A review by jbmorgan86
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski

2.0

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).