11 Best Charles Bukowski Books To Get You Thinking

Every literary century has a few cult heroes, and Charles Bukowski was exactly that in the 20th century. Known primarily as an underground writer, his unapologetic writing surrounded the themes of sorrow, sex, and the insanity of life. 

Just as he was unapologetic with his writing, Bukowski fans are unapologetic in their love for him. I’m (obviously) one such fan, and I’ve been obsessed with his work since I discovered him as an impressionable reader. Since then, I’ve kind of developed a more critical eye for his writing, but my love and admiration for his work has remained steadfast, because the more I understand life, the more I sympathize with his trials and tribulations that led him to write with such honesty. 

If there was ever a poster cutout for the ‘struggling writer’ image, then Bukowski would be a perfect fit, from his troubled childhood and multiple rejections of books to his alcoholism and, finally, his underground work. His life was difficult but despite (and because of) the struggle, his work is vulnerable, introspective, and indelibly beautiful for those who delve into it. It should be said here that his work is deeply immersive and deals with mature themes, so make sure you’re of age to be diving into Bukowski’s stories and poems. So for those who dare (and are 18+!), I’ve put together the best Charles Bukowski books including both prose and poetry so buckle up, and be prepared to be amazed.

Best Charles Bukowski Books List

Best Charles Bukowski Book Reviews

1. Ham on Rye – My Favorite

Charles Bukowski has written a handful of novels around Henry Chinaski – his alter ego – capturing his life in bursts of action in the trials of childhood, coming-of-age, and a jaded adulthood. The series itself is so chaotic that it’s not in chronological order and IMHO, cannot even be called a series. But looking chaos right in the face and accepting it for what it is – Bukowski at his most genuine – I’d say Ham on Rye is my favorite out of all his work. 

Henry Chinaski, our (anti) hero, grows up love-less and cheerless into a young man with a dark humor and an unhealthy obsession with booze. Bukowski documents Chinaski’s coming-of-age with brutal honesty and tongue-in-cheek humor as he tries and barely manages to survive the downtrodden alleys of Depression-Era Los Angeles. 

What got me invested in Chinaski and his less than optimistic life though was the sense of alienation that he grew up with and lived with. My heart hurt for the outcasts that both Chinaski and Bukowski were made into by circumstance, and I have to say I was impressed (and a little sad) by the witticisms Bukowski doled out with careless abandon to deal with the rejection and the isolation.  

So it has to be said that Ham on Rye isn’t the kind of book you finish and forget. It leaves a mark. The realness, the humor, the whole story, it’s Bukowski turning his own life into something that sticks with you, like a good song you can’t get out of your head.

Ham on Rye might be up your alley if you’ve ever felt like the odd one out, but I should tell now that it will not be a comforting read. This is a piece of fiction that takes you in without warning and snaps open your eyes to the bleakness of reality so go into the book not to find comfort, but to find relatability – which in my eyes, is definitely a form of comfort. 

• Best for: Readers who like honest stories with a bit of dark humor
• Not for: Reader who prefer upbeat or straightforward stories or readers who find explicit content uncomfortable

2. Post Office – My First Bukowski Fiction

“It began as a mistake,” whispered the first line of Charles Bukowski’s Post Office, and oh boy, what a delightful mistake it was. This book ended up in my hands accidentally like a package delivered at the wrong address and to this day, I am grateful for it because it kicked off a lifelong (so far!) obsession with Bukowski’s work, letting me into a world I had never seen before.

So in Post Office, Bukowski transforms the simple and mundane into a raucous carnival, turning the U.S. Postal Service into a backdrop of wild adventure. Reading the book, I felt like I was personally dealing with waterlogged mailbags, navigating mud-covered mountains, and dodging tricky guard dogs. 

Chinaski, our MC, battles not only the daily grind but also really strong hangovers. His struggle to peel himself off the bed is a comical routine, yet it’s impossible not to root for him. Chinaski brought spice to the narrative with his love for women, booze, and racetrack betting, showing us a slice of life in the run down streets of Los Angeles.

