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A review by bradland
Hollywood by Charles Bukowski
4.0
Feeling somewhat of an epilogue to his previous novels, Bukowski writes about his experiences in making the movie Barfly, for which he wrote the screenplay. He goes through all the experiences he had at the time, not necessarily relating to the film, like his trips to the horse track, which provides an interesting aside to what his life is like after becoming a success with his writing. That's what I mean about this work being an epilogue, there is no major struggle for 'Henry Chinaski' in this like his other adventures. This is all happening while he's living a comfortable life in LA, almost a 'hey, I made it!' to his readers.
Overall, this novel provides an interesting look into the behind the scenes craziness that occurs in Hollywood when trying to make a film. Bukowski uses fake names for most of his characters here to allow him to use artistic license where necessary and not to get sued by real life counterparts. I think that's part of the reason why it took so long to be published in the UK as their libelous laws are more strict.
This is not Bukowski's finest work but it provides a decent tail end to the Chinaski character as he becomes nostalgic of old times while typing them away or visiting film locations. Its not the best book to find out how crazy Hollywood can be. I found Hollywood Animal by Joe Eszterhas to be a better example, where he was right in the middle of many successful films and uses real names. Before reading Hollywood its best to watch Barfly to get better context of what's going on and enhance your enjoyment of the book.
Overall, this novel provides an interesting look into the behind the scenes craziness that occurs in Hollywood when trying to make a film. Bukowski uses fake names for most of his characters here to allow him to use artistic license where necessary and not to get sued by real life counterparts. I think that's part of the reason why it took so long to be published in the UK as their libelous laws are more strict.
This is not Bukowski's finest work but it provides a decent tail end to the Chinaski character as he becomes nostalgic of old times while typing them away or visiting film locations. Its not the best book to find out how crazy Hollywood can be. I found Hollywood Animal by Joe Eszterhas to be a better example, where he was right in the middle of many successful films and uses real names. Before reading Hollywood its best to watch Barfly to get better context of what's going on and enhance your enjoyment of the book.