Women by Charles Bukowski #fiction #classics #bookreviewer

Susanne’s Review:

In Women, Bukowski as Henry Chinaski details a life lived to excess.  From sexualizing women to excessive drinking and gambling.  Pleasing himself is his only concern.  Vulgar, rude, and crude, Chinaski is his own man.

This book is repetitive beyond all get out and will get on your every nerve and yet you can’t help but continue reading.  

Afraid of his feelings, he runs from them and instead finds comfort in the arms of other women, which I admit to finding both funny and sad.  

Emotionally abused as a child, Bukowski never learned how to love or treat others respectfully.  Drinking to excess and pushing all boundaries is how he deals with life and everyone in it.  While he rejected social norms, I admit to questioning his reasons.  While living life to the fullest is what made him happy, the fact that his addiction was borne out of the abuse he suffered as a child, admittedly made me sad.

Learning more about the man who is supposed to be a prolific writer, is what has made me delve into these books. Unfortunately, the writing style in this one did not quite win me over.  It was extremely choppy, repetitive, and appeared to simply be a collection of Bukowski’s conquests as detailed through the character of Henry Chinaski.  

I have one additional book on my list to read before I look into a few of his poems.  We shall see.

Thank you to my local library for loaning me a copy of this book.