The book reflected the quirks of real office life, hilariously dissecting the absurdities of the working world, making you laugh and cringe in recognition. Although written in 1971, the book just feels timeless and relatable, reminding us that some challenges are just part of being human, regardless of the era. 

I fell for this book, and by extension the writer, because the reading experience that combined grim realities with the Bukowski-brand of humor was both fun and thought-provoking. So the final verdict here is that the Post Office has my stamp of approval as a tale where mailbags meet mayhem and every delivery is a surprise worth savoring. Pick up for a read full of hilarity and absurdity, and the occasional reality check. 

• Best for: Fans of dark humor and unfiltered narratives
• Not for: Readers who prefer light and uplifting reads, or are sensitive to explicit content

3. Factotum

I picked up Factotum as soon as I was done with the Post Office because I wanted to find out what Henry Chinaski was up to, and boy, was I caught off guard. 

Chinaski is now a drifter and his journey across the Americas is a whirlwind of madness and unexpected adventure. He’s deferred from military service and reluctant to be tied down by a regular job, and although it feels like an anxiety-inducing existence to me now, I remember nodding along to his rebellion against the way of the world – free as a bird and devoid of real responsibilities. 

So for a while, I was happy for Chinaski and his booze-loving way of life and although it did seem hurtful to him, I loved how careless and chaotic he let himself be. Chinaski had it rough, but I was a bit jealous of him for a little while because, at the time I first read the book, a life free of responsibilities that were (in my head) tying me down and delaying me from pursuing my own dreams sounded pretty dang good. I know now Chinaski is probably not the best semi-fictional character to relate to, but hey, he served his purpose when I needed him the most. 

I loved this book for Chinaski, but I should say that it’s definitely the raw beauty and bitterness of Bukowski’s writing that brought him to life, painting a vivid picture of the ruggedness of city life. Chinaski’s story may be chaotic, but within its pages, there’s a method to the madness, a rhythm to the chaos that only Bukowski could compose. 

So give Factotum a try if you want a rebellious, unpredictable story of chasing dreams in a not-so-easy world, giving you a glimpse into the struggle, the hustle, and a life unfulfilled.

• Best for: Fans of Charles Bukowski’s raw and rebellious storytelling
• Not for: Those uncomfortable with explicit content

4. Women

Women by Charles Bukowski catapulted me into the tumultuous adult life of Henry Chinaski, a survivor who’s navigated dead-end jobs, cramped apartments, and the gritty landscape of existence. 

We meet Chinaski again, he’s in his fifties and his luck has taken a dramatic turn – from hitting rock bottom to living like a rockstar. Chinaski, the imperfect narrator, boasts three hundred hangovers a year and a love life that he jokes would “cripple Casanova.” And I was happy for him because clearly, the guy got what he wanted his entire life. 

In Women, we get to step into the shoes of a man who’s seen it all, survived it all, and lived to tell the tale. It really did feel like a literary cocktail of outrageous anecdotes, playful romance, and unfiltered humanity and it left me simultaneously laughing and contemplating the messy beauty of life.

In Bukowski’s signature style though, the nitty-gritty of real life, dark humor, and an unapologetic exploration of what it means to be human shine through. I appreciated Bukowski all the more in Women because even at the height of Chinaski’s life, the author sifted through the joys and glory of existence and let realness come to surface, as he always has.

Reading Factotum felt like listening to that drunk, quirky friend spill the tea about their craziest experiences with increasing degrees of disbelief and amusement. If you’re looking for a fun read that will have you laughing (and then getting concerned because things are getting out of hand), give Factotum a try.

