Factotum: A Novel
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Product Description
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'A side-splitting chronicle ... dirty realism from the godfather of lowlife literature'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Bizarre
'Its genius is simple and it shines a wee candle on the life of an aspiring poet and home-relief applicant'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just picked up Factotum by Bukowski, after reading The Losers Club by Richard Perez. Strange 'cause both books are somehow related. The connection? The drudgery of menial work! The dehumanizing affects of a life-wasting occupation is an underlying theme, mixed with accounts of failed relationships and an overall freefloating narrative structure. In Factotum, Buk recounts his mostly autobiographical adventures as a floating unemployed (and often unemployable) menial worker. He travels from state to state, writing and collecting rejection letters from magazines, and tries to deal with the unending humiliation of low-paying jobs and rat-trap apartments and fragile relationships. Often, he ends up hitting the bottle and, in bars, ends up meeting up with fellow drunks and losers and desperate ladies struggling to scrape by. There's humor here but also a lot of truth, some it stark and grim. One line that blew me away, gave me chills was: "Ain't no women on skid row." This was over Chinaski's anxiety regarding a female drinking companion. The style of the book is simple and easy and direct, and I found myself sucked into it right away. A child could read this book. I also read the whole book in one day, which for me is a first. Definitely pick up a copy of this novel. It's not as famous as his other novels, but as a memorable account/study of a "working stiff," worth owning, especially if you like Buk and his "down and out" view of life and appreciate his humor.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is not uplifting. Bukowski pulls no punches in his description of a writer fighting for success, while fighting a losing battle against his own demons and apathy. Simply can't believe someone turned this into a film. Bukowski simply has to be read as a great American writer, shining a light on a part of America in the twentieth century that is not often looked at. His style is economical and fast paced, and you swiftly get drawn into a tale of characters doing really very little except messing up their lives. Don't read it when your down and alone.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another book from Bukowski about his alter-ego Hank Chinaski. The semi-biographical stories and encounters of the protagonist are short, sharp and acerbic. The stream-of-conciousness thoughts are reminiscient of Holden Caulfield's own, however the writing is not as refined.
As Hank drifts through a depressingly-set America, he comes across all manner of drunks, prostitutes, reprobates and over-enthused bosses. Chinaski is apathetic, alcoholic and amoral. America is uncaring, unthinking and unsettled. They encounter each other with negative results. It's almost like several short stories woven into a novel with amazing ease.
Although Hank Chinaski is the antithesis of any 'do-gooder', I couldn't help but sympathise for this anti-hero. When you realise it's basically the life story of the author, you feel different.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dark, Funny and Poignant
This is a very good choice of novel if you fancy a read that you get into quickly and effortlessly as well as having the ability to express the whole gammut of human emotions in a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lesley Tingle
Hmmmm
This book is oaky. Most of the book group loved it but I thought it was a little so-so. I guess you have to keep in mind the itmes in which it was written and the times in which it... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Big Kelly P
Bukowski's Best Novel!
I first picked this up when I was working low paid jobs, I was actually cleaning toilets at the time and I identified with Bukowski's humorous take on the matter. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Nathan Strange
A great American writer
Bukowski belongs to the great American tradition where you also find John Steinbeck and Studs Terkel, or in painting, some of Edward Hopper or in the cinema, John Huston in his... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Tom in London
Seedy, stream-of-thought and utterly cynical; Appealingly seeming to...
A prequel to Post Office and to Women, this isn't as good as either. Why do I start with such a negative comment when I've given it 5 stars? Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by Talc Demon
One of his best
Bukowski is perhaps an aquired taste - if you like simple books about almost nothing that are both funny and sad all at once then this one is for you.
Published on 21 April 2008 by Dillinger
Chinaski Tests Bottom
In FACTOTUM, Charles Bukowski follows his alter-ego Hank Chinaski through a sequence of 19 menial jobs. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2007 by Ethan Cooper
Its like getting a tatoo
This book kinda reminds me of Catcher In The Rye though the story is much less metaphorical. From the first page to the last this novel flows beautifully... Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2004 by Andy Hawke
The writing alone will jerk you up and slam you down - hard!
Bukowski's language is among the most powerful you will ever read. Bukowski pounds. His sentences are compact, his grammar tough. His stories always raw-honest. Entirely original. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2001 by Scot Devine
the greatest satire on blue collar life
People read Charles Bukowski for two reasons: to live vicarious, and; to feel better about who they are as individuals (the latter accenting the former). Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2001
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