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Vit Babenco's Reviews > Ham on Rye
Ham on Rye
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There is this eminent poem by Philip Larkin:
“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had and add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn by fools in old-style hats and coats, who half the time were soppy-stern and half at one another’s throats.�
And everything in Ham on Rye develops under this scenario�
So the mournful bitterness of his childhood turned Henry Chinaski � that is Charles Bukowski � into an impenitent and cynical insurgent for life.
Ham on Rye is a merciless and graphic story � a real death sentence to smug philistines.
And there is always the one who wants to stay outside the herd�
“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had and add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn by fools in old-style hats and coats, who half the time were soppy-stern and half at one another’s throats.�
And everything in Ham on Rye develops under this scenario�
So, that’s what they wanted: lies. Beautiful lies. That’s what they needed. People were fools. It was going to be easy for me.
So the mournful bitterness of his childhood turned Henry Chinaski � that is Charles Bukowski � into an impenitent and cynical insurgent for life.
I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired.
Ham on Rye is a merciless and graphic story � a real death sentence to smug philistines.
At the age of twenty five most people were finished. A whole god-damned nation of assholes driving automobiles, eating, having babies, doing everything in the worst way possible, like voting for the presidential candidate who reminded them most of themselves.
And there is always the one who wants to stay outside the herd�
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Ham on Rye.
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Reading Progress
October 26, 2015
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Started Reading
October 26, 2015
– Shelved
October 28, 2015
–
Finished Reading
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s.penkevich
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Nov 01, 2015 08:40PM
Great review!
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Love your quote choices Vit! :)
Thanks, Tara. Ham on Rye is packed with streetwise wisdom�
Wow ! This summarized the book so well... I can feel it’s portent ...
Excellent review. And that poem is absolutely on mark with all(?) of Bukowskis work I've read.
Thank you for this review, I'm now motivated to get a copy for myself
Love the poem!
The poem is absolutely radical.
A friend and I have been talking about poetry lately and about CB in particular. I loved Ham on Rye, but I keep going back to his poems and this one has stood out to me over the years. It’s from The Roominghouse Madrigals. Maybe you’ll enjoy it.The Genius of the Crowd
there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art
Thank you, Joseph. I enjoyed Bukowski's poem. It's in perfect accord with this novel.
Thanks for the review! I'm just reading it
