agree, 16corners on burroughs- but, read 'junkie,' first, and the other will make a lot more sense.
the only one i've read on that list is Post Office, but I love it; as a first work, it is such a great introduction to a unique voice in literature. plus, the end punchline is fucking great.
and, for anyone who has ever suffered through a shitty job while hung over, there is no topping it.
Was written by an American in the late-1800s who travelled through Northern and Central CA and reported on the local Indian tribes after the Gold Rush. Besides the usual characterizations of Indians savages along the way, he actually has a wealth of information about the various Indian groups in the state. Much better than I thought it would be.
I know Chomsky is super hyped by the Left, and I was a big fan back in High School/early College myself, but once you read one of his books, you've basically read almost all of his books dating all the way back to the 1970s. He has had the same general themes since he first started writing about Vietnam. You could do a lot better looking into some other books about American politics, power or foreign policy.
Sorry, I can't offer anything to those other books.
After hearing about my friend's nightmares night after night from reading this book, I'm reading Dante's The Inferno right now (Longfellow translation). How does this translation stand up to the newer ones by Mark Musa, Robert Pinsky, John Ciardi, or Allen Mandelbaum? I'm gonna check out the other translation this week, but if someone could point me in one direction that would help.
i agree with motown here as well...read Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent', watched the movie/documentary also...super intelligent guy but after a while i get a bit bored with politics and yearn for some creative storytelling...you just have to take Chomsky in small doses...Bukowski is the quintessential working class american poet fueled with anger and whisky, bangin away on teh ol typer, given em hell...burroughs was a maniac...killed his wife while trying to shoot an apple off the top of her head dude was bananas and took enough heroin to kill a small whale...i recommend Martin Torgoff's "CAnt find my way Home: Ameerica in the great stoned age 1945-2000'....ripped thru it in 5 days...he describes the impact drugs--particularly ganja and lsd-- had on the creative boom in music and literature in the us in the post WWII era...fascintaing read
great read, but DO NOT go see the film adaptation that came out last year w/ colin farrell and . one of the worst movies i have ever seen. sooooo bad.
i'd recommend TROPIC OF CANCER and TROPIC OF CAPRICORN by henry miller to anyone who's never read them - you could say they're in a similar vein to the titles being mentioned here, though they make most of the beats that succeeded these works look like high school diarists. btw, anybody read h. miller's ROSY CRUCIFIXION TRILOGY? i think that's up next for me.
Bukowski, Burroughs, Miller, Kerouac, et al. have their moments, but they're all so very clearly petrified of women and so very clearly in denial of this fact that I cannot take their writing seriously on any real level. Whenever those dudes talk about "what humanity is," all I hear is Strom Thurmond talking about "what Southerners want."
ok, let me say that I went through a Bukowski phase in the 90's, like pretty much everyone else. Yes, I also read American Psycho. Then one day I realize that it was all part of a conspiracy to make me believe that this world suck. There I was, banging mini Jennifer Lopez's that grow on trees in Buenos Aires while at the same time books, movies and music were telling me that I should feel sad. Well, I couldn't feel sad. Nirvana? The fuck out of here with those horrible MTV unplugged terds. Fight Club? Pffff. Well, I'm convinced that Bukowski didn't even exist. Fake underdog. That was like Harry Potter in the 90's.
Actually, my favorite Burroughs work is his non-fiction. He has written a lot of insightful, amazing essays. May I recommend
I dont why I thought of this book while thinking about Bukowski, but for some top shelf fiction about a alcohol soaked exsistence and the assholes that ru(i)n the world great book
iron_monkey
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Chomsky, despite his demonization by the right, is a fucking genius.
I swear by all Bukowski....
I haven't read that particular Burroughs, but Junkie and naked Lunch are the shit.
the only one i've read on that list is Post Office, but I love it; as a first work, it is such a great introduction to a unique voice in literature. plus, the end punchline is fucking great.
and, for anyone who has ever suffered through a shitty job while hung over, there is no topping it.
Was written by an American in the late-1800s who travelled through Northern and Central CA and reported on the local Indian tribes after the Gold Rush. Besides the usual characterizations of Indians savages along the way, he actually has a wealth of information about the various Indian groups in the state. Much better than I thought it would be.
How bout them other books?
Any thoughts?
I know Chomsky is super hyped by the Left, and I was a big fan back in High School/early College myself, but once you read one of his books, you've basically read almost all of his books dating all the way back to the 1970s. He has had the same general themes since he first started writing about Vietnam. You could do a lot better looking into some other books about American politics, power or foreign policy.
After hearing about my friend's nightmares night after night from reading this book, I'm reading Dante's The Inferno right now (Longfellow translation). How does this translation stand up to the newer ones by Mark Musa, Robert Pinsky, John Ciardi, or Allen Mandelbaum? I'm gonna check out the other translation this week, but if someone could point me in one direction that would help.
dude was bananas and took enough heroin to kill a small whale...i recommend Martin Torgoff's "CAnt find my way Home: Ameerica in the great stoned age 1945-2000'....ripped thru it in 5 days...he describes the impact drugs--particularly ganja and lsd-- had on the creative boom in music and literature in the us in the post WWII era...fascintaing read
great read, but DO NOT go see the film adaptation that came out last year w/ colin farrell and
i'd recommend TROPIC OF CANCER and TROPIC OF CAPRICORN by henry miller to anyone who's never read them - you could say they're in a similar vein to the titles being mentioned here, though they make most of the beats that succeeded these works look like high school diarists. btw, anybody read h. miller's ROSY CRUCIFIXION TRILOGY? i think that's up next for me.
ok, let me say that I went through a Bukowski phase in the 90's, like pretty much everyone else. Yes, I also read American Psycho. Then one day I realize that it was all part of a conspiracy to make me believe that this world suck. There I was, banging mini Jennifer Lopez's that grow on trees in Buenos Aires while at the same time books, movies and music were telling me that I should feel sad. Well, I couldn't feel sad. Nirvana? The fuck out of here with those horrible MTV unplugged terds. Fight Club? Pffff.
Well, I'm convinced that Bukowski didn't even exist. Fake underdog. That was like Harry Potter in the 90's.
I dont why I thought of this book while thinking about Bukowski, but for some top shelf fiction about a alcohol soaked exsistence and the assholes that ru(i)n the world
great book