Legendary barfly Charles Bukowski's fourth novel, first published in 1982, is probably the most autobiographical and moving of all his books, dealing in particular with his difficult relationship with his father and his early childhood in LA. Ham on Rye follows the path of Bukowski's alter-ego Henry Chinaski through the high school years of acne and rejection and into the beginning of a long and successful career in alcoholism. The novel begins against the backdrop of an America devastated by the Depression and takes the Chinaski legend up to the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Arguably Bukowski's finest novel.
With an Introduction by Roddy Doyle who says:
'A scorching account of a childhood, on adolescence, a life of ugliness, pain, escape, alcohol, loneliness. often it's funny - often it's disturbing. Ham on Rye is a powerful book.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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Ham on Rye follows Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter-ego, through his troubled high school years to the beginning of a long and destructive struggle with alcoholism. Henry's early experiences are a mix of wry misadventure and emotional turmoil. He struggles with women, sports, his own writing, and, most heartbreakingly, his father - a monster of a man who looms large over almost every page of this wise and tough account of adolescence.
Ham on Rye features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Biographies & Autobiographies, eBooks of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Biography, Literature and Literary studies, Recommendations
Ham on Rye is available in Paperback, Ebook
Ham on Rye was written by Charles Bukowski and published by Canongate an imprint of Canongate Books
Ham on Rye has 349 pages
Yes it is part of Canons series
