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

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Love Is a Dog from Hell by Charles Bukowski

8 reviews

gkcnoble's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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

mme_carton's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

paulwesterberg's review

Go to review page

funny 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? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

pluvioviophile's review against another edition

Go to review page

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 :)

Content Warnings

constantbookover's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

pomegranate117's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

My dude talked about 3 things and 3 things only, fucking redheads, beer and taking a shit.
To be fair there were some good poems but I think I felt they were good because after reading about shit-stained pants it was a delight to find something that has nothing to do with the mention of that.

Content Warnings

fatimaarif's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

fanficaddict's review against another edition

Go to review page

tense medium-paced

1.25

I felt as though most of the poetry had misogynistic undertones and were overly and aggressively sexual. It gave off women written by men vibes (because it was). I can appreciate some of the poetry. A small amount of it was actually enjoyable but an unnecessary amount was objectifying and overly erotic. Overall: disgusting, poor writing, graphic, and offensive in its depictions of women and sex.

Content Warnings

More...