• Best for: Those who enjoy stories about real-life struggles and transformations
• Not for: Those uncomfortable with explicit content

5. Love Is a Dog from Hell – My First Poetry Read from Bukowski

It’s kind of funny to me that this book ended up making my list at the end of the day, because boy did I have some major beef with it at first. This was Charles Bukowski’s first work of poetry that I got into as a starry-eyed teenager, and I remember getting mad at him for saying “there is always one woman to save you from another and as that woman saves you she makes ready to destroy.”

Back then, I thought he was criticizing women with those words, but over the years, I’ve learnt that poetry can be interpreted however a reader wants, and I chose to understand that quote to signal the fickleness and power dynamics of romantic relationships. 

Love is a Dog from Hell is filled with similar nuggets of wisdom about love, relationships, and the inevitability of heartbreak, laid out in raw and irreverent verse. Picture having a heart-to-heart with a drunk friend who’s been hurt by love, and that buddy is Bukowski – that’s what reading this book of poetry is like. What you get is a chatty, disenchanted poet spitting out harsh truths and whiplash sentiments on anything that comes to his mind. 

This collection of poems showcases the incandescent joy and the redemptive power of love while also depicting the ugly, selfish bits of love. The multitude of it all seemed too complicated when I first read it as a teenager, but looking back with a few more years under my belt, I find I can relate to, or at least sympathize with, Bukowski’s trials and triumphs of love. 

Some poems are lyrical prose and some are choppy, emotive pieces but they are all written in simple yet potent language that doesn’t alienate the reader. If at all, the poems might evoke outrage and a healthy dislike of Bukowski’s disillusioned views of love, and if they do, I’d say the poems did what they are supposed to do – invoke emotion. 

So if you want to have a go at Bukowski’s poetry, I highly recommend Love Is a Dog from Hell because of its universal relatability, celebrating love’s highs and throwing jabs at its lows. You’d love it or love to hate it – there’s really no in between.

• Best for: Poetry enthusiasts seeking raw and real reflections on love
• Not for: Readers looking for lighthearted or optimistic poetry

6. Pulp

Bukowski’s last work, completed a few months before his death, was… not what I expected it to be. It’s often touted as farewell and a nod to five decades of literary genius, but I felt like he was experimenting something new with the mish-mash of genres he cooked up for Pulp. 

I say this because, while his usual commentary on sex, madness, and death exists in the novel, Bukowski also peppers the novel with sci-fi and noir elements, putting together a motley of sub genres that we would never expect to work together. But they do, and we get a head-spinning mix of intrigue and dark humor with every case Belane is tasked to solve. I had a laugh with how Bukowski writes Belane into plot holes that he can’t escape from as he deals with his clients and subjects, most of whom are spoofs of IRL people/things (‘Lady Death’ is a metaphor for death and ‘Red Sparrow’ is a caricature of Black Sparrow Press). 

But what I absolutely love in Bukowski’s work is how he pokes fun at anything under the sun, and in Pulp, it’s writing itself that he’s laughing at. First off, the book is dedicated “to bad writing,” and second, he parodies pulp fiction as he writes Pulp, making the dime novels of the past appear worse than they actually are. You’ve got to admire a writer who can take his own craft and laugh in its face, and Bukowski, with his satirical inclinations and never-ending tongue in cheek moments, does exactly that. He also manages to incite passionate intellectual and emotional responses with simple yet effective language, and Pulp is a perfect example of this literary genius (or hack). 

So if you want to see Bukowski’s work as they are – satirical, ludicrous, and darkly hilarious – Pulp is a book worth reading. You’d find yourself shaking your head at the book more than a few times, but that’s an occupational hazard of reading Bukowski, nothing less. 

• Best for: Those who appreciate Charles Bukowski’s humor and realism
• Not for: Readers seeking an optimistic read

7. Tales of Ordinary Madness

My next Charles Bukowski pick, Tales of Ordinary Madness, is like taking a trip to a world that’s dark and confusing but oddly fascinating. Reading it genuinely felt like I was being driven down the tough streets of LA, with windows rolled down and the chaos of everyday struggles laid bare.

