Ham on Rye by Charles BukowskiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Bukowski isn’t for everyone. He is a "dirty old man" although in this case he is a young kid growing up to be that. There's a lot of foul language and a focus on sex, women, alcohol, fighting, a rough life. He tells the hard truth, the painful side of life and he is smart too. This is my first novel by him, read a few of his poetry collections. Yet this novel is thinly fictionalized version of his life, growing up. It’s painful but realistic. Reading this you get a sense to understand who is Bukowski and why.
It’s brutal too. Yet there is humor inside, you have to listen/read carefully to see it. Yet it's also hard not to feel for him, or at least Henry the main character. Every Saturday his father made him mow the lawn, water, take care of the plants, everything and if one "hair" was not cut, if the lawn wasn't perfect he would get a beating. And of course, every Saturday he would get beaten. It was as if his Father needed an excuse to hit him. It was a different time, the book takes place during the depression era, right up to WWII.
Listened to the audio book and own an eBook copy.
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