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

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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gorgnzla's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

0.5

I would give this zero stars, except it was so impactful that it made me never want to read anything by Bukowski ever again. So I guess that’s something?

Highly do not recommend. His writing felt lazy and uninspired, not to mention the blatant pedophilia and misogyny. This book was essentially him griping about “his wh*res,” shitting, and people obsessing over him. Not sure why, when he mentions every other segment that his underwear has shit stains. Not much to adore there. It feels like a case of narcissism to me, but that’s just my opinion.

It’s got to be some dedication that he wrote over a hundred pages of (subpar, mind you) poems that essentially boil down to “I have a red hair fetish.” I finished the book out of pure spite. And, out of even more spite, I don’t think I’ll ever pick up another one of his books again.

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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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fernandawolfie's review against another edition

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challenging fast-paced

1.5

I mean it's a bunch of poems that a white man wrote... what else can you expect ?

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angel_kiiss's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

A man writing about his sexual exploits and how much women want to f*ck him. That being said, once you get past Part 1, there are some really stellar pieces of work. Once he starts on dark nights of the soul and stops writing about having sex with women.

Part 2 is his best work in the collection. However, trigger warnings for Part 3 and 4 when physical abuse against women is mentioned and encouraged and Bukowski explicitly states his sexual desires toward minors multiple times. Even going so far as to "relieve" himself while stalking an identified 15-year-old girl.

This is a collection of raw work in which you can feel the grime and you can feel the pain (whether or not you can identify with that pain is on you). All the poems flow in what feels like a narrative arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The last poem feels like the last chapter, the final part being Bukowski's final in life. And although he is definitely a pervert and a creep, there is still some raw intrigue to his work that speaks to the broken pieces of my artist's souls.

Overall, if I wanted to listen to an old straight man talk about all the sex he's had with Texan women, I'd move back to Texas.

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