh air amid pretentious novels dealing with a similar subject. What sets him apart is hard to classify. His language is plain, his grammar sparse but perfect, and there is ...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Sentimental Surrealist rated it it was ok

Shelves: literature, contemporary, good-but-nothing-special, classics, read-2012, high-rating, college, quite-some-misanthropy-there, novels, memoir

Bukowski is impossible to separate from his fans, at least for me: those driver-cap wearing kids you see in every undergraduate creative writing seminar who still think it's not just funny but somehow or other beneficial to society to be "edgy" and "politically incorrect," who wish they had mental illness so they could "tap into genius," and who feel that living the "real writer's life" involves being homeless and alcoholic. They're pretty much the "manly men" of the creative writing sphere. It' ...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Adam Floridia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: being-a-teen, 5-star-books

I don’t know if this book is supposed to be funny, but I found it freakin’ hilarious. I mean if you stop to think about it, everything in it is really, really depressing. Henry Chinaski’s life is miserable from the moment he’s born—or at least from his first conscious recollection of hiding under a table and listening to angry adults yelling. His father is almost cartoonishly mean throughout, not only to Henry, who receives weekly beatings, but to everyone he encounters—like the old man in the h I don’t know if this book is supposed to be funny, but I found it freakin’ hilarious. I mean if you stop to think about it, everything in it is really, really depressing. Henry Chinaski’s life is miserable from the moment he’s born—or at least from his first conscious recollection of hiding under a table and listening to angry adults yelling. His father is almost cartoonishly mean throughout, not only to Henry, who receives weekly beatings, but to everyone he encounters—like the old man in the hospital elevator mumbling “I’m afraid to die” who Mr. Chinaski orders to “Shut up you old fart—you’ve lived long enough” (59). Then there are the other kids in his school/neighborhood. Then there are his teachers. Henry gets less respect or kindness than Rodney Dangerfield. And yet I found myself laughing every few pages. I don’t think I’m a sadist…so let’s see if others would see humor in any of the following:

--There’s the moment Henry finds out about sex: in the fourth grade when a kid just walks up to him and asks, ‘“Don’t you know how it happens?’…When recess was over, I sat in class and thought about it. My mother had a hole, and my father had a dong that shot juice.”(54) He discovers “thinking about fucking was nice. It gave people extra things to think about” (56). And think about it he does for 200 more pages.

--Henry baptizes a stray dog.

--He responds to every slight provocation with “I’ll kill you, fucker!” (To peers, to his father, to his principal, et al.)

Okay, so I’m not sure any of that captured the humor. And while I wrote “HAHA” in the margins countless times, most examples need to be read in context and far too many of them have the “c” word for me to repeat here. I think the cursing actually made it a hell of a lot funnier to me. I mean the beginning does have that childish voice (like Scout Finch)…just with expletives peppered in every few sentences. As I read, I actually kept thinking that this was more of a modern day Catcher in the Rye…then I remembered that this takes place (or at least begins) about three decades before Holden whines his way through NYC. You want a misanthrope? Henry “had no interests. I had no interest in anything” (174); I didn’t really need a quotation there because the entire book proves that statement. (That’s actually an example of Bukowski being unnecessarily heavy handed with his message, similar to the time he feels it necessary to point out that a cat being tortured by kids while adults just stand by “wasn’t only facing the bulldog, it was facing humanity” (90).) I am shocked that although this opens in the depression era, it so perfectly captures the true to life (vulgar) dialogue and apathy associated with today's youth.

I give 5-stars so infrequently that I find it ironic (and frustrating) that I can’t explain why I “loved” this book. It’s really obscene. It’s really depressing if you think about what’s actually going on. The main character ends up being a real dickbag. Despite all this, three more novels starring Henry Chinaski are on their way to my house. I do worry that reading about adult Henry swearing, drinking, fighting, lusting, and living an utterly miserable and pathetic life might lose its charm. We'll see. Wait! I just realized why I loved the book: it’s just damn entertaining to read about a child swearing, drinking, fighting, lusting, and living an utterly miserable and pathetic life. (Sadist????)

Two Questions: 1) What's with the title? 2) Has anyone else noticed that every time Bukowski describes someone, he mentions that the person's head is "really round"?

A Favorite Quotation: “I still knew, as I had as a child, that there was something strange about myself. I felt as if I were destined to be a murderer, a bank robber, a saint, a rapist, a monk, a hermit” (274).
...more

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ladies--your thoughts?	4	133	Aug 28, 2020 11:22AM
Oldtimer - Klasik...: Ekmek Arası- Mayıs 2020- Modern Klasik Okuması	13	72	May 31, 2020 03:47AM
101 Books to Read...: March read - Ham on Rye	9	8	May 10, 2020 04:29PM
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About Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski

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Henry Charles Bukowski (born as Heinrich Karl Bukowski) was a German-born American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles.It is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands ...more