Reviews

A friend of mine was shocked that I had never read anything by Bukowski. She said that _Ham on Rye_ is the place to start as this is usually considered his best work. If that is true, I won't be bothering with any more of Bukowski. This is a "life sucks" coming of age story. It reminds me of _Catcher in the Rye_ and _Perks of Being a Wildflower_ (though, apparently, _Ham on Rye_ is pretty much non-fiction except the change of name from Bukowski to Chinaski). This whole genre is just nauseating to me. Pretty much every bad thing that could happen to a youth happens in this story. Much of the writing is clever and even laugh out loud funny, but in the end it's just a pessimistic, apathetic, coming of age story.

(Sorry to the hardcore Bukowski-ites).

heath_gomez's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-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

4.25

nicofic's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

cizzim's review against another edition

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3.0

I don't really know why I only gave this book 3 stars because I did like it. The writing is great and the characters are interesting to say the least, although difficult to relate to and quite easy to dislike - although that's not a bad thing. I guess I find it a bit difficult after a while if there's no plot to a book.

caronson's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

3.75

zeroiv's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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