Hot Water Music (1983)

Dear Bukowski, you're a sweet dude but really, all your stories are the same hullabaloo. I wish you had more variety. But then i guess people wouldn't like you as much. So in that case, keep up the good work...oh wait, you're dead. ( )

I love Bukowski. ( )

A collection of Bukowski shorts. A lot like anyone would expect. Hank Chinaski Bets the races, fucks women and drinks beer and wine, then he writes about it all, laughing all the way to the lonely and depressing night. ( )

This is the first thing I read of Bukowski's and his terse style seemed to me like a breath of fresh air. It's as if he copied Hemingway's style and then mimicked it to the point of caricature. And yet somehow I'm still saying that's a good thing.

I believe he took the potentiality of Hemingway's style and magnified it's unpleasantness in a manner similar to how Seth McFarlane exaggerated Matt Groening. Okay, maybe that analogy was pushing it but I love the way no thought or idea is too reprehensible to be included in Bukowski's conception of literature.

By the way, besides the numerous pop culture references, the thing that really got me psyched to start reading Bukowski was the excellent documentaries on him that are available on Netflix.

The length of his stories is interesting as well. These are more like vignettes and so it’s best to consider the whole work together and the interrelations between vignettes.

Brilliant selection of short stories. My favorite is the one with the beautiful woman at the track who steals all his cash and clothes after taking him to bed in a motel room.

This is required reading for any and all who appreciate Bukowski's novels because his style of writing is equally suited for short stories. ( )