The spectrum of things he covers is wide, from lewd behavior, betting on horses, and dead-end jobs to poetry readings and classical music. But the thing is, I can’t even say I particularly enjoyed it because after reading a series of Bukowski’s novels and poetry, I can certainly see the overlaps of debauchery and drunken outbursts that are staples on every Bukowski special.

That said, I can’t deny that I love the brutal honesty and the dark hilarity as he observed the highs and lows of life from his own brand of lens. He’s like a shot of espresso – bitter and no bullshit – and you can definitely count on him to serve truth raw and unfiltered with a side of Bukowski wit. 

It really shows in this book that he did not care for other people’s opinions on his work, especially because of the chaotic abandon that he writes with – there’s no punctuation, no capitalization, and not even a consistent style of writing in this book. 

My suggestion to those who are picking up this book is: don’t let him offend you. His stories peel back life’s messy layers showing us the ugly and the unwanted that it might be too crude and vulgar sometimes, but the trick to reading Tales of Ordinary Madness is to enjoy the ride through the chaos of life, laughing at its flaws and acknowledging its imperfections. 

• Best for: Those who enjoy Charles Bukowski’s unique humor and social commentary
• Not for: Readers seeking lighthearted or optimistic stories

8. The Last Night of the Earth Poems

I’m not sure if it was because I knew that this was the last poetry collection published in his lifetime, or if the poems themselves were intentionally more passionate than Bukowski’s usual style, but this collection of poetry left a wholly different impression on me than his other poems. 

Sure, there are drunken declarations and angry tirades about the stubbornness of life, but he also writes about appreciating the life we have, trying our best to live our dreams, being true to ourselves, and being good to one another in such tender words and passionate outbursts. In this book, he wasn’t the poet and writer I knew, and I loved him all the more for it because it allowed me to see yet another facet of his mind, unfiltered. 

‘An almost made up poem’ is like a heavy heart-to-heart about the impact of war on people and the world and ‘A Smile to Remember’ urges us to rewind and relish our own memories. Bukowski laughs at himself with ‘Hemingway Never Did This’ where he recounts accidentally deleting a poem from his computer and strangely, all these poems felt vulnerable and plaintive in their beautiful simplicity that I was near tears when I finished reading the poetry collection.

In this book, unlike the chatty Bukowski we usually see that churns out harsh truths like spitfire, we have an introspective, gentle poet writing about the subtleties of life, both joyful and melancholic. Maybe he knew the inevitability that was waiting for him or maybe he didn’t, but The Last Night of the Earth poems remain the most heart-wrenching work of Bukowski, almost like an ode to the life he was going to miss out on.

So, grab a cozy blanket, maybe a cup of cocoa, and have a date with The Last Night of the Earth Poems 📖☕️. Trust me, you’re not likely to regret picking up this particular collection of poems.

• Best for: Those who enjoy contemplating life’s big questions
• Not for: Readers looking for lighthearted reads or those who prefer less emotional themes

9. Essential Bukowski: Poetry

Essential Bukowski: Poetry is possibly the best gateway to his poems, because this collection of his best work is curated to take you through the edgy voice of early Bukowski through to the worn down, introspective voice of his later years. I ran into a few of my favorite poems when I read this book, but there still were a bunch of poems and flash fiction I came across for the first time.

Love, death, sex, and writing—Bukowski captures it all in his poems, striking a chord with the raw emotions of everyday life. Delving into his poems I’ve read before and exploring new ones had me appreciating his raw honesty even more, because it gave me a glimpse into experiences that feel as real as my own.

The downside to that is the booze, depressive jobs, fights, lousy homes, and existential dread can creep into you as you read, because as real as Bukowski gets, he never shies away from the low and ugly moments of life. So as much as I love his genuinity and simplicity, I found myself pacing the poems apart so I won’t be as affected with the bleak outlook into life that Bukowski unrelentingly portrayed.

