if you like bukowski...

[growing beard]

... So good ....

Shit man, your stuff ain't too dang bad. Especially dig the interviews and the Bank Statement poem. And I saw in Tumbleweed Sex Drive that we have in common the sordid past of smoking cigarettes off the ground. For real that is one decent personal page. high fives and lowballs to ya.

mods, can I?

http://thehomesickminivan.blogspot.com/p/poems.html

ps. just occured to me that this thread is in "all things bukowski." soooo... as usual I'm mostly clueless.

 

[justin grimbol]

Thanks man. Scumming butts takes character, in my not so humble opinion.
Other great writer:
James Crumley. Jim Harrison. Larry Brown. SaFranko. Chelsea Handler. Yeah, I said. ARE YOU THERE VODKA? ITS ME, CHELSEA is a great book. Shit made me laugh. Not a good writer though.

 

[Krzysztof]

A Feast of Snakes by Harry Crews.

 

[withnail69]

I find myself in the same situation. I can't bring myself to read anything other than Bukowski and I'm down to my last 3. I haven't tried the poetry please don't shout at me I'm just not really a poetry person. I have to say that South of no north and The captain is out to lunch were both fantastic

 

[bospress.net]

Dan Fante.

 

[Chrisw]

If you like Buk... you'll probably like James Thurber, Mark Twain and Hunter Thompson. At least I do. All comic, in their way, aware of the absurdities of human life but there is also a sort of underlying melancholy to it all.

 

[huero]

Hello, I loved Post Office, Ham, factotum, women (in that order). I loved Buk's stories about the average guy and the average guys life, pains, and small victories.
I was wondering if anyone could suggest books similar to those mentioned? I'd like something good and similar to Bukowski.

Thanks you in advance to all suggestions,
huero.

 

[gbsupbowl]

I say try out Bukowski's poetry... any of his collection will do.

 

[huero]

I actually have more of his books and poetry. Some I love and some I don't as much.
I know we all have our preferences but I prefer a simpler writing style. I loved the books I mentioned for that very reason.

 

[DaPrince34]

I would recommend dan or john fante or look at this
https://bukowskiforum.com/threads/down-and-out-literature.10740/

 

[Bucatski]

Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son has some Buk elements. Raw stuff but lacking Buk's humor. Also, there's this chick whom has been nicknamed Bukowski in a Sundress (Kim Addonizio). Reading some of her stuff now. Not bad.

 

[DaPrince34]

I havn't yet read Pan by Hamsun, but heard 'Hunger', via audio, which I liked very much. Not that audio books are great but my hands were busy and I really got into it. The reading lasted 6-7 hours.

Pan is alright, definitely not as good as hunger

 

[justin grimbol]

Some authors I think Bukowski fans would like. Benjamin Whitmer, author Cry Father and Pike. Chris Offutt. Sam Pink, especialy his book Person. J David Osborne.

 

[Bucolinski]

Try 'Ablutions' by Patrick de Witt.

 

[tony walton]

also Don Delillo 'Libra' or "Mao II"

 

[PhillyDave]

a favorite author of mine. I think Underworld is his best.

 

[tony walton]

Yea. I suppose in style delillo is different from Bukowski, but he captures the theme of alienation and the nature of humanity(usually the pits) with similar punch.

 

[PhillyDave]

DeLillo punches. He and Buk throw different kinds. Their timing and speed and strength(s) are different.

Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son has some Buk elements. Raw stuff but lacking Buk's humor. Also, there's this chick whom has been nicknamed Bukowski in a Sundress (Kim Addonizio). Reading some of her stuff now. Not bad.

Always wary of anyone outright putting Buk in any of their titles. Bukowski by Modest Mouse seems to be the exception to that rule.

 

[tony walton]

They are very different. Both have a theme of alienation in their writing. (I retract the 'similar punch' quote)

 

[PhillyDave]

It's cool. i hear what yr saying tho. I love DeLillo and have read most of his stuff. I see the connections yr making.

