Review: Ham on Rye
A friend recommended this strongly to me, and though I’ve generally tacked away from Charles Bukowski, I dropped it on my LAPL hold list. If he always writes like this, that’s my mistake. Ham on Rye just blew me away.
Bukowski writes phenomenally sharply. I get the impression that every word on the page is there to do exactly what he wants it to do. I am even more impressed that he marshals his words without fanfare. There are not many quotable phrases or passages here. But I am always in exactly the moment he is telling me about.
He does this in the service of a first person narrative from a character who I probably wouldn’t want to spend too much time with. He puts a person on the page who is unapologetically outside society in some basic ways and walks us through his early life. The protagonist comes from an abusive home and a poor world. The language is raw and blunt. And perfect. Bukowski puts the reader exactly into the evolving mind of an amoral person. Even “amoral” is not quite right. His protagonist has a code, it’s just not aligned with society. It’s one of those works that the only thing that describes it perfectly is the thing itself.
Bukowski does this as Charles Bukowski. His persona is well defined as an alcoholic outsider. Any reader is going to see Ham on Rye as autobiographical. And he puts this perfect realization of a shambling mess on the page knowing people will think it’s him. That is bravery that I respect.
A must.