There's No Business

This is actually a short story in a thin folio with illustrations by R. Crumb. On what is probably his last night of employment, Manny Hyman is a burned-out comedian in Las Vegas who faces being replaced by a newcomer who "does dirty tricks with soap bubbles."

A typically acerbic Charles Bukowski story in nice packaging.

Readers might not want to sympathise for the protagonist, Manny Hyman, but they probably will. The guy is nice enough, he's down on his luck, facing the loss of his job, and unable to cope with economic recession. Hyman doesn't appear to have any friends or relatives, which is what I expect from Bukowski I suppose, but I was more interested in this character's seventeen pages than most of Bukowski's other work. I'm not a fan of Crumb at all and the illustrations don't add anything to the story, but the book as a whole package is interesting. Definitely a story worth reading if you're looking for this sort of deadpan, bleak entertainment.

This short story is indeed short, and so it lacks the emotional complexity and weird turns present in Bukowski's other short fiction and novels. The snappy dialogue rears its head every so often but there aren't enough words in the piece to make that count. Crumb is in his usual style here, and he's not doing anything strange or offensive enough to be interesting. If you happen to come across this little novelty, best to take the money you would spend on it and put it toward a different Bukowski offering.