 

[adamwarlock]

I find myself in the same situation. I can't bring myself to read anything other than Bukowski and I'm down to my last 3. I haven't tried the poetry please don't shout at me I'm just not really a poetry person. I have to say that South of no north and The captain is out to lunch were both fantastic

I'm not much a fan of poetry either and have only read sections of two of Bukowski's poetry books. But I really like Henry Miller, and in particular Nights of Love & Laughter, a collection of his short stories. One of them really reminding me of Bukowski. Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring and Tropic of Capricorn are good as well. I still have yet to read the Rosy Crucifixion.

 

[tony walton]

Eileen Myles, maybe. (Although she would resist this idea!)

 

[PaddyHannan]

Besides all the usual recommendations (which I'd definitely agree with!) I would recommend a couple of British novels also which I found surprisingly Bukowski-esque, particularly considering their date of publication.
Firstly, I'd recommend everyone try Julian McLaren-Ross' 1947 novel Of Love and Hunger. I'd personally be very surprised if Bukowski hadn't read that.
Also Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton, first published in 1941, I think would definitely appeal to the Bukowski reader looking for similar material.

Thirdly, I think that Stephen Vizinczey's 1965 novel In Praise of Older Women would be a great recommendation for people who have read Bukowski and gone on to enjoy novels by Hamsun, Miller, and the other names listed above. Might be just what you're looking for in many respects.

Lastly, one of my favourite contemporary novelists is M J Hyland. She's written only three novels and, though they're not Bukowski-esque, I think that they share a similarity in prose style and a novel such as This Is How might more than appeal to the forum users here.

 

[thelowlife]

There is a little ebook by a guy named Gabriel Thomas. If you are into Bukowski, you'll probably like this guys writing.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

A guy you just stumbled across. With the exact same name as you. Heck of a coincidence.

 

[PaddyHannan]

I wouldn't read an ebook and wouldn't know how to either!
I should also recommend the novel A Fan's Notes by Fred Exley to the Bukowski reader. I think you'd all appreciate that one.

 

[thelowlife]

A guy you just stumbled across. With the exact same name as you. Heck of a coincidence.

Sorry, you caught me. Just trying to get my book noticed. Bukowski is one of my influences. One of my favorite writers.

Felt bad about it as soon as I did it. Thanks for putting me straight.

Tell you what... this is a link for something published by a little ezine, http://degenerateliterature.weebly.com/a-poem-by-gabriel-thomas.html, if you thinks it's bukowski esk, let the people know.

 

[riffwrites]

I have found myself with the same problem. I guess the most obvious place to start like others here have said would be with John Fante, Ernest Hemingway and Hunter S Thompson. It depends whether you like Bukowski for his style or subject matter, combined they make for juicy reading material but it is tricky to find both. The following writers I would recommend only have passing similarities to Bukowski but are definitely worth a read... George Orwell (Down and Out in Paris and London) Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood) Karl Ove Knausgaard, who writes in extensive detail on real life subject matter that most would shy away from and John Healy (The Grass Arena) who I recently interviewed about his life. He was a vagrant wino living on the streets of London who learnt how to play chess at a very high level whilst in Prison. The podcast will be available on my website when I get round to uploading it... you can check it out here https://rivislives.wordpress.com/ along with some of my own writing which may or may not float your boat ;)

Hope this helps as I have been faced with the same dilemma
so this thread has been handy to read

Riff

 

[gabilager]

All The King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren is a great and brilliantly written book. A Place to Come To, also by Warren, has a great first p.:
"I was the only boy, or girl either, in the public school of the town of Dugton, Claxford, Alabama, whose father had ever got killed in the middle of the night standing up in the front of his wagon to piss on the hindquarters of one of the span of mules and, being drunk, pitching forward on his head, still hanging on to his dong, and hitting the pike in such a position and condition that both the left front and the left rear wheels of the wagon rolled, with perfect precision, over his unconscious neck, his having passed out being, no doubt, the reason he took the fatal plunge in the first place. Throughout, he was still holding on to his dong."

Nothing like Buk, but I really enjoyed reading R. P. W.
The other guys already said enough about some great novelists and poets.

 

[Loulou99]

Hi,
I’m only 3 books in to Bukowskis work but I’m already panicking about what to move onto when I’m done! I ordered a whole bunch after I finished Ham on Rye but they were all so thin and it’s going to fly by :(
Recommendations please for anyone with similar “the ugly truth or nothing” kind of style please!