a book
Ham On Rye
Charles Bukowski · 2007 · 288 pages
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. Lawrence, Ham on Rye offers a crude, brutal, and savagely funny portrait of an outcast's coming-of-age during the desperate days of the Great Depression.
recommended by 3 people
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Drew Barrymore
“I find it easy to relate to the male perspective of writers like John Fante, Paul Bowles, and Charles Bukowski—their sense that life can be hard, that liquor and sex can help us escape, and that family can be heartbreaking. Yet a humorous joy can be found in their liberated and cantankerous short stories and novels, including this one.”↗
Jo Nesbø
“I read this as a young student, and I thought you had to be me or one of my friends to appreciate the raw humor and sweet sadness. So I was surprised when my father picked up my book when I was home for summer holiday, and I saw him sitting in his reading chair, laughing out loud. It’s a bit like your parents copying your playlist and actually digging it; you’re not sure whether you should feel invaded or proud.”↗
