Rating: 
Summary: Ain't it the truth?
Review: This is not a typical novel. There is not much of a plot, there are no twists, and there aren't even any surprises. But it is captivating. Bukowski is pure magic. This novel is basically just a collection of short stories, and anecdotes related to his employment in the Post Office, but he tells it like no one can. It's like climbing on you dear old uncle's knee and just listening to him talk. That's the magic of Bukowski. He says so much with so few words (I know other people have said this in their reviews, but damn it, it applies.) This is one book that you can sit down, and just read cover to cover. But if time doesn't allow this, Uncle Buk will understand and be waiting when you return. If you have ever been dissatisfied with your job, or your life, then I say escape for a while. Climb up on Uncle Buk's knee, and listen to his tale. The Losers' Club by Richard Perez is also recommended; I agree with the other Amazon reviewer. It's in the same vein: finding meaning in what often seems like a meaningless life.
Rating: 
Summary: Van Gogh's Brother gave him free paints
Review: There seem to be two school of thoughts on Bukowski; One is the elitist PhD line of thinking that he was uncouth rubbish, the other is this slacker generation who view him as some kind of rebel wildman role model. The truth is somewhere in the middle I think. While I don't find Bukowski half as memorable as ,say, Henry Miller, he is a very talented writer and "Post Office" flows extremely well from beginning to end. Bukowski is one of the few writers who can make me laugh out loud and there are scenes in this book (when he singlehandedly changes US Postal rules by accidentally setting fire to the mail, his conversation with a crazy writer co-worker who ends their talk by screaming "Van Gogh's brother gave him free paints) which are exceptional. An entertaining and enjoyable book but don't read it if you are expecting profundities on the meaning of life.
Rating: 
Summary: Uninteresting book
Review: Uninteresting book. If it's rated highly by some people, then it's overrated.
Rating:
Summary: Why are the Bukowski's so few and far between? Serious.
Review: Hmm. One of the best books I've ever read. Period. Absent of pretension and predictable literary 'formula,' it sucks you in with street-wise grace and humor... existing in the face of numbing, oppresive and sometimes brutal conditions. I went to the library and conducted a few searches on Bukowski. He was never a millionnaire. He refused to leave a small-town publisher, John Martin, in Santa Rosa CA -- despite being courted by major publishing houses after the success of the film "Barfly" (for which he received a whopping 20,000). The fact is - Bukowski worked at the Post Office for 15 years, and slogged through an existence of crap-jobs and flophouses prior. He walked it liked he talked it. The simple and honest style is potent. He has the ability to take complicated issues dealing with the absurdity of life and put them down in a simple, flowing style -- without sacrficing depth (au contraire, the book seeps in after you've read it... and lingers). If, like the reviewer GC from Reno, you're looking for a traditional literary standard, you should go somewhere else. Convention is not welcome here. But, if you're open to a raw and sometimes brutal perspective, stripped of pretentious sentimentality and the boring predictability of popular literature, this is your stop. In its own weird way, it's a 'feel good' book.
Rating:
Summary: Bukowski's spells out his days of incarceration
Review: Typical of Bukowski's characters, the main character of Post Office is just a simple guy, who wants to be left alone, get a little piece of ass now and again, and drink himself to death. A little offbeat, but always real, this comedy of errors and confession of sin should be a requirement to any student of modern American literature. Of course, we know that the Post Office represented in the novel is symbolic of the society at large that tries to dehumanize us with all it's petty rules and codes of "appropriate behavior" Bukowski himself worked for such an institution for ten years (during which time it almost broke him, and he completely stopped writing). Thankfully, like the symbol of the caged bird in the end, Bukowski finally took his own leap to freedom. This is Buk's first novel -- and it's written straight from the gut! Grab a copy! Thanks also to the guy who recommended The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, another book I dug.
Rating:
Summary: I split my gut...
Review: ...laughing so hard at this book. Nat Shappy would have loved "Post Office." Unfortunately, he's dead. Dithering fool. The moral of the story is...don't keep a human heart in a glass jar. Also, ladies should keep soda bottles away from their privates--that is unless you really want to marry a midget.
Rating:
Summary: Bukowski Years In Limbo
Review: As the story goes, Charles Bukowski was just starting to see some success as a writer when he gave up writing altogether and took a "straight job" -- with the Post Office. It would be a period that extended for 10 years. POST OFFICE is an account of those years, of the daily degradation and belittlement experienced at the hands of his "superiors" and by the mundane job itself. Everyone has been in a situation like this, when you're acutely aware that you're wasting your life but don't know what to do about it except to get up every morning and continue to go to work. There's a quiet desperation in this book, facing the passing of life, the wasting of your potential as you simply surrender to "fate." This is one of the best books I ever read about the humiliation of being an "adult." Man, it just ain't cool. One compromise after another. As each day passes, and you lose courage and allow your dreams to evaporate. The main symbol in the book is the caged bird, which of course stands for the trapped Bukowski/Chinaski. POST OFFICE is a MUST READ book that I wish were required reading at school, but of course isn't -- as it's an all-too-realistic (and, yes, grim) reflection of reality. Real Life adulthoood sucks -- as Bukowski knew all too well. Check this book out! Special mention also goes out to the reviever who mentioned THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez, another "real life" novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Bukowskian indeed but clearly not his best stuff...
Review: If you haven't discovered this gem of an author yet (that would be a crime) i urge you not to start with this book. Surely there's loads of great moments to be found in "Post office" but the story does wander here and there much too often, and the focus is lost making the book seem like the incoherent (but definitely entertaining) narration from someone at a bar while tossing back drinks. Because this is "bukowskian" it's so entertaining that it will keep you reading (and grinning) despite its flaws, but I'd reccomend you to start rather from "Ham on Rye" (a masterpiece of humor and cynical social critique) or "Tales of everyday madness". If you're already a fan this review is useless since you're more than likely reading everything by Bukowski anyway. Approach with caution...
Rating:
Summary: Beware of those who are always reading books
Review: "Post Office" (1971) is one of Charles Bukowski's greatest novels which he strangely enough completed in three weeks. In many ways its motifs are similar to "Hunger" (1890) by Knut Hamsun, their main character have problems with relating to other people, they are unfortunate and all in all have troubles getting by.
Chinaski works in the US Postal Service because the post office "would hire damned near anybody" (Post, 13). When he is not working, he is drinking or at the racetrack. His whacked view of the world is rather pessimistic, but through an acrimonious honesty in a colloquial language and restricted use of metaphors Bukowski makes the texts appear humorous, evocative, and essentially profound. The fact that Buwkowski`s writings are based on autobiographical material have created many a myth about his authorship, some of those of which I have believed in myself, but just the other day I noticed a quote : "[...] I am ninety-three percent the person I present in my poems; the other seven percent is where my art improves upon life." (Interview with C.B in NYQ). There we have it, it is all about percentage, and it seems Bukowski was a better mathematician than I thought. Anyway, I highly recommend this book for those of you who want to get to know Chinaski and his bum life, the only problem is that you would probably get hooked and read all of his books (quite a lot of them actually) just like me.
Rating:
Summary: the job, always
Review: nobody captures the horror of a bad job (and who hasn't had too many of those?)better than Bukowski.
now go away
| 
