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 |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
RAW ~ REBELLIOUS ~ VULGAR
Bukowski's take on the bildungsroman, an anti-coming-of-age story and his finest novel.
Lifelong misfit Henry Chinaski grows up downtrodden, stumbling through a world he has only ever known as hostile. Fights, failed romances and humiliations abound; Chinaski toughens up as he grows up, finding solace in books and in the bottle.
Savagely funny and profoundly human, Ham on Rye is essential reading for anyone who has ever been ready to quit - and chosen to laugh, drink or fight back instead.
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 336 pages
Yes it is part of Cult Canons series
£8.99
