Ham On Rye
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Charles Bukowski's fourth novel, Ham on Rye, is the semi-autobiographical story of the early years of his alter ego Henry Chinaski. It is a finely written and honest account of the painful childhood of a boy marked out from his peers. Regularly beaten by his father, Chinaski is shown growing through his difficult and violent adolescence (struck with the worst case of acne his doctors have ever seen) through to the first jobs he can't and won't hold down. In this moving story of growing up Bukowski disciplines his muscular, concentrated writing and creates a novel that distils his poetry into the finest full-length piece of prose that he ever wrote. Bukowski is often good but in Ham on Rye he's great.
Sadly, best known as the alcoholic inspiration for the film Barfly (an experience he reflected on in his book Hollywood), it is as a poet, rather than a drunk, that Bukowski should be best remembered. His bitter, caustic, direct, humane, damaged poetry reflects a life dominated by poverty and booze. His poetry stretches over many, many volumes but Bukowski also wrote great novels: all of them have many faults but the first four books he wrote shine for similar reasons. Post Office and Factotum both dissect, quite brilliantly, the life of an angry, poor man forced to do mindless jobs, pushed around and considered mindless by the fools who force him to do them. Women, as Roddy Doyle points out in his short introduction, continues the themes but focuses on the numerous women who share his hero's bed and bottle. --Mark Thwaite --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
With his fourth novel, legendary barfly Charles Bukowski follows the path of his alter ego Henry Chinaski through the high school years of acne and rejection, drinking his way through the Depression, and ends at the start of World War 2.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Ham on Rye by Bukowski. I'd read some assorted poems and short stories of his that I found amusing because of their bluntness and coarseness. I found that Ham On Rye was much in the same vein: that is, the story of a non-comformist who has to pay the price in America for not selling out and becoming just another salesman or suit. Bukowski needed to follow his own music. This book is obviously autobiographical, and it depicts his rough and sad childhood: his abusive father who wouldn't cut him any slack, his skin condition that pock-marked his face and made him feel like an outcast, his alienation from school and his classmates, his alienation from most of America and the values America holds most dear: being the "alpha dog," the big "winner." Bukowski in effect is a foreigner in his own land, a socially isolated individual who escapes the cruelty of people by eventually becoming a writer and indulging in drink -- while longing for a poetry that our banal consumer society tries to squash. I love this book. It's an easy-to-read and very personal novel, which would probably be marketed today as a "memoir." I know Bukowski is NOT read in college and that's because he's generally "anti-New Yorker," anti-understatement. He's the John Belushi (think of Pluto in Animal House) of literature. His characters WILL COME OUT TALKING, LIKE THIS!!.. Reading Bukowski is an intimate experience, like reading the work of a friend or watching a friend's home-movie. He's largely a self-taught artist so his work is sometimes rough, sometimes over-the-top, sometimes sloppy -- but always full of humor and always largely entertaining and loads of fun. This is my first Bukowski novel, but it certainly won't be my last! So crack open a brew, shut off that stupid TV, kick back in your dirty shorts and read Ham on Rye. I also agree with the reviewer who recommended The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, another lively, funny novel that I could relate to.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read a handful of Charles Bukowski's literary efforts but found none of them to be quite as endearing as this. The focus is on Chinaski's high school days and the way his outlook on life is steeped in cynicism due to an infliction of acne vulgaris .
The reader will be very hard pushed to find a more cynical literary character than Chinaski , and the book is entrenched in bitterness. However there are some heartbreakingly human moments such as Chinaski viewing young couples holding hands,and believing he can never live like that.
The reader will be very hard pushed to find a more cynical literary character than Chinaski , and the book is entrenched in bitterness. However there are some heartbreakingly human moments such as Chinaski viewing young couples holding hands,and believing he can never live like that.
The narrative is gritty , stripped down and to the point.This perfectly suits Chinaski's clipped and dismissive viewpoint on life. Bukowski's human prose allows us to sympathise with the character as he rejects the world.
In conclusion, I would say that this book is in turns moving, witty and repulsive.It is essential for those who feel that now and again life has given them a raw deal.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The only Bukowski I'd read previously was Post Office, which is a bare-bones story about a man whose life is swallowed by his job at the Post Office, years passing by, and his struggle to basically try and retain something of himself (be it a woman, his drinking, his gambling - anything).
Ham On Rye features the same character (Bukowski's alter-ego Henry Chinaski), but focuses on his earlier life, going to school and university, and descending into violent alcholism. It, too, is a bare bones story - but there's much more to it. Chinaski's frustration at not wanting to be a part of anything, while at the same time wanting to be accepted, result in him being seen as nothing but a bullying drunkard. And yeah, Chinaski is an a-hole, and Bukowski makes no bones about that. But I was forever hoping he'd pull himself out of it.
A great book, and Chuck's no BS writing style is always instantly refreshing.
Check it out, if you can.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stick with it !
First half of the book moved slowly for me (but then again this was my first Bukowski), building up to a superb second half. Stick with it for the rewarding 2nd half. Read more
Published 2 months ago by max zachariades
Chuck Up
A brilliant writer who describes a nether world of California, rarely depicted so honestly. He brings the era to life, and he allows the reader to easily immerse themselves in his... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jimothy
A personal route to .......
`Ham on Rye' - the ham is America, in practice LA, and the rye(bread) is Germany, his country of origin - is generally considered Bukowski's finest novel. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Brian R. Martin
Decadent humour
I have seen this book recommended quite a bit so I decided to give it a shot. I was neither pleased nor disappointed with it, hence the three stars, but the more I think about it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Blackbeard
his best book
i love bukowski's writing. it's fierce, humorous, engaging, original and overflowing with attitude. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Biffer Spice
Painful
Bukowski went through a lot of episodes in his later years that stemmed from something we understood in general yet could not pinpoint.
This book explains it all.
This book explains it all.
Published 8 months ago by Mr. K. Mullan
Left me wanting more
This was my first time reading Bukowski which was a recommendation by my librarian. I thoroughly enjoyed the bluntness of the author when describing Chinaskis and his early life. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lynsey Linn
More than a memoir...
Actually, it's not more than a memoir, it is a memoir. I don't think there's any great experimentation going on in this, but Bukowski's voice is as honest as always. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Stavrogin
Agile,Raw and Honest
An agile and brutal narrative of life in a depression era Los Angeles,seen through the keen eyes of a young Bukowski. Read more
Published 14 months ago by nicholas hargreaves
Oh boy
I read this on holiday at the same time as Bill Bryson's 'The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid. Read more
Published 16 months ago by philwint
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