Charles Bukowski

"It began as a mistake." By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel—the one that catapulted its author to national fame—is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski.

Post Office

A Novel

post office

I had never read this before. You can see how it set the tone for alt-papers around the U.S. It's engaging. Much of it doesn't stand up to time, but I still wanted to read what happens next. Also, the post office is a tough gig!

Steven Ovadia

Henry Chinaski is a low life loser with a hand-to-mouth existence. His menial Post Office day job supports a life of beer, one-night stands and racetracks. Lurid, uncompromising and hilarious, Post Office is a landmark in American literature.

Liam Ellul

The book is about his 12 years in a post office. It is unknown how much of the book is fiction vs reality but that is beside the point. Bukowski is a master at constructing an enduring “brand” around his constructed persona.

He illustrates the character of a man who is an unambitious, alcoholic, narcissistic, womanising semi-professional gambler. A romanticised degenerate. A too cool for school effortless artist and late bloomer.

Bukowski writes well, he’s known for his poetry and makes good use of sentences to get to the point.

I find his complete lack of ambition inspiring and very ‘based’. When he died his tombstone is inscribed “don’t try”. These two words represent his entire philosophical world view with a tone that is not depressing but remarkably… enlightening.

Kritika Narula

I loved the book, so I wrote an ode, instead of a review:
And you thought you wanted the yellow,
but you forgot you have a Bukowski soul


you thought leaving would be the solution
but you knew, didn't you?
that life is grey
so this pursuit of black and white is always futile?


now you are here
and it is struggle all the same
but sweeter, where the realities of an 8 hour job
don't make you uncomfortable
Bukowski said so, didn't he?


he also once called love
a dog from hell
and you cannot agree more:
the truth transcends time zones and geographies


but you are a hero,
just like Bukowski at the post office
lack of, and yet inspiration,
and so tragedy permeates your life,
for which the story
is under production


took you long, didn't it?
long enough to realise what it was, you were after
It just eludes you, doesn't it?
what do you think can cure this malady?


cure you say, is a far-cry
and bring in humour to cope
because you remember Bukowski telling you
to laugh at the odds
something about death trembling at the life you lived



the touch conspicuous by its absence
the letters undelivered
words unsaid, emails not sent
is the fleeting tragedy you can drink to.
but bottles won't suffice to undo
the evil magic of this lack
in five years' time


and you thought you wanted the yellow,
but you forgot you have a Bukowski soul
greys are all you need, greys are all you want, greys are all you will ever have.

Domenico Di Leo

This was a re-read for me. Bukowski delves into his own life experiences and shares real events. Like his other works, this novel is seen as repugnant, vulgar, and depraved, yet it remains a remarkable piece of literature.
The narrative is presented in first person, with the protagonist named Chinasky, who is at peace with the world, he doesn’t try to fight it, he doesn’t try to change it, but rather embraces things as they are, without complaint or self-pity, even in the face of adversity. He has no resentment towards Fay, who chooses to leave him along with their daughter, nor towards his wife Joice, who abandons him for another man. The concept of the future is hardly mentioned; Chinasky's focus lies solely in the present. He accepts himself as a loser without frustration.
While Chinasky may not be regarded as a role model, it raises the question of whether we invest too much energy into insignificant things that disrupt our existence.

Wynter

My first Bukowski, which is not going to be the last. 

The novel is ridiculously funny and incredibly sad at the same time. Henry Chinaski by a turn of fate ends up wasting twelve years of his life in a post office among overachieving supervisors and strange company policies. I think anyone, who has ever had a dead-end job can relate to many situations that Chinaski is exposed to. What is tragic about his character is his total lack of will to escape such life. Instead he invests his efforts into booze, horses and easy women. I don't normally go all feminist on books written more than twenty years ago, because I take these annoyances as a product of time, but Bukowski's portrayal of his character's relationships knocked the rating down a star for me. Chinaski just floats around from girl to girl, moving into their places, laying around, drinking and eating their food, and taking very little responsibility for the impact he has on their lives. But to his credit, he never gets vindictive towards women who leave him, remembers that he has a daughter and whats to be a part of her life, and lets his lovers choose for themselves what they want from life. 

Maybe I'll revisit the book in twelve years and see how useful my own time on earth will be.

Gavin

Nasty, but so is life if you're nasty.

The casual rape scene and casual racism should prompt us to ask why Bukowski wanted us to hate Chinaski, who is generally a close Imitation of him, a facsimile factotum.

Aditi

** spoiler alert **
           TRIGGER WARNING: At least one rape. The narrator rapes and gets raped. No idea what to say about this book... 2.5.

Becca M

Aditi Verma

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I read 'Woman' first and felt like it was a hard act to follow. By no means is it even close to being better than 'Woman' it certainly holds its own. The story, like 'Woman', can get rather samey at times but Bukowski has a wonderful way of creating a rhythmic pace so you're never on a specific plot line for very long before you're on to the next one. Keeps things refreshing. If you work a job that you hate this is a critical read for you. 

Rohit Gupta

This was my first Bukowski. I enjoyed reading it in a single sitting. It is fairly readable but the style is a bit harsh. I would suggest reading his poems than his novels. The work does relaxes you up a bit as you go through reading it. It is as if you are seeing a small biopic. He talks to you.

Alyssa Wilson

i didnt like the story but i loved bukowski's writing style enough to give this 3 stars

Kieran Wood

Aref Almazrouei

Henry Chinaski is a lowlife loser with a hand-to-mouth existence. His menial post office day job supports a life of beer, one-night stands and racetracks. Lurid, uncompromising and hilarious, Post Office is a landmark in American literature, and over 1 million copies have been sold worldwide. The new edition is augmented with an anecdotal introduction by the modern Welsh cult-literary author, Niall Griffiths - a writer who was working in a British post office when he first read Bukowski's Post Office.

Post Office

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