But if you’re looking for a read that allows you to just feel and block out everything else, this collection might just be perfect, because with Essential Bukowski: Poetry, you can go on an intellectual journey across pretty much the entire spectrum of human emotion – not an easy feat for a regular book, but this is Bukowski, and you’re all set. 

• Best for: Readers who enjoy relatable poetry exploring the complexities of life 
• Not for: Readers looking for uplifting poetry

10. Notes of a Dirty Old Man

I picked this up thinking this was a series of personal essays and realized this was a series of articles he wrote for a paper. But I didn’t need to change my expectations because true to his form, Bukowski weaves his own life into these articles, offering a front-row seat to his unfiltered experiences against the rebellious backdrop of the city. 

For me, Notes of a Dirty Old Man reads like a personal tour through the highs and lows of 1960s Los Angeles with Charles Bukowski as my guide. No sugar-coating, no holds barred – Bukowski lays it all bare with raw honesty. His gritty reality and counterculture vibe of 1960s LA comes through his simple and powerful language, creating a genuinely immersive experience into a bygone era.

Bukowski’s writing doesn’t tiptoe around the edges; it dives headfirst into the chaos, exposing things you might not even wish to know about, including, but not limited to, prostitution, abuse, rape, alcoholism, suicide, and murder. The effect of his unapologetic humor and gritty commentary is potent because they can resurrect the past, making it feel alive and palpable simply through his words.

Give Notes of a Dirty Old Man a try if you are interested in getting an uncensored view into 1960’s LA and Bukowski’s lived experience of it, but remember, this is reserved for the bold and the curious, and not for the faint of heart nor the easily offended. 

• Best for: Readers who like real-life accounts of explicit experiences
• Not for: Those uncomfortable with explicit content

11. Hot Water Music

I picked up this book because I liked the title – Hot Water Music – for its simplicity and charm that I (mistakenly) thought was there inside the book as well. It was simple enough, don’t get me wrong, but whether it’s charming or not is a question I’d leave you to answer, depending on your definition of ‘charm.’

As always, Bukowski’s writing is plain, no-nonsense, and authentic – perfectly fitting the gritty moments of life he chronicles. His stories let us make pit stops at the less-than-glamorous spots in town – a smelly motel, a couple’s bickering haven, and a bar tended by a skeleton – and show us the harsh realities of working class life, profoundly and without judgment.  

Whether it’s love, working a menial job, or the aftermath of one too many drinks, Bukowski captures the quirks of everyday life with that darkly comical twist that he’s known for. His simple language hit me right in the feels because it was almost as if I was having a one-on-one chat with him about the oddities of life. 

I could say I did like it, but was it charming that it left me content after I finished reading it? Hardly. That said, Hot Water Music is worth a try if you think you’ll love the ride downtown, but I definitely recommend going into it expecting a gritty reality check.

• Best for: Bukowski fans and readers who appreciate authentic storytelling
• Not for: Those uncomfortable with harsh and bleak realities in narratives

There you have it – my list of best Charles Bukowski books. These books are great pick ups if you’re exploring realistic fiction and poetry with some healthy cynicism in it, because Bukowski writes with unflinching honesty and a blatant dislike for the phony and the fake. The reality check might seem too harsh at times, but with the raw honesty comes this heartfelt appreciation for life’s joyful moments, and that’s something that I feel is really unique to his writing. Happy reading!

What to Read Next

As your next read, I recommend The Captain Is out to Lunch – a collection of journal entries penned by Bukowski which document the last few years of his life, and how he tragically came to terms with his diagnosis of leukemia. They do the work of making a humane figure out of his caricature-like public image, and it truly moved me. 

If you’ve read Bukowski’s work, you might be trying to connect the dots on how he fed his creative genius, so to that end, Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life is a perfect fit that narrates his life in minute detail, including some very rare pictures.

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