Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Love Is a Dog from Hell

I think of poetry as if it were a spectrum of colours. In Bukowski's Love Is A Dog From Hell, two colours stand out: a vivid red, which might symbolise Bukowski's self-loathing, inner criticism, and addictions, while a dark grey might reflect his depressed views of himself and the world, including women.

Bukowski's unique talent lies in his ability to work with multiple layers of meaning within a single poem, deftly transitioning from daily, mundane themes to psychoanalytic revelations of his inner world. For example, in the given excerpt, Bukowski goes beyond simply describing an overcast day. Instead, he uses the concept of bad weather to illustrate his experiences with unemployment while parading his poverty before a group of working-class men:

The worst day
it was raining very hard I didn't have a raincoat so
I put on a very old coat I hadn't worn for months while they were working.

Bukowski's Love Is A Dog From Hell is not an easy read to digest. His poetry mirrors the fragmented parts of himself, disclosing the poet’s battle with mental illness and the controversial nature of his attitudes toward women and relationships. In my view, his writing was not intended to shock audiences but rather as a means of self-expression; perhaps, it became a channel for venting and reconciling his inner turmoil.

I wrote a poem summarising Bukowski's take on relationships and alcoholism:

Bukowski Love

I told her the truth.
It didn't work.
I guess she has a low tolerance for transparency.
I was downplaying my shady recovery when she broke down (just like my Beetle) and screamed that
I WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER OR ANYBODY ELSE, AS A MATTER OF FACT.
She is a strong woman today.
Back then, with panda eyes, a red face and a broken heel.
It was when she twisted her ankle and broke her heel that I realised
She was seesawing her way out of my life.
So, I chased after her lopsided hips,
catching my breath I screamed back,
ALCOHOL IS NO LONGER RELEVANT.
After a few minutes of side stitch agony, she turned around,
threw me the look of death,
aimed at the heart
Thumped it with the damn heel.
The wound is still sour, just like my whiskey.
~ gissia

Content Warnings

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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fast-paced

1.5

There's two or three salvageable poems but honestly I feel like Bukowski just relies on the shock factor to pretend that he's actually good.

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aritacb's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

I usually enjoy Bukowski’s writing style, his realism, and his raw honesty in his poetry. However, the majority of the content in this particular book was absolutely deplorable. His later work from when he chilled out from his gross drunken man hoe years is much more readable. There was a handful of poems that were written in the way that made me like his work but I can no longer in good conscience keep this book on my shelf, if that tells you anything. I was already aware of his vulgarity but this was vomit inducing. His early work is definitely a no-go. This book was mainly comprised of the poems I would typically skip or hate in his other books.

Apparently Harry Styles loves this book (🚩) but I would never recommend this unless you’d enjoy the debauched poetry of a drunk, depressed, nearly destitute, middle aged man.

This only gets an extra half point for the very few poems l liked and because this was definitely reminiscent of beatnik literature. Kerouac would probably like this.
But in this era, only guys that hide how awful they are under being pretentious would like this crap. (like Matty Healy. iykyk lol)

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mme_carton's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

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pluvioviophile's review against another edition

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funny tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

1.0

puisi bukowski terasa apa adanya. sering kali dia menyebut angka-angka. hal remeh-temeh dalam realita. kecenderungan ini yg membuatnya gagal dalam membedakan cinta dan senggama.
dangkal, terbelakang.
primitif.
too much testosteron and lack of vasopressin.
oh demi tuhan?????
kalo dia ni bikin novel trus karakter utamanya mokondo macem ni, gue kek bisa aja bacanya (mencoba menelisik pikiean male manipulAtoRRR) tapi ini puisi 300+ halaman??????
hhHHHHhhhhhh

gue bisa ngerti kenapa ada orang yg suka bukowski. tapi cara dia nulis puisi ni not really my cup of tea. ditambah konten puisi dia ni berulang2 cerita ttg cewe (in a BAD way), mabok, sange, nulis, dikejar deadline, ngentot, beer, coli, ngintipin celana dalem cewe, traveling buat ngewe, dipuja(?) cewe, mabok lagi, ereksi lagi. beuhhhhhhh real mokondo sastra

kek??? dari 100++ puisi yg gue bilang oke cuma 8 :)

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_quinnsreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

5.0

Raw, unfiltered and repulsively beautiful. One of the best poems I've read in years. There's just something about Bukowski's writings that captures your soul. And I know not everyone might agree, but I like the way he plays with words to formulate his thoughts and feelings. Although he was pathetic. But overall, I loved it.

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constantbookover's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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chandle5's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

3.25

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