Factotum

Rating:
Summary: Another great read
Review: 'We chatted and after a few minutes a girl came in and handed John the check. He reached across the desk and handed it to me. A decent guy. I heard later that he died soon after that, but Jan and I got our beef stew and our vegetables and our French wine and we went on living.'

Once again meet Henry Chinaski as he makes his way through dozens of jobs only to find his way back to the nearest bar. Forever down on his luck, Chinaski always seems to find a way out as he makes his way across America in search of work and women.

Factotum (1975), Bukowski's first book after Post Office (see my review), is funnier AND written in a slightly sharper style than his first effort (he still hasn't found his 'final' style, but in this, his second book, he is much closer.) Filled with more sex , more booze, and satirical commentary that is sure to make you never want to work again, Factotum is essential for any Bukowski fan and not a bad place to start for those still unfamiliar with the great Hero of the Gutter. Read this to find out what one of America's greatest poets was doing when he wasn't writing.

I've lent my Bukowski books out many times. Handing them back to me people always say the same two things: 'He's so honest,' and 'He does and says things I wish I had the balls to do.'

Rating:
Summary: The Most Reader-Friendly Bukowski book!
Review: Another Classic. A series of jobs and weird situations during the 4o's in America. He dispatches the end of WWII with a sentence or two! The Best. now go away

Rating:
Summary: Pick Up A Copy!
Review: Factotum is a good Bukowski novel. I think Ham on Rye, Post Office, and Women are his better novels, but Factotum has its own somber character, and it fills in an autobiographical gap between his school days and his time at the post office. It carries over a lot of the themes and the lifestyle pictured in Down and Out in Paris and London by Orwell.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but there are better Bukowski books out there
Review: I like this novel, but certain passages I felt like I read in other novels by Bukowski. It's a pleasure to read, but not as smooth as some of his other works. He basically goes from job to job, occasionally having a fling, getting drunk, or going to the track. If you're a Bukowski fan, buy this book only after you've read Post Office (dealing with a terrible job), Ham on Rye (childhood through adolescent), and Women (sex). Certain passages make this a must read - but other Bukowski books are better.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Reader-Friendly Bukowski book!
Review: I really enjoyed this novel, which is very smoothly written, contains very short chapters and examines the life of a drifter. Bukowski (or his counterpart) stumbles from one misadventure to the next in this somewhat episodic but very amusing account of his "loser" life, taking jobs he hates, getting into fights, stumbling in and (most importantly) out of relationships, drinking and of course writing. In a way, this may be my favorite Bukowski book because the writing is so straightforward and simple. I recommend it! I'd also like to thank the other Amazon reviewer who suggested another Amazon pick, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez. I can see how Factotum -- and Bukowski's other works -- influenced this book as well.

Rating:
Summary: Pick Up A Copy!
Review: Just picked up Factotum by Bukowski, after reading The Losers Club by Richard Perez. Strange 'cause both books are somehow related. The connection? The drudgery of menial work! The dehumanizing affects of a life-wasting occupation is an underlying theme, mixed with accounts of failed relationships and an overall freefloating narrative structure. In Factotum, Buk recounts his mostly autobiographical adventures as a floating unemployed (and often unemployable) menial worker. He travels from state to state, writing and collecting rejection letters from magazines, and tries to deal with the unending humiliation of low-paying jobs and rat-trap apartments and fragile relationships. Often, he ends up hitting the bottle and, in bars, ends up meeting up with fellow drunks and losers and desperate ladies struggling to scrape by. There's humor here but also a lot of truth, some it stark and grim. One line that blew me away, gave me chills was: "Ain't no women on skid row." This was over Chinaski's anxiety regarding a female drinking companion. The style of the book is simple and easy and direct, and I found myself sucked into it right away. A child could read this book. I also read the whole book in one day, which for me is a first. Definitely pick up a copy of this novel. It's not as famous as his other novels, but as a memorable account/study of a "working stiff," worth owning, especially if you like Buk and his "down and out" view of life and appreciate his humor.

Rating:
Summary: one of Bukowski's best
Review: The quality of Bukowski's poetry is questionable. His short stories are very sharp, very desperate, very amused. Tthe short stories are what Bukowski did best, while his novels are of very uneven quality.
This said, the three novels of Bukowski's trilogy (Factotum, Post Office, Women) are his best novels and factotum is the best of the three. Women was written and published in the late 1970s when Bukowski or his alter ego Henry Chinaski was already an establihsed professional writer. Post Office covers the years in which he Bukowski had a sort of regular job and regular life.
Factotum is the story of the young Bukowski, the Bukowski that was rolling from a job to another, from a town to another, from a woman to another, in an impressive collections of failures--failed jobs, failed relationships, failed everything all told with a considerable amount of irony.
It's a very interesting read, to say the least. Five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Too Good Too Good
Review: This is the one, folks. Read this book before you shave your privates with a box cutter. The rundown: Go out, get a job, get fired, get drunk, get with the town tramp, play the horses, go out, get a job, get fired, get with the town tramp, play the horses, etc. etc. "Factotum" is lots of fun for those who get a kick out of reading about bad behavior. Softies, go read something else.

Rating:
Summary: Something lacks
Review: Well,the question still stands, how does one make a review of Bukowski's book? From litterary aspect, from pfilosphy of life, from "adventures" or something else. Best to leave it as it is... Everyone that is interested in his work already know what kind of prose he writes. It suffices to say that this books lacks something in profanity or humour that his other books have. Just an average book from his opus...